Holistic Marketing.

Business Dictionary defines Holistic or sustainable marketing as the

"A marketing strategy that is developed by thinking about the business as a whole, its place in the broader economy and society, and in the lives of its customers. It attempts to develop and maintain multiple perspectives on the company’s commercial activities"

Its understanding basically revolves around the Internal marketing, Performance marketing, Relationship and Integrated Marketing as shown below:

It thus refers to the adoption of these marketing services that create better businesses, better relations and a better world without causing any harm to environment.

As far as Ambi Pur is concerned its Parent Brand of P&G understakes the follwoing initiatives to ensure a holistic development. 

Moreover, under the CSR plan, companies above a certain threshold have to spend 2% of average profit of the previous three years on CSR activities specified by the government, which does not include political funding. Companies that are unable to do so have to give reasons for falling short. Companies having a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore or a minimum turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or those with a net profit of at least Rs 5 crore are covered by this policy.

Thus P&G has successfully came up with its Shikshka campaign.

It thus donates Rs.1 from every product that the P&G product Buyers to their social enterprise- Shikhsha. Through this initiative, P&G has been doing good by setting up schools across the rural India. It has until now set up 330 functioning schools. Also, for this purpose P&G makes use of maximum celebrities to reach out to the last mile of the fan following.

Analysing Business Markets.

One important aspect of Analyzing the Business Market is the Organisation Buying. It pertains to the Organisation decision making process by which businesses purchase products, services and choose suppliers and alternatives.

Hence the Business market differs from Consumer markets in terms of buying, B2B or B2C relationships, professional purchasing, sales calls, buying decisions, inelastic demand, fluctuating demand, demographics, direct purchasing and so on.

The following are the participants in Business Buying Process of Ambi Pur:

• Initiators: taking lead to bring about a purchase.
• Users: The users of the new product, they help in evaluating the unmet requirement parameters.
• Influencers: People who influence the buyding decision eg: Technical persons.
• Deciders: People deciding on the product suppliers.
• Approvers: People authorising the actions of deciders or buyers.
• Buyers: People at the top level who have the formal authority to approve the buyers and pass the further arrangemnt of buying process.
• Gatekeepers: They keep the salesperson away from the users or deciders. eg Agents, receptionist.

The Analytical Business marketers need to evaluate their B2B2C relationship status.

based on their alternatives, importance of supply, complexity of supply and supply market dynamism, the marketer has 8 category buyer-supplier relationship to the B2B context.

• Basic: this type of buying and selling involves not much effort and cooperation. It is fairly simple.
• Bare Bones: It requires more adaptation by seller and less of cooperation & information exchange.
• Contractual: It is very official and formal Thus contracts involve low level of trust or even cooperation.
• Customer Supply: Competition thrives here more than anything.
• Cooperative System: It has operational  unity on the outer side but hardly any commitment.
• Collaborative: Trust & Commitment leads to the partnership with a collaborative approach.
• Mutual Adaptivity: Relation specific adaptions that Buyers and Suppliers engage in with trust and cooperation.
• Customer being the King: Fulfilling the needs of the customer at no cost of exchange or change in satisfaction.

Analysing Consumer Markets.

In order to understand the Consumer Market it is pretty much essential to analyse the key psychological processes that goes on to a Consumers mind during Buying your Product.

Thus the following gives a diagrammatic representation of the Model of Consumer Behavior:

In case of Ambi Pur the consumer 1st decides the 4Ps. viz. price of the product in comparison to the competitiors. The availability and so on. Other inputs that goes on in the consumers brain are the cultural context, economical point of view, any technical aspect that can govern the functioning of the product.

next the Buyers characteristics actually manifests the buying process. It involves any social context or the personal liking, psychological brand effect that leads to brand loyalty. Thus the market stimuli carries out the following in the consumer minds: The Solution to the problem of need, Alternative considerations and the satisfaction or attrition lining up with the post purchase decision. Thus the Buyers characteristics that governs this vary from individual to individual.

Lastly, the marketing stimuli that helps the buyer make the product choice, select and buy it takes place. It majorly deals with the Purchase amount and the personal satisfaction that are linked invariably with each other.

Further,
Frued's and Herzberg's theories do play an important role too.

According to Freud, largely most consumptions lack the motive, they are done invariably.
Ambi Pur has this advantage as the Car Fresheners are bought for the cars as an accessory even if the car is not in use.

Likewise,
 Herzberg's theory of sellers identifying their customers and avoiding attrition in approaching other areas is linked to the Ambi Pur's TG which is carefully selected and well catered to.

The Maslow's pyramid diagram which is shown below relates to Ambi Pur in the following way:

Ambi Pur Car Perfume satisfies the Car air care hygiene thus fulfilling the basic needs of the car users. The Elimination of Car odor saves the car users from being embarrassed in front of the passengers which is a part of the Social needs. Moreover, using this category product sets a premium standard to the car accessories. It thus caters to the esteem needs too.

'Brand'aholic!

The term Brand and branding per say is defined by AMA as:

"A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary."

Thus the best possible diagrammatic representation that follows the above is:

Apart, there are many a things that go in a Branding activity. The basic ones are the driveforce to create a brand image bu the ones that bring about the Brand Equity are the offereings that your brand makes.
It has to be distinct from the competitor's offerings i.e. Point-Of-Difference (POD), else it will result into a Point-Of-Parity (POP).

AMA defines Brand Equity as:

"Brand equity is a phrase used in the marketing industry to try to describe the value of having a well-known brand name, based on the idea that the owner of a well-known brand name can generate more money from products with that brand name than from products with a less well known name, as consumers believe that a product with a well-known name is better than products with less well known names. "

Ambi Pur as a brand under the parent brand P&G has always strived to maintain a High Brand Equity.

This being a category creator, has brought about the generation of demands on a large scale. It has made the car users realize the importance of Ambi Pur Car Freshener to their car as a mandate. The innovation in its diffuser system technology act as  the vital POD. The variety of fragrance range to suit your mood has been its USP. The idea however has been today used by other competitors like Godrej Aer. To some extent acts as the POP. 

The brand has also adopted Line extension in which is evident from the new fragrant variants that promises to eliminate the car odor while giving u a pleasant smell of your choice. Further it has taken measures to extend the to the New Brands in which it has introduced the Electronic Dispenser used indoors.

Also, the variety of products like indoor electronic dispensers, aerosols, Car perfume etc show Ambi Pur's Multi-Branding.

Nevertheless, Ambi Pur undertakes mass campaigns of advertising and promotion to remain the Top brand in this car air care category. For this, now since its decade long operation, it has undergone necessary modifications and brought in new innovations in terms of design and packaging that is essential as we move ahead with the time and technology.

Thus, the Brand logo of CAR featuring its car air care products has underwent strong transformation. It designs the 3 letter word in the front and rare of a sedan car. This mighty bold logo design under Ambi Pur imbibes strongly the product's bold looks, perfect functioning and quality assurance in to the consumers mind.

This adds on to the strong Brand Recall in the BRS and thus helps Ambi Pur as a brand do away with the market competition by staying as the leader.

Sale! Sale!! Sale!!!

Sales- The primary 'funda' of marketing revolves around creating a demand. However, practical marketing is much more 'Sale' oriented. It encompasses all those which contribute to the selling of your product. There exists a sales funnel which arrives at the Sales in the end through the awareness, leads and prospects.

Technically speaking AMA refers to sales as:

"Any of a number of activities designed to promote customer purchase of a product or service. Sales can be done in person or over the phone, through e-mail or other communication media. The process generally includes stages such as assessing customer needs, presenting product features and benefits to address those needs and negotiation on price, delivery and other elements."

The process of Sales is an amalgamation of the following set of activities that are carried out to bring about a desired sale.:

The Preparation for Ambi Pur Car Freshener involved involved an extensive research. It studied the Indian consumer needs for such a category product. Moreover, the research shows that the consumer behavior played an important role in realizing the attitude about this product.

Introduction phase of this car perfume shows their addressing to the right TG promised the cause of creating demand. 

This new to the category diffuser system product was highly questioned on its functionality, price, use and so on. However, the strong research and market studies made them do away with the Questioning phase. This shows that obtaining an early mover advantage is not that simple for any nascent product.

Presentation of Ambi Pur has been up to the mark. It has been successful in pitching to the consumers about its new diffusers, fragrances and kits. Involvement of PR strategies, events, publicizing the Key Differentiator and story telling to build curiosity and awareness plays a vital role in the presentation of a product.

The reason all this Sales process is undertaken is to have a good Object Handling. The Objective of satisfying the consumer needs and generating further demand while maintaining a profit is the main purpose of the sales. Ambi Pur does this efficiently so that the sales team could capitalize on the brand image.

The conversion of the much created interest into the sales deals with the Closing. This category creator offered its diffuser kit at a premium of price and quality which compelled the consumer to buy it.

The Follow Up is a mechanism to build a long lasting consumer relationship. This can be achieved in many ways like the feedback mechanism. It gives an idea of the consumers' brand loyalty towards your product. Ambi Pur has been doing it often by conducting drills at service stations, in feedback forms at showrooms or by promoting their product TVCs in which they interview the consumers. Thus Follow Up provided by the mentioning the customer care number or by providing an email address to enable the consumer to get back to you are ways Ambi Pur has undertaken religiously. It is important to note that the Follow Up and Relationship Marketing are closely associated aimed at delivering customer satisfaction and resolving attrition issues if any.

Thus the sales management involves the above process being carried out with an innovation in order to succeed in this world of fierce competition.

S.T.P.

AMA version for market segmentation is:

"The process of subdividing a market into distinct subsets of customers that behave in the same way or have similar needs. Each subset may conceivably be chosen as a market target to be reached with a distinct marketing strategy."

The following is anyway a crisp practical understanding of what STP is all about!

Segmentation: It deals with identifying bases for segmenting the market. It is essential in order to develop Segment profiles.

Segmentation is basically done on the following considerations:

• Demographic  (Age, income, family size, gender, literacy etc)
• Geographic (state, city, district, taluka, gram etc)
• Psychographic (Persona, lifestyle, appearance, aesthetics etc)
• Behavioral (Usage, dependency, attitude, seasonal, occasion, etc)

Ambi Pur Car freshener's segment include the urban, semi urban and seni rural areas, people with middle class + purchasing power and the ones with a basic requisite of a car!

Target Marketing: it involves developing a measure of segment attractiveness and selecting the target segments.

Out of the segmented sample, specializing them and catering to their needs is Targeting that Ambi Pur undertakes. Thus, youth, working men and women who use cars daily are their TG.


Market Positioning: This consists of developing the positioning for the targeted segments and to come up with a marketing mix for each segment.

Ambi pur positions its Car Freshener competitively along with other competitors like Godrej Aer and Renuzit diffusers.
It is priced at Rs. 250
Initially as it entered the market it started from Rs. 180 until a few years ago.

It is also noteworthy that Ambi Pur has been trying to remain the market leader in this segment by positioning itself at a strategic price such that it provides the benefits by catering to the needs and lifestyle of the consumers.

The above gives a diagrammatic representation of how STP the Differentiaion block adds on to the value and acts as a key differentiator to the product. Thus the Positioning somewhere not just deal with the pricing but also with the Distribution and Promotion from the other Ps.

IMC ATL BTL Promotion et al.

Integrated Marketing Communication deals with the approach adopted by the brand to project its products such that they appeal the most to the consumers. The various modes are put together to achieve this. Hence a combination of strategies from above and below the line play an important role in this.

They are bifurcated into 2 categories viz. ATL and BTL. The following is a diagrammatic representation of the same.

P.S.: Here, it is important to note that the reach due to the two ATL and BTL types is measured by the rating points, frequencies, measurement datas of TAM, RAM, metrices etc.

ATL:

The Above The Line marketing focuses on reaching a wider audience. Especially to enhance the brand image.

This is largely carried out by the mass media.

Ambi Pur extensively used this ATL media like TVCs to penetrate into the market and make its presence felt. Even today various innovative commercials come up through the ATLs.

BTL:

Below The Line on the other hand focuses on more targeted audience. It lays a direct emphasis on making sales. This is carried out cause through specific events or even merchandising. 

BTL approach by Ambi Pur is undertaken to reach the last mile of its consumers. Thus, hosting car show events, sponsoring various promotional events are the efforts of Ambi Pur in India.

Promotional Campaigns:

This post in viewed as an extension of IMC. It is in pure relation to the ATL and BTL media types.
Promotional campaigning is today has become an utmost essential part. It is required to promote the product to a next level with all the innovative ways possible. This enables the brand to appeal more to the consumers.

Ambi Pur is know for promoting its air care products by adopting various strategies. The promotional strategies that form a part of this campaign are largely the outdoor events that form a part of the OOH types.

The images below show Ambi Pur promotions at the malls and multiplexes in Delhi, Banglore and Mumbai.

 

The interactive mascot of the Ambi Pur Car diffuser and the walk in kiosks attracted large consumers thus creating a demand.

                                       

Likewise, Ambi Pur also makes use of celebrities to endorse their products. This adds a fan following to the brand and promotes it exceptionally well.

One of the many large campaigns of Ambi Pur include the breathe "Fresh Like New" campaign covered by the Madison World's unit- Platinum Outdoor. This was headed by Sam Balsara in the beginning of 2007. This independent OOH campaign was aimed at educating the people about the diffusers that come along with the Start Kit of the car freshener. 

Also, the launch of various fragrances sees this kind of promos apart from TVCs and Print ads. Quite often it is backed up with a campaign like the "Breathe Happy" one. 

Interestingly, Ambi Pur adopts the creative and innovative approaches. For instance the distribution of free starter kits as an effort to create demand and penetrate in the market. This has been carried out at the local fuel stations and car showrooms. Realizing the fact that Ambi Pur car freshener is closely associated as the car essentials, they have been succeeded in placing their product at the Car Accessory shops. This has been working well with the brand sales as the product is placed at a place where it is aligned with the right category use.

Distribution.

The Distribution for Ambi Pur is handled by the parent company P&G. Their channels of retailers, whole sellers and such networks are strong throughout the country. However, Ambi Pur Car Freshener is a product that is mainly targeted to the urban areas for the obvious reasons of Car usage. In spite of this, the rural market is being addressed too due to the growing need for this product.

Wheresoever, the chain remains of the type: Manufacturer -> Warehouses -> 
Distributer -> Wholeseller -> Retailer -> Consumer.

In the case of the Car Freshener, the kit manufacturer can be be from abroad, as it is imported.

Also, it is interesting to note that, the channels produce 5 type of outputs: Viz.:

Lot Size: It essentially pertains to the quantity of units a consumer purchases at once. Eg: Retailer having less stock than warehouse or whole sellers justifying the demand.

Wait & Delivery time: The time a particular good takes to reach from one to the next corresponding end. Eg: The imported SF units will be received by the warehouses monthly, then the distributor gets it from warehouses fortnightly, and the whole sellers/ retailers from the distributor on a fort nightly basis.

Spatial Convenience: It is the convenience level offered to a customer by the element. Typically the consumer end side has high level of spatial convenience than the one on the manufacturers side.

Product Variety: Assortment offered which being low at the warehouse level if they are exclusive. But, being high at the retailer level since the consumer needs to be provided with a wide range of available variety.

Service Backup: It is in relation to the add on services that are highly offered at the manufacturer-warehouse level and low at the retailer, consumer end level.

The following shows a Distribution (Starter Kit: SF & Refill: RF)Depot sites of a few cities. 

Product Mix Pricing.

Jessie J brilliantly quotes 'Price' in one of her latest hits- 'Price Tag.'

"It seems like everybody's got a price

I wonder how they sleep at night

When the sale comes first and the truth comes

second

Just stop for a minute and smile"

It simply justifies that nothing in life is for free. Every thing has a cost associated with it, and so does our Product Mix!

Pricing is an extremely important factor in the Product Mix. Revenues are brought about because of appropriate pricing. It is a vital criterion in the consumer's decision process. It gets the consumer to demand for lower prices to the retailers which in turn does the same to the manufacturers. Anyhow, it does exist predominantly and therefore forms as one of the pillar of the 4 Ps constituting to value to the customer.

Well, the following are 6 kinds of pricing. The marketer makes use of this in order to decide and set prices of the product mix.

Product Line Pricing:
It is the variable price associated with every product in the variants of a Product Line. The Depth of product sees different item marked with different prices. It is to suit the customer requirements and value. It is determined according to the product's demand, SKUs etc. Eg: FMCG products.

Optional Feature Pricing:
Every time an additional feature is offered, it comes with a price. It is like the add ons you go on adding to your new car purchase in order to customize it. Eventually, only to realize the total price amount has increased. Eg: The Tour Packages.

Captive-product Pricing:
This is of a pair or combination that goes hand in hand. The purchase of one requires the purchase of the other too. Without which the functionality cannot be put to use. For instance- the razor stick and the blade.

Two Product Pricing:
This includes the example of the SIM card price and the usage price (voice, data charges etc.)

Thus the former bares the latter which is very much usage dependent. The service industry boasts of this pricing. Eg: Restaurants/Clubs.

By-Product Pricing:
As the word suggest it is the price associated with the by-products. These are resulted out during the making of one Product. For instance, the Petroleum products, Meat etc.

Product Bundling Pricing:
This ensures the product is made available in an assortment. Thus, the benefits of other products in a bundle can be obtained at a competitive price than that of the individual price of those items.
This is generally used as promotion. Offers seek Bundling Price as customers prefer to buy products in groups. Eg. Price for a bundle of Oral health care items.

From all the above 6, Ambi Pur has Product Line Price (different price for a 8 ml refill bottle, different price for a starter kit and that for an aerosol bottle.), Captive-Product pricing (The vent diffuser is useless without a refill bottle. Purchase and assembly of both are essentail for the proper functionality.). Also, the Bundling Price is offered on Ambi Pur. It is clubbed with other Air care products and the entire assortment/package is sold at a Bundling Price during promotion, introduction or opportunity seasons.


The following gives the current price rate at which the diffuser system of Ambi Pur Car Freshener:

Product Brand Relationship!

The Product Hierarchy:

The following 6 levels are observed considering the Ambi Pur as an example.

1) Need Family:
The essential requirement that is behind the existence of Ambi Pur. i.e. Pleasant smell.

2) Product Family:
All those product classes that satisfy a core requirement with fair effectiveness. It deals with the categories. E.g.: Air Care, Odour repellents, Air Hygiene etc.

3) Product Class: 
Group of products with a certain recognizable functions forms a Product Class. It is viewed as a sub-category. E.g.: Car fresheners, Home Fresheners, Washroom fresheners, etc.

4) Product Line:
It consists of Brands associated with the products. All similar function performing products under a typical class makes a Product Line. They are usually sold through the same chain, retailer, channel and to the same consumer. E.g.: Ambi Pur, Godrej Aer, Odonil and so on.

5) Product Type:
One or several possible forms of the products under a product Line are termed as Product Type. It is basically the variety offered by that particular brand. E.g.: Vent Diffusers, Electronic Diffusers, Aerosols, Hangers, Gels etc.

6) Item:
It is the Stock Keeping Unit distinguished by size, price, appearance or other characteristics. E.g.: In case of Ambi Pur Car freshener, the 8 ml liquid bottle to be fixed in a diffuser and the different shape and colour of the vent diffuser.

Product Mix:

It is inferred from the 6 levels of hierarchy mentioned above. Let us see how does this apply to Ambi Pur.
Thus have a look at the figure Product Length and Width figure given below:

The Product Width consists of the horizontal expansion of the Product Family and Class associated with a brand. And the vertical reference gives the Product Line & Type. The Width is an expansion in a new Category or a sub-category. Whereas, the Length gives us new Variants under the same vertical of the category. Product Depth is concerned with the 'number of variants in the items of brands.' Market leaders are usually distinguished by high Depth and large Market Share.

Thus we see that the Product levels and Mixes helps in nothing but the customer in deriving a good value for the purchase made against the core benefit resulting out of a basic requirement.

Product levels-3 Cs relation.

The product characteristics are decided in the 5 product level classifications. Linking the same with Ambi Pur shall give an insight about the levels that constitute the customer- value hierarchy.

Core Benefit:
The Core benefit that Ambi Pur users look forward to is in buying a pleasant smell in their cars. That is infact what they contribute to in terms of their money while making a purchase. Hence, this forms an integral part of the 5 levels.

Basic product:
P&G today converts this requirement of the consumers into a basic product. Thus, a starter kit of Ambi Pur consisting a diffuser top and a perfume bottle constitutes to the same.

Expected product:
It is this feature that meets the expectation of the consumers.
Ambi Pur strives in delivering the fragrance, in superimposing on the odour thus by eliminating it, in providing working diffusers and in vouching freshness.

Augmented product:
It is aimed at going beyond the competition that generally thrives at the expected product level. Ambi Pur does this by introducing the new fragrances, new smart devices and building a constant innovative approach in the aesthetics of the product. This helps tackle the competition. Thus, provides for what exceeds the customer expectations.

Potential product:
It is a summation of all the possible transformations and the augmentations. Also, it encompasses the offerings the product might undergo in the future. So it is  important in the decline stage when the product can be re-introduced and brought back in the competition. Ambi Pur to be seen as a potential product needs to find new ways to satisfy the customers and to distinguish their offerings.

The 5 Product level - 3 Cs Relation figure:

If we happen to place the above 5 product levels in the 3 Cs model, then we shall obtain the customer-value hierarchy. Let us understand what falls where.

The Core benefit finds itself under the Customer. It replicates the Customer benefit cost which builds the Customer value. Further the core benefit comes from the quintessential customer-centric approach that adds Value, mentioned by the latest AMA marketing definition as quoted below:

''Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.''

Also the Expected product lies in the same space since it is the expectations of the consumers which are converted into products. It not just satisfies their requirements but also fulfills their expectations.

The Company comprises of Basic and Potential products. It is the company that prototypes and develops a basic product from the core benefit. It then updates or upgrades the original product in order to remain in competition.

Further, the Competitor umbrella covers the Basic, Augmented and the Potential products for clear reasons of providing a cut throat competition.

4 Ps- The Marketing Mix!

Given that Product, Price, Promotion and Place forms the marketing mix, realizing the existence of the modern marketing management 4 Ps is also important, viz. People, Process, Programs, and Performance, as mentioned by Kotler. However, many such timely updates gives rise to the alternatives of our conventional 
4 Ps. For an instance, consider the following in the B2B reality mentioned in the Jan-Feb '13 issue of HBR magazine.

This paradigm shift self explains and justifies today's world of marketing concepts.

But, does the original 4 Ps validate out PLC? Does it encompass all the factors discussed and left out in the previous post? Do they relate to our product in various stages?

Well for this, let us have a look at the 4Ps vs the PLC stages shown below:

Product:  
Considering a nascent category of 'Diffuser system Car fresheners', Ambi Pur had an early mover advantage. It was one of its own kind without any variants in the Introduction period. New fragrance versions were launched in Growth stage. The Maturity stage saw the product mix out of which the best seller retains in the Decline stage.

Price:
Ambi Pur dealt with huge promotions in the Introduction stage. Hence, initially the products had heavy prices to recover the promotional expenses. The then brand was bullish about Ambi Pur and hence could afford the high prices. As any product enters the Growth stage, prices either fall or remain the same. It is since the sales and profits have begun to take off. Also, the increasing competitors is a factor. Thus, increasing the market share is the aim here whereas defending the market share is an objective in the Maturity stage. Decline stage deals with the pricing that leads to profit. After all its a matter of the existence of the product now, and not just the survival.

Promotion:
Introduction stage of Ambi Pur recalls adopting promotional strategies like vending their starter kits at gas stations, car showrooms, accessory outlets and so on. Thus educating and informing the public created a general awareness about the product. The competitive Growth stage sees promotion focusing on distinctive features, technological advancements and on modern innovative design launches. It becomes necessary in order to do away with the competitors. This takes a gradual backseat as advertising is restricted only for reminder purposes in the Maturity stage, as people are already aware of the product, it has reached the maximum sales, profits and customers and it's time that buyers start looking for alternatives provided by competitors. Lastly, the Decline stage sees absolute no or low promotions- just in case of a particular product that is hopeful of fetching profits. At such times, it is typical for the finance consultants to demand a cut down on the Ad expense in order to compensate for the decreasing or stagnant Top line.

Place: 
The accessibility is discussed in the context of Distribution under Place. Introduction phase shows us a limited distributors. Initially, the product is perhaps launched in certain Tier I or II cities only. Hence, the distribution network is amature and not dense. Growth stage needs stronger distribution channels that provides for higher sales as the product penetrates the market further. Likewise, this channel becomes dense in the Maturity stage where the market share needs to be defended from falling apart; unlike in the decline stage where majority of the weaker non-revenue generating products and their channels are withdrawn, retaining only a fewer outlets in number.

The Product Life Cycle

The life cycle process starts right from the launch, reaching all the way up to the waning stage. In this, the product grows, matures, survives and declines eventually. However, at every stage it gives the marketer new challenges, threats and opportunities to cash on. These stages put together in a chronology gives us a Product Life Cycle-PLC, as shown below:

Introduction stage: 
Ever since the launch of Ambi Pur car freshener in India, this nascent category product had an untrespassed market. In such a case, informing the consumers becomes crucial. Thus, the introduction of the product in the market lays the foundation of the further PLC stages.
Ambi Pur's primary essential: Generating Awareness. Followed attracting the category buyers. Therefore, huge promotions were undertaken. Although, this being a category product, the promotions remained high incurring huge expenses- justifiable in this stage. Thus, the challenge was in introducing, promoting and persuading with the diffuser car freshener. It inculcated a high risk of dealing with high prices, low sales and negative to low profits until the next stage.

Growth stage:
This is where the product climbs the ladder of 'growth'. Acceptance of the product, increasing sales by the early buyers and rising profits mark the growth stage. The introduction stage with its critical promotion provides for this. Thus the costs averages as the profits starts to show in. Noteworthy feature of this stage is that as it rises upwards, the Competitors starts to surface.
Ambi Pur introduces the new fragrances and diffuser systems. Technological advancements and innovative designs helps in the product longevity in the next stage. It adds on value and a feature to their tag. Thus in such a scenario, Ambi Pur competes with its early growing competitors by rendering various quality products, building consumers' trust and thus maintaining their loyalty.

Maturity stage:
A product is fully matured when it shows the signs of optimum sales, profits and maximum customers irrespective of the competitors. This stage sees the maximum competition which further declines. Ambi Pur, despite many potential competitors and substitutes like Godrej Aer and several car fresheners, it retains the audiences. Thus, we see that defending the market share in terms of  profits and people is of utmost importance in this stage. Cost here is again low due to the competitive environment. Stabilized sales and profits brings about a plateauing in this stage. However, its contour and period remains unpredictable and depends on various marketing strategies and their outcomes.

Decline stage:
This is an inevitable stage however can be tactfully avoided or delayed. The sales see a downfall. profits follow suit. The product is pushed on the verge of loosing the race. Either the competitor takes over or the product which was once a market leader turns into a market follower. Clearly, the customers taste for the product has changed. Yet, for sustainability issues, we see the cost remaining low. The products and channels which do not perform well are cut off. Expenses are efficient and minimal- only on the products assuring a return. One way to get out of this phase is by revamping the product. Bringing in innovation and re-introducing it with a positive change.

Conclusion: 
It can be inferred that the PLC stages are interdependent. Their period is undefined. It largely depends on the different marketing strategies, pricing being one of them. These strategies need to be updated or changed from time to time, stage to stage. It is interesting to note that there exists different patterns of PLC for different category of products. Eg: Growth-slumpy-maturity patter for Kitchenware. Cycle-recycle for pharma drugs and Scalloped pattern for Nylon/plastic.

And here it comes...Competition!

In order to achieve increase in market share, growth volume and profits, sellers compete among themselves. It is done by varying parameters like the product price, product innovation, it's channeling and distribution and several other factors. This rivalry among the sellers is called as the competition. To understand it, we must take into consideration the direct & indirect competitors of the product. Also is essential the realisation of the substitutes available to our product, in the market.

The air care market in India is of about ` 300 crore, compared to the $ 7.5 million market in the U.S. Ambi Pur was launched here in 2002. Back then, in 2006 the air care market was perceived to be of ` 50 crore and growing at an average annual rate of 6.2%. Later that year Ambi Pur's market share rose to 11.7%. Under the JV between Godrej & Sara Lee, Ambi Pur continued to see a rise in it's market share. In 2009 it was 14.1%. Thus emerging in a dominant position with a premium brand in the car freshener category.

The Competitor analysis gives us the distinctive features of the following two competitors viz. 

The Direct Competitors: The products that impose an immediate threat because of its more or less similar functionality, packaging and innovation, competitive pricing, and gaining popularity.

The products that lie in this range are usually the market leaders or challengers. For instance: international brand like- US-based home care player and SC Johnson’s 'Glade'. 'Premium'- the domestic brand owned by Helene Curtis India Pvt. Ltd., 'Aer'- belonging to Godrej and 'Air Wick'- owned by the Reckitt Benckiser. The last two having a market share of roughly 6% and 8% respectively as of 2012 in their launch years. Out of the above, Godrej Aer is the most relevant direct competitor to Ambi Pur as far as the car freshener product category is concerned. It is the one after Ambi Pur to have started the business of car diffuser perfume system in India, apart from their other household room freshener range of products.

The Indirect Competitors: These are the ones that serve the same purpose but may not have the same functionality of the original car freshener product. Odonil from Dabur, hanging perfume sachets by Miracle, other gel based car air fresheners, sprays/ aerosols, perfume dashboard bottles, or even the primitively used car fresheners- incense sticks. They can be from the market followers group that remotely affect the share of the leaders in all aspects.

Max-to-max they reach to be the very next challengers but only if they shape their product in the same way as of the ace one.

Porter's 5 force model can be referred for the competitor analysis. The attractiveness of a market or an industry can be studied through it. The 5 forces shown below are explained in detail in context to Ambi Pur's market.

Rivalry among Industry Competitors: The product pricing clearly discerns the rivalry in the direct competitors in the air care-car freshener industry. Ambi Pur is not only supposed to tackle the competitive prices offered by Aer but also the innovation and designing of the latter.

Potential Entrants: The New entrants in this category are the ones which are adept with the technological improvements that lack in the original product. Their launch as a potential challenger is a result of intense study and observation of the market leader. This car freshener category is always under a threat of new entrants because of the increasing- purchasing power, awareness & standard of living, and due to the car freshener being a quintessential component of the car. One strong barrier against all these new arrivals would be P&G brand name and the customer loyalty towards it's product.

Suppliers: In this growing market, there exits several suppliers. From the supplier's point-of-view, car freshener industry is very active, full of potential and attractive. The suppliers are therefore left with not much of a strong bargaining power.

Buyers: It includes the price sensitive target customers. Having a set of option to choose from gives the buyers a power to bargain. Due to a presence of a growing number of buyers, the industry seems to be promising. In order to cater to the price-sensitive customers, Ambi Pur is made available with price promotions and discount schemes on the starter kit and the refill packs.

Substitutes: There is a huge threat of substitutes because of reasons like- the changing buying patterns, aggressive pricing and monotony of the ace product. Also a greater reason for a consumer to buy a substitute is impulsive purchase in an emergency. Time, cost and the availability factor adds on to it. This leads a buyer to depend on the substitute as an 'alternative'. A consumer might substitute Ambi Pur for a simple Car perfume bottle, Aerosol or even for a Freshener Sachet. For instance, the low cost substitute can have an imitated diffuser system design and functionality. The similar or new fragrances, packaging & promotions. However, the cheap substitute would usually lack in quality, standard and longevity.

Industry Insight:

"In a rapidly growing and a new product category, while there is sufficient room for each new player to grow, product differentiation and innovations go a long way in helping a brand score above the rest and establishing a brand recall."

Should I buy.. or should I not buy?!?!

There are some key psychological processes that influence a customer while purchasing the product. If you wonder "how does the thinking and the deliberation go in the head?" Then have a look at the Consumer Behaviour model for Ambi Pur car freshener product.

The first block emphasizes on the product and its benefits- its price, the availability and the addressability under the distribution and communication. Also the Economic and technological aspects of the diffuser system being innovative & affordable are the other stimulating factors. Thus the answer to the question- “Which product attributes are important and why?” have references in this and the previous section of the blog.

Collectively, they give rise to the 4 parameters of consumer psychology:

Motivation: The motivation for buying Ambi Pur car freshener would arise from a basic motive of the physiological need of breathing clean and fresh air. Referring to Maslow’s Theory, satisfying ones esteem needs also brings about this motivation.

Perception: Consumers perceive Ambi Pur car freshener as a trusted reasonably priced product. Marketers strive to achieve high customer attention and retention as far as Ambi Pur car freshener is concerned through a reinforcement of the consumer’s beliefs regarding the product i.e. it guarantees freshness and completely eliminates foul smell.

Learning: A change in behaviour arising from experiences. Changing behaviour patterns (towards an era of smell conscious India) are tapped by marketers in order to influence purchasing Ambi Pur car freshener, which is promoted as an essential freshener in every car.



Memory: Ambi Pur car freshener has been a category creator and a dominant market leader ever since its launch in India. It enjoys a distinctive place in the mind space of the Indian consumer. Thus, marketers capitalize on this existing presence of Ambi Pur car freshener in the consumer memory. It makes the most of the beliefs and attitudes regarding the brand by reinforcing and echoing the core values for which P&G is known and respected- ‘Touching lives; Improving life.’




The consumer characteristics too shall not be neglected. They are the highly volatile in nature.

Cultural, Social and Personal factors: Culture, subculture, social class, reference groups (such as family) and personal factors (such as personality, family life cycle, and lifestyle) exhibit significant influence on consumer buying behaviour. The trend to follow the product that everybody observes is widely seen. Since Ambi Pur car freshener has been one of its kind category product, its popularity and loyalty is a class apart for the new entrants.

In a country like India, which is a family and value oriented society; family continues to be the primary reference group. Thus the loyalty of the family towards a typical product is not easily defied. For personal factors, the new ads appeal to the target groups (car owners, car users, chauffeurs, kids etc) by aiming to create a “must have” need than a “might have” option. The question of “who buys the product?” is resolved here. It warrants a need for a reliable car freshener that delivers optimum performance. Further, the celebrity or claimed- ‘real life people’ endorsing the product also casts a personal impact. And thus a consumer is motivated to prefer buying Ambi Pur car freshener.



The above contributes to the vibrant consumer behaviour. However, the buying decision process is not completely influenced by the behaviour pattern. The first time decision making is manifested here. It largely depends on the following:

Problem recognition: Odour in the car, moist upholstery, food spillage stench, wet mats in rainy season, pungent smelling leather interiors, trucks carrying debris in the way, polluted surrounding or any foul smell causing agent.

Information search: Ways to get rid of the above by finding about Ambi Pur car freshener through TVC, print ads, posters, word of mouth, digital mediums, internet, etc

Evaluation of alternatives: Incense sticks, deodorants, aerosols, aromatic candles/oils, scented flowers/ garlands, perfume bottles, fragrant wax/ gels, other liquid diffuser competitors.

Purchase decision: Based on attributes influencing factors like quality, trust, brand loyalty, awareness, reliability, ease of accessibility, varied variety to choose from and competitive pricing truly governs the purchase decision.

Not just this, but the category, brand and product choice, along with the purchase amount & timing and the payment method plays an important role in making the purchase decision.

Post purchase behaviour: Customer might be delighted, disappointed or satisfied depending on his choice, liking for fragrance and expectations. However, Ambi Pur car freshener has been taking care of all the factors that leave the consumer with content!

If in the case of a repetitive decision making, the price, accessibility and the competitor factors can be overlooked and critically taken into consideration. For instance a frequent Ambi Pur car freshener user will not necessarily check the price before buying, will be concerned about the ease of convenience to get it. The brand loyalty will only help do away the competitor botheration.

What's your 'Value'..??

Customers derive value and satisfaction from the product in their own perceived ways. Customer value is essentially what the product does for the customer so as to meet the customer's expectations and perceptions about the product.

The following image shows the values delivered to the 3 classes of consumers, customers and the retailers.

Customer Perceived Value (CPV) is the difference between the prospective customer's evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives. Thus, it is the anticipated benefit from a consumer's perspective of a product or service keeping in mind the price that the customer had to incur.

Total customer benefit is the perceived value of the economic, functional and psychological benefits from the product, service, people and image.

Total customer cost is the perceived cost incurred by the customer in terms of a cumulative of the monetary and non-monetary costs(time and energy) components to evaluate, obtain, use and dispose of the given product.

The CPV model has 4 basic benefits and their corresponding costs. Out of those, the services and personnel are not applicable to this product. Reason being that the Ambi Pur car freshener does not come with any service of maintains, warranty, repair, delivery or training. Also, personnel or the employee benefits if any are applicable to the broader horizon of the P&G brand and not to the product per say. The other two product benefit and the image benefit along with their corresponding monetary and psychological costs are detailed below:

Applying value concepts to the customer:

The value is determined by the product attributes and the benefits and costs associated with it.
Ambi Pur car freshener has product benefit such as the long lasting fragrance up to 45 days. It delivers fresh and revitalizing smell. It helps to do away with any prevailing odour. It keeps the car atmosphere pleasant even during moist and damp weather conditions. It cheers the mood of the driver and the passengers as well. Thus, it answers the question- What problem will this product solve? The product MRP cost is affordable enough. The long lasting feature and the availability of the refill pack of the liquid diffuser system makes it further reasonable. Also, the P&G brand image associated with this product facilitates the customer to rely on it. Moreover, the brand loyalty helps in the image benefit too; and thus the psychological cost of the customer while buying significantly reduced.

Ambi Pur Car freshener- An Introduction.

The tradition of cleanliness and its association next to godliness is an integral part of the Indian life. This 'Indianness' that we carry is often to please others than the self- especially to the guests! Pleasant smelling environments are no more limited just to the houses. Everybody loves their cars to be as fresh as their homes. Odours that linger throughout, or a persistent stench that never leaves the car, not only adversely affects our mood, but also of our guests. Though we strive hard to keep the interiors neat, clean and odour free, the results are rarely satisfactory. With this in mind, P&G  experts have bottled the fragrance of freshness in the new Ambi Pur range of car fresheners!

The Ambi Pur Brand history:

The first Ambi Pur product was launched in 1958 in Spain, created by Javier Merelo de Barberá Sanroma under the umbrella of Cruz Verde brand.

Cruz Verde was acquired in 1970s by the US multinational- Syntex. Ambi-Pur differentiated from other Cruz Verde products and became a brand. In the late '70s and '80s the brand strengthening continued with new diverse products and target users.

In 1984, Sara Lee Corporation acquired Cruz Verde. It was the first brand launching a plug-in liquid air freshener, a toilet liquid rim block and a liquid air freshener for Cars. After West Europe, the brand expanded through East Europe, Asia, Japan and also in the US and Canada. Since 1990s to 2010, Ambi Pur has been among the top three leading air freshener brands in Western European countries.

Procter & Gamble now takes control of the Ambi Pur air care brand in India after the completion of a complicated three-way transaction involving the Godrej Group and Sara Lee. The world's largest maker of consumer goods completed the purchase of Ambi Pur in July 2010 for $468 million and the Indian leg of the deal is the logical outcome of this.

With this acquisition P&G became the #2 Air Care Company in the world. Ambi Pur also brings high-performance products and new technologies to our current Air Care portfolio, including car air fresheners, battery-powered air fresheners, toilet rim blocks and various non-energized air fresheners.

Product types:

Ambi Pur car freshener comes in 2 starter kit types. The new mini device costing around Rs.200 and the regular one at around Rs.250. Also the refill pack of 7 ml is about Rs.180. It is available in different fragrance variants viz. Sky Breeze, New Zealand Springs, Aqua, Lavender Spa, Vanilla bouquet and Pacific.