The Hindu Business Line : The Horlicks Challenge

IT'S all about the `Great Horlicks Challenge'! GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Health Care claims that its 135-year-old Horlicks brand makes kids taller, smarter and sharper.

The company attributes this claim to a recent study conducted by the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition and funded by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Health Care. The institute tested the product among 869 kids from a boarding school, in which half the kids were served Horlicks continuously over a period of 14 months, while the rest were served a normal health drink (the brand name of which was not revealed).

"The kids were served similar food, asked to do similar physical exercises, and the result that emerged from the study established that those kids who were on Horlicks were significantly taller, sharper and stronger," says Shubhajit Sen, General Manager, Marketing (Nutritionals), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer.

The new brand positioning also finds mention in the product packs which now carry a logo saying — `Now Proven - Taller, Stronger, Sharper.' But nowhere on the pack is there a mention of the endorsement by the National Institute of Nutrition.

Apart from the change in packaging, the brand's new TV commercial also voices similar claims. Created by JWT, the TV campaign shows a boarding school campus where the kids are served the same kind of food, taught by the same set of teachers and engage in similar physical activities, but don't drink the same health food drink (half of the kids are served a normal health food drink). And 14 months later, the kids who were on Horlicks proved to be stronger, sharper and taller. The signoff line says — `The Horlicks Challenge, Now Proven. See for Yourself!'

The new campaign, in fact, follows the teaser campaign which was on air recently and which claims to prove that Horlicks can make kids taller, stronger and sharper.

Sen says that the company's goal is to keep the trust that the brand has generated over the years alive. "We will try to deliver whatever claims we make."

But the question here is, does a well-established brand such as Horlicks actually need to make such tall claims just to get an edge over competition? Horlicks is already the market leader in the health food drink category with a 50 per cent market share.

Suresh Kumar, Director of Mindspark Consulting (a Chennai-based marketing consultancy), says that the strategy is not new and that several brands have used this route (brands such as Crest and Colgate have got dental associations to endorse their content and benefits), and it has worked in their interest. "However, it is extremely important that the organisation or scientific body endorsing such claims is a highly credible source."

"The right strategy would be to communicate in detail the study methodology, its objectivity and impartial process and the results which support the brand's claims. More importantly, the scientific organisation should be actively involved in all communication process to lend credibility to the brand's claim. They ought to be made vocal endorsers by having their seal or certificate in all communication elements such as packaging and advertising," adds Kumar.

Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults says that the claims put forward are obviously substantiated. "GSK is a responsible market player and is a player that is very conscious of its heritage and large brand following in the country."

He says that these claims are part of a larger brand strategy that wants to set apart this brand from the others on a platform that is totally benefit-oriented. "Brands are progressively realising that the physical delivery benefits need to be communicated strongly to a society that is getting discerning in its brand choices. Consumers today are looking much beyond heritage names in the market. There is a quest for delivery that is solid. To an extent, there is a movement in the heritage categories where consumers are listening to the emotional language less and are questing for the functional language more. I believe Horlicks is on this track as of now."

During the launch of this new positioning, Sen of GSK also claimed that the product was "clinically proven," to which a section of media objected, saying that a product can be termed as `clinically proven' only if it was drug-tested in the laboratory.

However, Bijoor says that `clinically proven' and `clinically tested' are lines Indian marketers have used widely in the past. "The toothpaste category is rich in such use. FMCG brands, which hitherto depended on emotional delivery planks, are moving on to offer function delivery attributes. This trend is in sync with today's consumer wants and needs."

"Terms used in advertising such as `clinically proven' or `tested' are just a case of semantics. The bottomline is that the brand must stand the test of claims it is making. And, the customers are the ones who will pass the final judgement. If the claim is misleading, the brand should immediately get pulled up by its competitors or associations like the Advertising Standards Council," adds Kumar of Mindspark.

Apart from the TV campaign and the logo on the packs, the company is also planning a series of surround activities to promote its claim of making kids `taller, stronger and sharper.' It has partnered with the Bangalore-based education-entertainment company Activity to kick off its school contact programmes, which it had organised last year too. The company is also planning to approach doctors with the results of the study and get them to endorse its claims.

The brand underwent a makeover a few years ago when it changed its positioning from a `Great Family Nourisher' to a `Pleasurable Family Nourisher.' By doing this, it not only targeted mothers who were on the lookout for balanced nourishment for their family, but also kids who wanted a pleasurable drink. "We realised that the entry of a health food drink into a household is often determined by kids' demands, hence we felt the need for targeting kids as well," says Sen.

The company also launched the drink in various flavours (chocolate, vanilla, honey and elaichi), apart from the regular malt. The latest variant is toffee.

Sen says that this positioning has worked wonders for the brand whose sales were flat for a few years. "Ever since the re-positioning, Horlicks has grown by four per cent in volume and by seven per cent in value."

Does Horlicks really make kids taller, stronger and sharper? Let's wait for the consumer's verdict.

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