Things Marketers Say...

Things Marketer's Say... Decoded!

Cannibalization - Suppose Tide launches the Tide Naturals variants and starts gaining popularity in 3 months of launch. But turns out that if sales worth Rs. 50,000 have been reported for Tide Naturals, there is a fall of about Rs. 30,000 in the sales of the original Tide. Such a steep fall was never seen before. This shows that Tide Naturals is cannibalising the original Tide. It is sourcing consumers from its own brand or other variant.

Switching - when consumer shift from one brand to other in the same product category  it’s called switching. For example my mother recently switched from Colgate white to Patanjali Dant Kanti.

Brand Portfolio - This includes all the different brands that are owned by a single company. For example HUL has a broad brand portfolio with brands like Lakme, Dove, Magnum, Pepsodent, etc.

Line extension - (while eating lays) This refers to launch of different variants under the same brand. For example Lay’s indian magic masala, Lay’s barbeque, Lay’s tangy tomato, etc.

Line filling - This is when a company launches various products in all the price range or to provide different benefits in the same segment. For example, Sunsilk has launched their shampoo in various sizes.

Brand Extension - this means launching a completely new brand. For example, Maggi has launched noodles, ketchup, seasoning, etc under the same brand name. 

Category Extension - when you enter a new category with a new or existing brand name. For example, Patanjali has ventured into the instant noodles market by launching Patanjali Aata noodles. 

House of brands - Many companies promote a product by the name of the brand  instead of the name of the company that owns the brand. For example, very few people know that Land Rover is owned by Tata. 

Branded house - In this strategy the company leverages on the reputation that its name holds. For example, Apple who so aggressively drives the Apple logo, has been successful in convincing the consumer that all the products by Apple will be of class and quality.

Cash cows - this nomenclature is given to those brands or variants of any brand that bring guaranteed sales even if no investment or effort is made in marketing them. This is because the consumer is convinced about the quality of the product. For example, Gillette Mach 3 razors. 

Push Marketing - This is the strategy that a company uses to push the product in the market by persuading the retailers to keep their product and sell it by giving them margins and promotions. This also includes giving free samples offers such as “Buy 5 get 1 sachet free”. 

Pull Marketing - This is exactly opposite of push marketing. In this strategy you create a demand for your product from the consumer’s side.  For example One Plus and Apple have a pre-order scheme for the consumers to increase the pull through word of mouth. This can be done through different promotional strategies. This is generally done when the brand has a loyal consumer base like Apple users. 

Apart from these jargons, you will come across many such jargons in any marketing related materials that you will learn about during your career. 

Up Next

How do you solve a marketing case study? Find out in the next chapter.