Introduction

1.1 Theory & Concept

"A business has two - and only two - basic functions: marketing and innovation."
- Peter Drucker

The rapid pace of change and intense competitive pressure in today's marketplace
demand that brands continuously innovate and reinvent themselves to maintain their
relevance and market position. In this context, brand repositioning and other revitalization
strategies have become a business imperative for battling brand erosion. The appeal of brand
repositioning is further heightened by the rising costs and high risk associated with launching
a new brand.

Brand repositioning has received little attention in the marketing literature and has
mostly been treated as a variation of brand positioning. Biel, for example, has defined brand
positioning as "building (or rebuilding) an image for a brand". The goal of positioning and
repositioning strategies relates to the management of consumers' perceptions. However,
positioning focuses on the creation of brand associations - consumers' perceptions of the
attributes that differentiate the brand from competitive offers – while repositioning also
implies managing existing brand associations. The unique challenge of a repositioning
strategy, thus, lies in rejuvenating the brand image to make it relevant in an evolving
environment, while honoring the brand equity heritage.

Repositioning can be required as the market changes and new opportunities occur.
Through repositioning the company can reach customers they not intended to reach in the first
place. If a brand has been established at the market for some time and wish to change their
image they can consider repositioning, although one of the hardest actions in marketing is to
reposition a familiar brand.

According to Solomon, position strategy is an essential part in the marketing efforts

because companies have to use the elements in the marketing mix to influence the customers
understanding of the position. During the movement from something less attractive and
relevant towards a more attractive and relevant position several of strategic choices has to be
made. The ones responsible for the repositioning have to evaluate why a reposition is
necessary, and if the offer is the one who will change or just the brand name. There are several
risk factors that have to be taken into consideration when preparation for a repositioning of the
offering or the brand. During repositioning, the risk of losing the credibility and reliability is
high and the need for a thorough strategy is therefore necessary to avoid this occurrence. Some
analyst argue that to successfully reposition a establish brand name is almost impossible
because repositioning of a brand can make the most loyal customer to switch brand. But, in
some circumstances a repositioning is necessary to gain credibility if the brand is eroded.
Whenever a reposition is in question it has to be of relevance from a customer perspective, is
this achievable? Some brands will on no account be thought on as a luxury brand and
therefore an attempt to reposition will only damage the brand image or the actual company.

Numerous failed attempts at brand repositioning testify to the difficulty of developing

and implementing such a tactic. For example, while the soft drink brand, Mountain Dew has
remained relevant to the youth market through continuous repositioning in its thirty years of
existence, Levis' Jeans has been losing market share to newcomers such as The Gap, despite
numerous campaigns designed to reposition the brand as trendy.

The strategic importance of brand repositioning in preserving and enhancing brand

equity, coupled with the mixed results of repositioning attempts, underscores the need to
develop a better understanding of the dynamics of brand repositioning. Specifically,
questions of whether, when and how brands should be repositioned need to be addressed.

Research into brand repositioning is relevant not only to the development of brand
management theory, but also extends to corporate strategy through an examination of
corporate brands.

[ 2]
1.2 Literature Review

The repositioning strategy is rolled out in three stages: introductory, elaboration and
fortification stages. This involves the introduction of a new or a repositioned brand, seeking to
underline the brand’s value over others, and to broaden the brand proposition. It is truly tough
to change the customer’s perceived attitude towards a brand, and therefore the risk is great that
the attempt to repositioning might be unsuccessful.

After rolling out the strategy, it is time to modify the proposition through update of the
personality and through repositioning. There are benefits and risks with both of this segments
and it is of great significance that they are truly evaluated when deciding the next step in the
process. To further understand the stages stated above, figure.1 will guide you through the
different phases that follow after establish a brand proposition.

Figure 1: Stages in brand strategy development

[ 3]
 The implication with the term” repositioning” is that a company modifies something
that is already present in the market and in the consumer’s mind. The definition of
repositioning changes different individuals and professions. To view the different definitions
and perceive a greater understanding about this concept, three examples of repositioning
given by individuals in different professions is stated below:

“Repositioning is a change, principally about trigging the vision, mission and value in a new
direction that is more suited for the brand in the future”. (Brand manager consultant)

“Principally, reposition concerns change the consumer’s perception of the brand”

(PR- consultant)

“Repositioning is built upon the change unique and differentiated associations with the brand
in some kind of direction, it is about having a balance between the category party and
differentiation when using reposition strategies” (Leading brand strategist)

From these definitions, it is obvious that reposition is about moving something to a

newer and hopefully to a more attractive and relevant position. The purpose of the movement
differs with regards to what the company wants to achieve. A company might want to reach
out to a larger target group, or be involved in several different positions at the market. There is
also a visible relation between price and quantity aspects. When a company perceives the
market as a demand curve, the purpose is to down stretch or up stretch in this curve. When
moving down it is often spoken of as an expansion down wards, and when moving up and
there is a need for reaching the premium segment and expand up wards.

Figure 2: The principle of repositioning

[ 4]
 New Position

Price

Previous Position
Experienced quality

When striving towards a new position in the market, it is important to understand that
consumer’s minds are limited. People’s minds select what to remember and it is therefore
significant to convince the consumers with great arguments. The market demand changes
rapidly and therefore reposition can be necessary to meet these demands, newer and stronger
arguments have to be established to convince them to stay as loyal customers.

As stated in the literature, repositioning is a very complicated matter and therefore

there are no detailed theories or models. The aim with repositioning differ from person to
person, and the only connection between all the different theories is that repositioning is
moving something from somewhere towards a greater position at the market.

Corstjens and Doyle (1989) identified three types of repositioning strategies:

(1) zero repositioning, which is not a repositioning at all since the firm maintains its initial
strategy in the face of a changing environment;
(2) gradual repositioning, where the firm performs incremental, continuous adjustments to
its positioning strategy to reflect the evolution of its environment; and
(3) radical repositioning that corresponds to a discontinuous shift towards a new target
market and/or a new competitive advantage.

After examining the repositioning of several brands from the Indian market, the
following 9 types of repositioning have been identified. These are:
1. Increasing relevance to the consumer
[ 5]
 2. Increasing occasions for use

3. Making the brand serious

4. Falling sales

5. Bringing in new customers

6. Making the brand contemporary

7. Differentiate from other brands

8. Changed market conditions.

  It is not always that these nine categories are mutually exclusive. Often one reason
leads to the other and a brand is repositioned sometimes for a multiplicity of reasons.

A four-phased brand repositioning approach can be followed to achieve the intended

benefits:

Phase I. Determining the Current Status of the Brand

Phase II. What Does the Brand Stand for Today?

Phase III. Developing the Brand Positioning Platforms

Phase IV. Refining the Brand Positioning and Management Presentation

The benefits that can be derived from brand repositioning exercises can be
summarized as:

 Value over others

 Updated personality
 Relevant position
 “Up to date” image

The risks associated with such strategies are:

[ 6]
  Loss of focus
 Neglecting original customers
 Losing credibility for the brand
 Confusing the brand

Therefore, brand repositioning is more difficult than initially positioning a brand

because one must first help the customer “unlearn” the current brand positioning (easier said
than done).  Three actions can aid in this process: (1) carefully crafted communication, (2)
new products, packaging, etc. that emphasize the new positioning and (3) associations with
other brands (co-branding, co-marketing, ingredient branding, strategic alliances, etc.) that
reinforce the new brand positioning.

This exercise is so critical to an organization’s success that the organization’s

leadership team and its marketing/brand management leaders should develop it, preferably
with the help and facilitation of an outside brand-positioning expert.

Titan Watches: Brand Positioning Strategies

5.1 Overall strategies
[ 7]
 Since its introduction, Titan has been positioned as a premium brand, providing high
quality products. With its numerous sub-brands catering to different segments, the challenge
that Titan faces is to create a strong brand image. It follows different positioning strategies,
these strategies can also be analyzed as given below:

 Attribute Positioning:
  When the company launched its products, it was the first to bring quartz watches to
the Indian market. The company successfully leveraged this to penetrate the market and gain
a market share. Raga, Classique and Regalia come under this strategy. Classique has been
positioned as elegant corporate wear that leaves a quiet, but definite impression and fusion of
function and sophistication. Power dressing now has a new weapon! As Magic in gold and
bicolour look, the 'Regalia' range represents the essence of dress-wear. Raga has been
differentiated and positioned as exclusive watches for women. The Raga and Silver Raga
collection is elegant, delicate and feminine with each piece being truly unique.
 

 User Positioning:
   Titan caters to several user groups- children (the Dash), sportspersons and adventurers
(PSI4000 and Fastrack range). The Fastrack range is seen as being contemporary, sturdy and
reliable. The advertising, packaging and merchandising of this range is young, vibrant and
‘cool’ (the ad line says “Cool watches by Titan”)
 
 Benefit Positioning:
   The Fastrack Digital range offers the customer a functional watch that  is also
attractive. The digital watch has a “techno-geek” image, but Titan seeks to differentiate its
offering on the basis of superior style and attractiveness.

 Competitor Positioning:
   With the entry of several foreign watchmakers into the market, Titan had to counter
the threat. Most of the entrants are catering to the upper end of the market- Omega, Tissot,
Cartier etc. Titan already had the Tanishq brand in this segment. However, it has tried to
reposition this brand by increasing the price range to encourage more customers.

[ 8]
  Quality or Price Positioning:
In the overseas market, especially in Europe where it is competing with Swiss and
Japanese watches, it is positioning itself as ‘value- for- money’: reasonably priced (less than
Swiss watches and higher than Japanese), attractively styled and of good quality. In Indian
market, Sonata is a perfect example of Price positioning, titan came up with this segment
when it was facing heavy competition from lower end segment.

5.2 Men’s segment:

With Titan positioning its range of watches as a life-style, the Indian market started
viewing watch more as a complement to dress than just a time showing machine. They are
also realising that, unlike other forms of art that are meant to be admired, high-end jewellery
watches have that added bonus: practical luxury with a function other than beauty. Watches
have joined the list of tie, deodorant and shoes to represent the occasion and flaunt your
status.

Dress Wear
Titan has three brands positioned for this segment: Nebula, Regalia and Insignia.

Nebula:
Marketed as the “Jewellery collection from Titan”, Nebula is targeted towards
affluent men who consider wearing gold jewellery a symbol of status. Magical blend of most
coveted of metals, Gold and craftsmanship; Nebula is more of a connoisseur watch with the
lowest price model at Rs.5500. It is marketed as a “watch for discerning individual”
positioned as a gold jewel.

Regalia:
“Incredibly eye-catching…. magic in gold”.
The watch uses the unique combination of gold and bicolour looks representing the
essence of dress-wear. In India, gold-look is associated with status but at the same time, the
silver-look is the fashion of the day in international watches. With the combination of both,

[ 9]
this watch is targeted towards affluent businessmen. The elegant looks and colours make it a
strong competitor to the foreign brands like the Tissot, Piaget and Rado.
This is also marketed as a watch for gift “Special Watch for special occasion”,
positioning this as a costly gift.

Insignia:
‘The World Watch from Titan.’
The watch with fascinating designs and precision engineering was targeted towards
the European markets. The complexity of this watch is 10 times more than a regular titan
watch. Though it didn’t meet with much of a success in Europe, this tag line and keyword
“International” are used to position this watch as a world-class watch for international
traveller with European tastes.

Classic Watches
Watches that are for every-day use and those with less frills and more value are
classified as Classic watches. These watches are normally targeted towards middle and upper
middle-income class consumers.

Classique:
“Power dressing now has a new weapon!”

“Timeless elegance captured on the wrist.”

Classique' is marketed as a fusion of function and sophistication. Classique with its looks
fits the formal corporate image and is positioned as a watch for corporate employees. This
also reinforces the importance of watch along with the dress worn. These watches are
generic in their simplicity and find no real competitors except HMT.

Royale:
“Collection of designs that suit everyday wear”.
Royale with its gold plated case and golden straps represents a formal every day
watch targeted towards the employees who can’t afford multiple watches for occasions. The
watch includes designs from simple to dressy eveningwear switching between informal and
formal looks based on the place and situation.
[ 10]
Spectra:
“Designed for those who look beyond the ordinary”.
This brand from Titan extends over wide range of prices from 900-7000. It is a classic
premium watch with style, which boasts of combining the sturdiness of steel with richness of
gold. The positioning of the watch is not very clear as it is targeted towards the salary
earners with its lower price point models and appealing models for the corporate executives
at the higher end.

Sports Watches
In the Indian scenario the sport awareness is not quite there. And the market is not
mature enough that consumers buy special watches for sporting except in the super-premium
and segments above that. A sports watch in the mind of an average Indian is a polyamide
watch with stopwatch and trendy look. So there is no clear distinction between sports
watches and casual watches. But in the available market Timex, Casio, and Titan are major
players and after the lifting of QR restrictions, world famous Tag- Heur has also entered
India but in the Connoisseur segment of sports watches.

PSI2000:
Titan has introduced a range of contemporary Precision Sports watches. The brand is
marketed as tough, outdoor, adventure brand. (Psychographically segmented) Ranging from
800 to 7500, these watches are in direct competition with foreign brands like Swatch Irony.

Casual Wear:
The segment of watches that has a variety of brands and models to appeal to the youth
and mentally young people is casual wear. The watches in this segment are mainly sporty
watches, which are unconventional and typically symbolize the attitudes of younger
generation.

[ 11]
Titan Fast Track
“Cool watches from Titan”.
The target audience for this watch, in the 20-35 age group include working adults and
postgraduate students of both sexes in metros and mini metros. The Fast Track user, in terms
of attitude is one who wears an informal dress, wears branded jeans, shirts, sunglasses and
branded informal shoes. The Fast Track personality is that of a young, energetic,
achievement oriented person, who seeks to express his or her individuality by braking free
from constraints of formal environment, without being a rebel. Built around the Cool
concept, this watch from Titan has virtually very few competitors because no one offers the
feature combination and price but Casio (in digital range) and Espirit and Swatch (in the
analog range) can be considered as competitors feature-wise.

Technology Watches
Wrist Watches have changed a lot from the inception- a time showing convenience
machine to a status symbol. But the underlying concept remained unchanged, convenience.
Stretching this concept a bit with the development of technology are the technology watches
available in the market. Watch for time, status has in the new technology era is looked for
convenience of carrying data. In to the competitive market with people willing to pay a
premium for that advantage, a good number of brands have ventured.

Technology (2350-8200):
“Multi-functional watches for the Tech-savvy”.
This brand is marketed as mergers of classic elegance and technological mastery
giving rise to multi-functional chronographs using the solar power. This brand is positioned
to compete against the Citizen’s EcoDrive.

5.3 Women’s segment

Dress Wear
Titan has chiefly three brands in this category.

[ 12]
Nebula (6000-65000)-
“The Jeweler’s Collection”
Nebula is a precious jewellery watch from Titan. It is marketed as ‘a magical blend
of most coveted of metals and engineering excellence’. The Nebula range of watches is
positioned as objects of ornamentation. A 21 carat gold watch, studded with gems it is
targeted at the upper most end of the market in competition with brands such as Rolex and
Cartier.

Regalia

Regalia range is positioned as “Essence of dress wear”. It is marketed as “Incredibly

eye catching…magic in gold”. With the unique combination of gold and bicolor looks and
sleek case, Regalia is targeted towards middle-aged women who consider watch to be a status
symbol and also representing their delicacy. It is available in many price points between
Rs.1800 onwards.

Raga and the Silver Raga

Raga and the Silver Raga collection are positioned as “Ethnic Indian styling for the
sophisticated woman”. Each piece is truly unique and represents elegance, delicacy and
feminine. The designs and the bracelets represent traditional Indian ornaments as well as
contemporary style.

Both the watches are exclusively designed to appeal to women more as an ornamental
possession than a watch. The Silver Raga has been crafted exclusively for the sophisticated
woman who believes in value-for-money and who wears silver jewellery with élan.

At the beginning, when the brands were launched, they were positioned as “Watches
for all dresses” with changeable dials matching the sari color. But the proposition was viewed
with skepticism and hence didn’t meet with much success. Keeping in mind Indian women’s
love for jewellery, both these brands are repositioned as a perfect accessory that completes a
woman's wardrobe.

Casual Wear

[ 13]
Fastrack
The woman's collection presents the all-new international 'Frosted' look, which is
trendy and chic. The ad line : ‘Fastrack- ‘Cool watches from Titan’, aims at building the
brand around the ‘cool ‘ concept.

Fastrack is targeted at a personality that is young, energetic, achievement-oriented,

who seeks to express her individuality by breaking free from constraints imposed by formal
environments, without being a rebel. The positioning of Fastrack for men and women is
almost the same.

5.4 Children’s Segment

Titan has a brand called Dash! for kids. These are bright, colorful watches targeted at
children aged 6-14 years. These watches are priced Rs.250 onwards to Rs.495 and are
marketed under the ad line: “Wow! Watches from Titan”. The three main collections from
Dash include the ‘Popeye Collection’, which feature cartoon character Popeye, and his
friends. There is also a Digital Range, which has features like Ellight, compass, Velco straps.
So Titan is positioning Dash watches as ‘Fun’ watches for kids. Its features such as comic
characters also appeal to the frivolous nature of the children.

Dash also has a special collection for girls, with changeable bezel rings, priced at
Rs.295.

There are some other watches such as Pop-Swatch from Swatch, which are positioned
using the same appeal that of Dash and are expected to give Dash a tough time at the same
competitive prices

[ 14]
 Titan Watches: Brand Repositioning Strategies

Titan Industries decided to revamp its flagship watch brand, Titan, with the intention
of making it more youthful and relevant to the changing times. The brand, launched more
than 24 years ago, has undergone a major repositioning exercise only once before – five years
ago, when Hindi film actor Aamir Khan was appointed brand ambassador. What followed
later was the ‘What’s Your Style?’ campaign, which tried to increase watch consumption per
person, by suggesting the use of different watches for different occasions.

New logo and tagline - “Be More”

Beyond style
Now, Titan wants to move from style statements to personality statements. According
to Harish Bhat, chief operating officer, watches, Titan Industries, a watch ought to denote the
wearer’s mood and personality. “With the explosion of options in a person’s life, our core
consumer is changing. And to keep up with them, Titan has evolved too,” he says.

On the adoption of ‘Be More’, Bhat says that that statement is supposed to denote the
aspirations of consumers to make more of their lives and be whatever they want to be. “The
watch allows for such imaginative travels,” he says.

Titan’s agency, Ogilvy India, has devised a campaign featuring Aamir Khan that
encourages people to find a new strand of their personality every day. It all started with a
logo change a few months ago (the same font in a red and white combination), followed by a
campaign rolled out now.

The ad film opens on a shot of Aamir Khan sitting alone on a roller coaster, stating,
‘Be born every day’. Next, he is seen chasing the shadow of an aircraft on a beach, then,
sitting beside a truck driver, in the middle of nowhere, with a trail of chassis trucks behind
him. Here, he asks the viewers to try the adventure of getting off at an unknown station, of
exploring unknown lands.

[ 15]
 As he crashes his vehicle while go-karting, Khan waves to the others around him,
while his voiceover explains the importance of making one’s own mistakes. Further on, he
talks of not making your passport photos last longer than three months – you need to
constantly reinvent yourself and adopt a new look every day (cut to shots of Khan’s varied
hairstyles and looks in his movies, shown in an ambient way through posters and T-shirts).

“Shock your reflection!” says Khan, as we see him with funny accessories framing his
face. The next vignette has him practising meditation while slyly checking out a girl walking
past (‘Explore’). Cut to a shot of children, with Khan explaining how we aspired to be
different people as kids – “let’s revive that aspiration today”. Wearing armour (sword and
all), Khan reiterates, ‘Be Born, Every Day. Titan. Be More’.

Malvika Mehra, group creative director, Ogilvy & Mather Bangalore, says, “‘Be
More’ pushes people to live many lives in one. We want to trigger people into questioning,
‘Why should we be single minded and boring? Time to be multi-faceted, just like Titan!’”

Khan fit the bill as Ogilvy borrowed from his own life and work and his need to
constantly experiment and reinvent himself. “Be it Mangal Pandey or Lagaan or Dil Chahta
Hai, Aamir always manages to look different in every role,” explains Mehra. “So we showed
him doing things that were spontaneous, such as exploring places or go-karting.” The idea,
simply put, is to live life to the fullest – with Titan being the instrument of such expressive
liberation.

The film was conceptualised by Mehra along with Amit Akali, Anil Thomas, Kunj
Shah (who wrote the script) and N Ajesh of Ogilvy. In a sense, says Mehra, the spontaneity in
the ad is an indication of Titan’s gradual shift from the old to the youthful (from ‘My Dad’s
Brand’ to ‘My Brand’). “That is the way many categories are moving,” she says.

[ 16]
6.2 The ad making – Aamir Khan

The ad was directed by Prasoon Pandey of Corcoise Films; this is Pandey’s third
Titan film, the earlier two involved Khan and his assistant, played by the late Vihang Nayak.
The first film had Khan confused about which watch to match with each outfit he’s packing
before a trip, while the second film showed him delighting a girl in a mall with a watch. “This
third film has a much stronger script than those two,” shrugs Pandey. “It’s about bringing a
mindset onto the screen with a better celeb-brand marriage.”

Shot entirely in Chennai, the film has been shot in a way that suggests that multiple
locations were used for the shoot, as opposed to one city. “We had fast paced shots to spread
the look of the film,” says Pandey. When asked why Chennai, he quips, “Because it was
raining in Mumbai then!”

Several layers were added to the film. To show the aspirations of children, a young
girl was shown staring at an object and, later in the frame, you see the object is a butterfly –
the girl wants to fly.

“Kids are freer in their thinking than adults and we hope this has been portrayed,”
Pandey says. Even the last frame of the ad, which has Khan dressed as a mock warrior (with
an impromptu utensil serving as his helmet), was made to look like the man had made use of
things lying nearby in a spontaneous way.

6.3 New Collections and Designs

Sonata’s sub-brands
Sonata has launched the Yuva 2008 collection, a series of colourful watches. They are
available in both casual and formal styles to complement the young, new look for college or
office wear. The collection has watches for both men and women at price s starting at Rs 645.
They are available in both gold and steel looks, with both metal and leather straps.

[ 17]
 Sonata, the watch brand from the Tatas, launched the Super Fibre, targeted at the
sub-Rs 500 market in urban, semi-urban and rural India. The watches have been designed
primarily for youth in the 16-30 age group, and will be available in a price range of Rs 275 to
Rs 550. The tag line for this sub-brand is ‘Super Strong, Super Style.’

The company announced 360-degree marketing campaign for the new offerings. It
also unveiled its TV commercial featuring Indian ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, “in a
brand new avatar”.

Titan Raga – Hazel Collection

Titan Raga has launched the Hazel collection, inspired by the hues of nature. Priced
between Rs 2,195 and Rs 4,000, this range comprises five styles with versions in gold, steel
and bi-metal finish. They are available as bracelets and kadas with textured or patterned look
and mother-of-pearl dials.

Octane
Titan has launched the Octane collection of chronograph, multifunction and
retrograde watches for the urban man. The range is described as blending style and
technology. The collection has over 35 styles and is priced between Rs. 5,000 and Rs 7,500.

Nebula Celeste
It is a limited edition collection of jewellery timepieces. They are crafted in 18k white
and yellow gold. Prices range from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 12 lakhs.

Raga Crystals
Titan Industries Ltd has unveiled its new Raga Crystals collection of watches in
Kerala. The two new watches, called Venus and Fairy Dust, are available in yellow metal and
bi-metal versions. Venus is priced at Rs 4,450 and Fairy Dust at Rs 4,750.

Titan’s Stambha
A new ladies Heritage wrist watch ‘Stambha’ signifying fame, prosperity and good
luck was unveiled as part of Heritage collection. MrVijesh Rajan, Regional Sales Manager
(South), launching the watch collection, said that plans are on the anvil to launch one new

[ 18]
collection every month, reflecting the 3000-year old art and cultural history of the country. A
sale of around 7,500 watches has been fixed as a target for this fina ncial year in the Heritage
collection, he added. The prices in the collection range between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000.

Nebula Zeus
It is a mechanical automatic watch in solid gold for men. Priced at Rs.1,10,000, the
limited edition watch (500 pieces) harks back to an older era of luxury and romance.

The Nebula Zeus watch has been crafted using Swiss made mechanical automatic
movement with gold finish and a sapphire crystal back cover. Other features include an
instant start, a second hand stop device for accurate time setting; 42 hours reserve powers and
auto wind convenience. The watch collection was launched by singer and actor, Vasundhara
Das.

Raga Shimmer
It comprises of a collection of exquisitely designed studded watches that complement
both Indian-wear as well as Western-wear. Priced between Rs 2,995 and Rs 4,495, the new
collection comprises watches in gold, steel and bi-metal finishes.

Raga Diva
An exquisite range of watches for women in the Kerala market. Inspired by traditional
Kundan work, this collection has been rendered in a delightfully contemporary form. It is
priced between Rs 4,000 and Rs 10,000.

Titan Nebula – Duet Collection

Titan Nebula, the premium 18K gold watch brand from Titan, today launched the
Duet collection – three pairs of specially crafted gold watches for the wedding season. The
most premium collection for this wedding season was unveiled by popular actor Gul Panag.
Available in mother of pearl dials in both champagne and white options it is priced between
Rs.30, 500/- and Rs.1,35,000.

Suggestions given by the respondents to improve brand image

[ 19]
 Varied responses were received for this question. All the responses have been
summarized as follows:

Introduce more trendy and innovative designs

Focus on niche markets such as working men and women
Spread awareness about availability of watches in lower segments as most of the
consumers feel that Titan brand is synonymous with premium watches.
Take steps to change consumer perception that Titan watches are high priced.
Improve after sales service.

7.2 Findings of the survey

The findings of the consumer awareness survey are listed below:

 72% of the respondents in the age group of 20 – 30 years possess fastrack watch. This
shows that the positioning strategy of these watches has been good.
 Most of the consumers prefer Titan watches for their attractive designs and good
quality. However, there is a misconception about pricing of Titan products among the
consumers. They perceive them to be high priced.
 Logos and taglines are rarely noticed by the watch consumers. Hence, any change in
them also goes unnoticed.
 Advertisement in mass media such as television, newspapers, and magazines are best
means to spread awareness about brand.
 Celebrity endorsement of watches not only increases the visibility of the product but
also gives an assurance to the consumers that it is of high quality.
 Titan watches’ designs are rated as “good” by 78% of the respondents. This indicates
that they are looking forward for more innovative designs to be introduced by the
company.
 Only 50% of the respondents have seen the new campaign launched by Titan watches
in July 2008. This implies that the reach of the campaign in six months has been to

[ 20]
 more or less half of the consumers. However, those who have seen the new campaign
consider it to be effective in conveying the message it intended to deliver, i.e., to “be
more” in lives.
 The after sales service and behavior of sales personnel have been given low ratings
compared to other variables mentioned in the questionnaire with respect to Titan’s
exclusive showrooms.

Conclusion

[ 21]
 The suggestions to improve consumer awareness about brand repositioning strategy of
Titan are as follows:

To increase its visibility, Titan Company can sponsor events similar to fashion shows
in which all latest designs launched are displayed. This would have multiplier effect
as the latest designs launched by the company gets noticed by different segments of
the customers in varied ways.
Tie –up with FM radio channels for reminder advertisements and informing
customers about various sales promotion offers from time-to-time.
Invest more in R&D as customer expectations are changing rapidly. Though Titan has
got more product collections, it should focus on introducing more varieties in already
existing product collections. In other words, having a limited but more depth in
product collections would be more advantageous.
Introduce exclusive collection for working women which is more contemporary and
complements both traditional and western wear.
Majority of the population in India live in rural areas. So, showrooms should be set up
at places nearer to them. Introduce cheaper and rough use watches for this segment.
After sales service has to be improved. That is, the process of servicing and repairing
of watches should be made faster. This can be done by ensuring the spare parts
availability and training all sales personnel in Titan showrooms to undertake these
tasks.
Tie up with international watch brands and make them available locally.
Make use of internet to spread awareness among consumers about the brand.

[ 22]