Assignment 1 – Case Study

Fevicol – The Iconic Bond

Q.1 How did the brand developed resonance with it’s customers??
A. In its early years most competitors—small-scale local manufacturers of white glue and
multinational brands like Movicol (currently discontinued)—marketed their products through
hardware stores and timber marts. Fevicol, on the other hand, approached carpenters
directly.

 This direct marketing initiative was one of the most successful strategies employed by
the company and helped the brand gain a strong foothold in the white glue market.
 Fevicol introduced Fevicol Furniture Books called “Fevicraft” which showcased
furniture designs with illustrations and measurements. These books helped enlighten
the carpenters on new styles and trends in the furniture market, apart from building
awareness for the brand.
 The company conducted training and activities for carpenters throughout the year to
train them about the product and provided them with an opportunity to interact with
the fraternity.
 The Fevicol Champion’s Club (FCC) was another initiative introduced by the company.
It served as a platform for carpenters to increase their social contacts and be part of a
social network.
 The company went a step further by sponsoring activities to build relations with the
families of the carpenters.
This enabled the company’s sales force to continuously build and nuture their relationships
locally with the carpenters.
Q.2 What steps did fevicol take to build brand equity?

A. The brand has built strong brand equity over the years and is able to achieve so much
success due to its consistent quality, efficient distribution network and CRM practices by the
company.

 The company focused on core benefit. They offered the best product formaulation for
furniture adhesives application. This approach started building confidence among the
users, and gradually fevicol became the benchmark for the “Best Adhesive”.
 The company opted for market/trade friendly policies. The customers related to the
brand as their own.
 Fevicol connected people with humour – it’s advertising campaign used intelligent
humour to convey the message. They used catch phrases in their TV ads like "Dum
laga kar haisya, zor laga kar haisya"; "Fevicol ka majboot jodh hai, tootega nahi" and
 "Pakade rehna, chhodana nahi" which are also used in day-to-day conversation. It
helped the viewers to connect with the brand and the impact was long lasting. Fevicol
and the other brands from Pidilite have received more than their share of space in the
media as well.
 Their print ads very equally humours and catchy.
 Pidilite spent between Rs 10 crore and Rs 15 crore on advertising Fevicol which is not
really a mass consumer product. The primary target consumers for the brand are
interior decorators, carpenters, dealers and architects who can certainly be reached
through more prudent ways. But they believed that besides the carpenters and
architects, it is essential to talk to the household owners who influence the decision
on purchase of adhesives. Also, Fevicol and its brand extensions such as Feviquik,
Fevistic, Fevitite are being used in schools, offices, households and do-it-yourself
segments.

Q.3 Analyse the CRM strategy adopted by the organization?

A. Fevicol’s CRM strategies were very innovative and helped the customers to connect with
the brand.

 The Fevicol Champion’s Club (FCC) was a unique initiative started in 2002. It offered
craftsmen and contractors an opportunity to interact with their fraternity leading to
both professional and social growth.
 The organized a lot of events like – Pilgrimages, Workshops, Competitions where the
contractors and their families participated.
 Most promising events that the conduct every year is the “Shramdaan Divas” – the
participants donated a day of their labour towards repair work of facilities used by the
under privileged and needy.
 They also celebrate “Vishkarma Day” which helped them build a trust among the
labour workers.
 The trust and respect that the brand enjoyed was strengthen by these activities.
Q.4 What market strategies can Fevicol adopt against competition?
A. Fevicol has almost 70% market share in this segment – almost a monopoly. Fevicol has
competitors like JACPL , Asian Paints, etc. Fevicol has a very loyal customer base and only very
price sensitive customers shift to any other brand. Till now Fevicol’s brilliant advertisements
and CRM activities has created a very strong presence for it’s brand. Here are some marketing
startegies that Fevicol could adopt :

 Offering discount for more volume so that even price sensitive customers can buy
fevicol and it’ll somehow push the sales as well.
 Educating people about the superior quality of fevicol even more than earlier.
 To target the direct consumer sales by adopting better packaging and ease of use.
 Adding new products to the portfolio to which the end consumer can relate.
Q.5 Analyse the marketing communication mix adopted by Fevicol, and was it successful??
A. The brand captured the hearts and minds of consumers thanks to its engaging and
humorous Integrated Marketing Communications and its never-dying appeal with the masses.
The earthy humor in Fevicol ads brings a smile to everyone's face. The ads have even made
the clients think of life beyond selling products and ending up connecting with the audience
better. Some of the key marketing campaigns are :

 The "Dam laga Ice haisha" (put all your might into it) television commercial. The brand
advertised heavily during the cricket world cup and IPL season. The brand exposure
increased hugely due to the viewership.
 The Bollywood movie, "Dabangg had a dance number starring two very famous actors
that dramatically emphasized the strength of the Fevicol bond.
 In 2009, Pidilite Industries and O&M got together to celebrate 50 years of adhesives
brand, Fevicol. This culminated in a film entitled "Moochwali". A young girl performed
a male role in a play, wearing a moustache stuck on with a dab of Fevicol. It never
came off. She grew with it, lived with it, and died with it. She even reincarnated with
it and the nation of a billion-plus loved it. It was an irreverent, smart, and funny
advertising that one would not necessarily associate with a BB (or business to trade,
at best) advertising until two or three decades ago. It is what we today call the “Fevicol
kind of advertising”.
 The brand's film involving the overcrowded open bus is a pride of India relates to
everyday life of the common man. The advertising campaigns whether in film or in
print emphasize focus on the strength of the adhesive by a metaphorical
representation.
 For Fevicol Marine, the campaign was so devised that it would communicate the
strength of the adhesive even when immersed in water for longer periods of time.
Wahi mazboot jod, paani mein bhi" (the same bonding strength is also possible under
water) was the tagline.
 Fevicol won the Silver E.MVIE in the Best Ambient Media in 2013-14 category for an
innovative free store activation at a city mall in Mumbai wherein 87 wooden items of
all shapes and sizes were on display. Visitors were offered the opportunity to pull off
any of these items and walk away with it. However, none of the wooden items could
be removed, thereby reinforcing Fevicol as the ultimate and most reliable glue.
 Another publicity event was when Fevicol participated in the Standard Chartered
Mumbai Marathon in 2013, where a group of people wearing the Fevicol branded
shirts were doing a "standing run", which is running on the same spot as if they were
glued to the place. This funny behavior at a marathon attracted huge attention from
all the participants and the media coverage created quite a stir in the press.
 The company believes that talent and ex-cellence are paramount and both should be
rewarded and recognized. A Pidilite Knowledge Series was initiated where leading
architects and interior designers participated and shared their knowl-edge and
experiences with each other. This lead to building stronger customer relationships not
only amongst contractors but also amongst interior designers and architects.
 Fevicol Design Ideas was launched on the digital platform in 2013 with a new website
and a mo-bile application. This website connected home-owners to professionals like
 interior designers and contractors. There are 10,000 interior designers and 15,000
contractors on the website and show-cases approximately 50,000 design ideas.
So, these activities helped Fevicol to create brand awareness and interact with the customers
in a very healthy way such that they could remember the brand.