1.

How many respondents (in %age) exhibit high and low/medium involvement with
regard to the oral care category? How many of them express high and low cognitive
and affective associations with regard to each of the brands?
Ans:

Exhibit 6: Table 2: Only 41 per cent of the respondents expressed high involvement. A
significant number of consumers did not express low involvement with the category, their
responses indicate a moderate to low involvement, since the category was considered daily
essential.

59 per cent expressed a relatively low to moderate involvement with the category and product
benefits.

Exhibit 6: Table 3: 69 per cent of the total respondents had strong cognitive beliefs about
their respective brands, whereas only 53 per cent had strong affective beliefs.

It could be inferred that brands in the toothpaste category have established their functional
benefits better compared to their emotional benefits in their advertisements. Pepsodent is an
example of a brand that uses strong emotive cues in its communication, with the use of
children in humorous settings; however, the other brands, talk about specific functional
benefits of their products.

From the data we can refer that, in the case of niche category having problem solving
function, customers spend time to make their purchase decisions since this is the only
category which provides them with medicinal benefits, they want to involve more in
purchasing decision. While for others categories, the involvement is low. But here "low"
doesn't mean extremely low involvement while making purchasing decisions. Protection
against cavities was also rated as important, possibly because cavities are a common
manifestation of poor oral care and require expensive and painful treatment. A similar
problem that led to greater involvement was toothpaste that could prevent pain when eating
hot and cold things. It can be inferred that although the consumer might not be aware of core
oral care problems such as plaque, tartar, gingivitis, and periodontal diseases, they
acknowledge and try to prevent the more visible or directly experienceable aspects of these
underlying ailments which increases their involvement.
The set of statements in Exhibit 5: Table 1: Key drivers by which category involvement
was expressed at the total category level. The mean values in the last column are directionally
indicative of levels of involvement.

Although the mean values for category involvement items such as Toothpaste is essential for
me and Toothpaste is beneficial to me indicate high levels of agreement, consumers across
categories also expressed a strong inclination towards the feeling Toothpaste is mundane to
me. This indicates that although consumers use this category regularly and
acknowledge that it is an integral part of their lives, they feel that this product (and possibly
other related products like toothbrushes) may not get them involved, given the low perceived
risk in the oral care category.

Other drivers of category involvement presence of natural ingredients in the toothpaste may
or may not be manifested in individual segments or map on exactly to the attitude towards a
brand. This probably indicates that there might be a relatively low level of awareness of the
segment and the benefits of natural/herbal toothpastes. Hence, although a large percentage of
the consumers might have expressed this as a key category driver, they did not use products
that were necessarily natural.
In the freshness category, apart from the category drivers that were highlighted earlier,
certain cosmetic benefits were highlighted as important. These include the need for
toothpaste to taste good and the importance for the toothpaste to give one a dazzling smile
and whiter teeth. Some of these could have been derived from the awareness of this
categorys typical brand communication and others by product features such as cooling
crystals that add to the taste and flavor. The drivers for the herbal category were in line with
the overall benefits and the brands unique proposition of using natural ingredients.

2. How does low category involvement affect brand attitude? Explain the
inconsistencies in those instances where brand attitude overwhelms category
involvement.

Ans:

In certain segments, for some consumers, the brand attitude may be relatively strong on
cognitive and affective beliefs despite low category involvement.
Exhibit 6: Table 5: The percentages of such consumers by segment. Exhibit 5 provides the
mean values, which allows a better understanding of the connection between category drivers
and attitude statements, and helps explain the inconsistency in those instances where brand
attitude overwhelms category involvement.

1. Freshness segment: 66 per cent of the low-involvement consumers had a high brand
attitude. This can also be examined in the key involvement parameters and the top
attitude drivers. Although theirs was a freshness brand, the important category drivers for
these consumers did not match their highly rated brand benefits (freshness, confidence
to come closer, etc.). However, both these key brand benefits were strongly associated in
the cognitive and affective attitudes of these consumers towards the brand as indicated by
the average values.

2. Herbal segment: Less than half the consumers who had low category involvement in this
segment had high brand attitude. The top averages were for category drivers that were in
line with the brand benefits, although the consumers gave more importance to natural
ingredients rather than specifics such as herbal or Ayurvedic. The importance given
to healthy teeth and gums was also relatively high in the association with brand (cognitive
belief section); similarly, aspects such as feeling in control and protected by an expert
had high scores in affective associations in line with brand communication. Hence,
involvement was mostly consistent with attitude. this segment.

3. Overall oral care segment: Similar to the herbal segment, this segment had only 46 per
cent of low involvement consumers expressing high attitude towards the brand. Category
drivers such as cavity prevention and healthy teeth were in line with the cognitive
beliefs for the brand. However, some other benefits that this brand did not primarily offer
were also category drivers. Certain drivers that the brand consistently used in its
communication (recommended by dentists, can reach where a toothbrush cannot
reach, decay protection, etc.) were relatively low on cognitive beliefs. Overall, the
affective beliefs for this segment were also low, indicating that although there was low
category involvement, brand attitude did not trump it significantly.

4. Niche (problem-solving segment): 89 per cent of the low-involvement consumers in this

segment expressed high brand attitude. The problem-solving nature of this segment
indicates that even when consumer involvement is low, the brand comes out strong on the
merit of its distinctive superiority and its impact on the consumers mind. Cavity
 prevention, healthy teeth, and protection from sensitivity rated high in this segment;
therefore, involvement was clearly in line with the problems faced by the consumer.
Although other beliefs existed for this brand, all the key cognitive and affective drivers
that the brand strived to achieve in its consumers minds were well entrenched.

3. What should the positioning dimensions of Himalaya be and how it can be

differentiated? How can Himalaya create an attitude towards its ads / brand to
convey the differentiated position.

Ans:

Himalaya has successfully differentiated itself from a lot of other brands by targeting its
communication towards all adults, rather than focusing on households with children. By
speaking to adults, Himalaya is looking at a slice of the market that is not really targeted by
the other brands.

Emotional benefit based on existing cultural orientation of the brand :The concept of
using the imagery of adults is very unique, and is even more powerful when it is linked to the
concept of food consumption. The love of food is a very strong Indian concept. Himalaya has
taken a very strong first step in distinguishing its positioning, by occupying the space of love
of food.

Target audience differentiation: Himalaya has successfully differentiated itself from a lot
of other brands by targeting its communication towards all adults, rather than focusing on
households with children. By speaking to adults, Himalaya is looking at a slice of the market
that is not really targeted by the other brands.

Exhibit TN-1, Suggested Positioning for Himalaya Dental Cream, summarizes these
observations.

1. Himalaya needs to convey its functional benefit (preventing dental problems) through
rich imagery involving adults. This kind of lifestyle imagery needs to have love of food
as its theme.

2. Himalaya also needs to ensure that the lifestyle imagery portrayed stays within the
permitted limits. This can be observed from Exhibit 2 in the case study, where the
intention to kiss is strongly conveyed by the romantic theme, but the act itself is not
overtly shown (roses are used strategically to hide the couples from view). Such cultural
 sensitivity in the Indian context, which has become more permissive than earlier, still
needs to be taken into consideration.

3. Supplementing the brand with the HiOra line As was highlighted earlier, there is still an
opportunity to drive the category, educate the consumer, and strengthen the brand on the
points of high receptivity, through HiOra, Himalayas premium range