A case study on Marketing Strategies of Fevicol

Abstract

This article will provide the reader a detailed case study of the brand Fevicol. Fevicol have experienced several changes in its marketing strategies since its inception. The article will also try to break down the cardinal reasons of the changes in its marketing strategies and promotional tools of marketing in the context of society, media, culture, economy, politics and more. For this, the paper has been divided into distinct sub-topics. The article will also deal with the innovative strategies adopted by Pidilite, the parent company of Fevicol, to enable an industrial product like Fevicol to carve out a niche as a top consumer brand in both the urban as well as rural markets in India. It also discusses the future outlook of the company to retain its dominating position in the Indian market in the light of increasing competition from multinationals and the unorganised sector. 

                                                       

Fevicol, the Beginning

Fevicol is an adhesive, glue, and sealant industry that was established during the year 1959 in India by Pidilite Industries Limited. It is marketed as primary usage white glue for carpenters in woodworking, with secondary applications in upholstery, flooring, and footwear in households. Sold in its signature blue and white packaging, this legacy brand is a generic name in the adhesive category in India, and is a familiar sight in most households. The name ‘Fevicol’ was inspired by a ‘German’ word ‘col’ meaning anything that bonds two things. 

History

Balvantray Kalyanji Parekh

The company that owns Fevicol is Pidilite Industries Limited and was founded by BK Parekh in 1959. The company initially was started as Parekh Dyechem Industries in 1954 and manufactured dye, industrial chemicals and pigment emulsions. Parekh was earlier in contact with German firm ‘Fedco’ that also manufactured white adhesive called ‘Movicol’ and had its company stocks. He too began manufacturing adhesive white glue and named it ‘Fevicol’. The first manufacturing plant was set up in Kondivita, Mumbai in year 1963. Since then it has become a generic household name in the White adhesive & glue industry.

The carpenters earlier extensively used animal glue, starch or nails for their carpentry items and this was the major test for Pidilite of Patience and perseverance to get the product accepted by the carpenter community.            

To increase their popularity and brand recognition, the company decided to develop a logo for Fevicol and contacted PN Sharma, head of Ogilvy and Mather (O&M), a leading advertising industry in India to do the part. The idea was to convey the message of the product i.e. “the strength of adhesion” through its logo. After several rounds of discussion they finalized the iconic logo of two elephants (facing opposite directions) together pulling a plank of wood between them (Nair, 2019).

In 1975, the company launched its bi-monthly Black & White book of carpentry designs, ‘Fevicraft’ and started sending it to various carpenters. It increased the skills of carpenters to make different antique designs and soon it became very popular among them, helping them acquiring more contracts, thus making the product Fevicol famous with it (Saxena, 2009). Today the company runs more than 30 brands under its name like Rangeela, steelgrip, Dr Fixit, Fevikwik and many more under which Fevicart also publishes its Fevicol Furniture books in attractive and more upgraded form. Its products includes, Textile & Paper Chemicals, Industrial Resins, Leather Chemicals, Industrial Adhesives, Footwear Adhesives, Industrial Bonding Solutions, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul. Due to the strong brand equity, the brand was able to make inroads in the consumer segment selling Fevicol MR for art and craft needs of individual customers. The product was sold at stationery shops as a bonding solution for art and craft needs. It could bond cardboard, thermocol, fabrics, wood, plywood, etc. It had strong bonding and was ready to use and non-staining. This ingenious Idea gave customers an opportunity to experience the strength, reliability, and ease of use of the Fevicol adhesive.

The Business is divided into various divisions handling adhesives, sealants, art material & stationary adhesive, construction chemicals, pigments, synthetic resins, etc. Out of these the adhesive and sealant is the largest business contributing to 65% of the company’s revenue. The brand Fevicol falls under adhesive and sealants division and is sold in varying pack sizes. This division’s product is also sold in over 50 countries.

Marketing

The furniture industry in India was on loose in those times, there were no presence of companies who’d sell already built furniture and it wasn’t famous among Indians as well. Most White glue competitors, comprising of small scale local manufacturers & multinational brands like ‘Movicol’, marketed their products through timber markets & hardware stores whereas Fevicol drew a strategy of Direct Marketing and approached the carpenters directly rather than retail sale. This helped the brand gain a strong foothold in the white glue market.

To further strengthen the brand name with carpenters, the company launched the FCC (Fevicol Champion’s Club) initiative where it served as a platform for carpenters to increase their social contacts and be part of a social network. Demonstrations on new product usage and queries on existing products are solved at the FCC meet by the sales person. This Inculcates a sense of confidence about the usage of the new product amongst the users who ultimately then land up buying it for the use in their wood work.

The R&D of Pidilite launched innovative brand extensions for Fevicol. One of them being Fevicol Marine which had an exceptional bonding strength and was an ideal adhesive for bonding wood, plywood, laminates, veneers, particle board, kitchen units, wall units where exposure to water and humidity was high. Apart from these, they also organised free dental check-ups, blood donations camps and celebrated festivals as well. At current there are around 380 such clubs which have over 40,000 members.

In 1970, Fevicol was launched in multiple packs to cater to various contractor requirements. This period also saw the creation of the 30-gram collapsible tube, which made its way to stationery pouches and office drawers. Once the stage was set, Fevicol was poised for expansion. The years that followed 1990, saw it nose-deep in the creation of specialized variants. Fevicol also engaged in building programs with carpenters during this time. In 2002, Pidilite decided to revamp the packaging of the brand, Fevicol. The original design Fevicol was changed once in the 80s. This was the first major change thereafter. To increase the vibrancy of the brand, Mr Amulya Baruah of Plus One Design, was hired to give it a new look. This meant a revamp of the design of the pack as well as the logo along with that there was a total revamp of the container which gave the product an entirely smarter and sleeker look with a stronger handle, making it easier to carry a bulkier pack. The essence of the brand and the brand extensions continued to focus on changing consumer preference, and hence, were successful and gained market popularity.

Advertising

Ogilvy and Fevicol, both enjoy their unbreakable bond. Barely with dialogues, Fevicol commercials conveys its point with strong humorous storyline and an equally strong background score. The famous commercial of an overcrowded bus which had people sitting all over vehicle had no dialogue just a simple message at the back of the bus ‘Fevicol – The Ultimate Adhesive’ emerged as one of the most memorable ads.

In the time of 80s and 90s when print was flourishing throughout the country, Fevicol had to think through an out of the box communication. Although, their presence has been very less in print but has been significant. The earlier ads (India map and Tree ads) had a mass appeal but the newer ones (Magnets and Cut Copy ads) although extremely witty fail to be understood by the not so educated consumers in the country.                    

                             

Piyush Pandey, the current Executive chairman of Ogilvy but an accountant of Ogilvy in creative team back in 1990s came up with a 10 sec concept for a tug-of-war ad for Fevicol, with a chant of dum laga ke haisha and in 1997, Fevicol released its first Television Advertisement that featured filmmaker Raj Kumar Hirani.

Ogilvy and Mather had been fevicol’s first choice for its commercials since the first logo designed by them.

“Their advertising has always been non-urban, quirky and had a typical heartland feel to it. The early Fevicol ads including the tug of war, egg or the bus commercial had a very Hindi heartland feel to it which helped established the brand amongst its target consumers”. (Parameswaran, 2019)

Several Fevicol commercials have left an impact on Indian peoples mind and made it memorable. Some of them are ‘Egg’, ‘Vagabond’, ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, ‘Moochwali’, ‘Bus’ and ‘Train’ spots.

Later, as the social media began to boom in India, Fevicol also started using topical and quirky creatives on digital media, including platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, to further enhance its iconic imagery on creative advertisements among younger audience.

Fevicol surprised the fans of Game of Thrones when they published an Ad with quote “I wanted those Elephants” and Fevicol logo below. The quote is a famous dialogue of Game of Throne’s first episode of the final season. Thus, promote its ‘Mazboot jod’ proposition in context of these topics and stay relevant amongst the younger consumer base.

In 2004, 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.

Last year in August Fevicol unveiled a new campaign to celebrate 60 years of its operation around the world. It capture the Fevicol’s Journey over the years in its humorous fashion.

Fevicol enjoyed their mention in several other categories as well like the ‘Fevicol Se’ song of movie Dabanng 2. The brand also got its recognition when PM Narendra Modi quoted "Yeh Fevicol se bhi Mazboot jod hai (this bond is stronger than that of Fevicol)" referring to Indo-Japan relations and again in march 2019 he said while holding a rally before the lok Sabha elections in 2019 Corruption is the Fevicol which binds the opposition in mahagathbandhan. The newspapers like the economic times which take special care not to mention the brands name in their stories were forced to mention Fevicol two times in just sixteen words when the Prime minister mentioned Fevicol while showing the relations between the two countries. (PTI, 2014)

Conclusion

From working as a peon to building multi-billion dollar Empire, Pidilite founder, Balvant Parekh’s success story was no less than Rags to Riches. He gave a lesson on how to find a problem in market and fill that gap to achieve new milestones. Understanding the consumer’s need and targeting the appropriate audience with proper tools can help a company grow in their respective field. Fevicol’s advertisement were seen with such contrast and humour that switching channels when it appeared on TV screens was a thing of past. The humour is a constant feature that entertains even after repeated viewing and discourages people from switching channels. It is an adhesive brand and its qualities are communicated very effectively through symbolic instances.

Bibliography

Nair, P. (2019, May 15). Fevicol: The ‘gluing’ journey. Retrieved from Brandequity.com: https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/fevicol-the-gluing-journey/69327544

Parameswaran, A. M. (2019, August 28). (S. Tewari, Interviewer)

PTI. (2014, September 3). PM Modi concludes successful Japan visit, leaves for home. Retrieved from Economic Times: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pm-modi-concludes-successful-japan-visit-leaves-for-home/articleshow/41584558.cms

Saxena, R. (2009). Creating a strong brand- The Fevicol Way. In R. Saxena, Marketing Management 4E (p. 303). New Delhi: The McGraw-Hill Companies.