Himalaya unveils Pure Herbs plan; Grandma conspicuous by her absence

Himalaya's trademark Grandma will be missing from the communication of the company's new product range Himalaya Pure Herbs. agencyfaqs! diehards might recall the story Orchard Advertising, Bangalore, joins Himalaya agency club (December 26, 2001) where we stated that the company is planning a slew of new product launches for which it has taken on the services of Contract, Bangalore, and Orchard Advertising.

As things turn out, the pitch then was for the company's new brand Pure Herbs and there were seven agencies in the fray - Contract, O&M, FCB-Ulka, Orchard, Rediffusion, McCann-Erickson and MAA Bozell. While Pure Herbs was assigned to Contract, Himalaya had also assigned the advertising account of the second range of developmental brands to Orchard. That time neither the company nor the agencies concerned were willing to share details of the new product plan with agencyfaqs!.

Now, Contract is ready to lift the veil off Pure Herbs and its advertising strategy. Launched recently under the healthcare portfolio, the Pure Herbs range comprises 12 products made out of 12 specially selected individual herbs that, according to the company, can be used to solve specific problems. The products are Neem (for skin care), Ashvagandha (anti-stress), Brahmi (for alertness), Shallaki (for joint pain), Tulsi (for cough and cold), Amlaki (anti-oxidant), Arjuna (for blood circulation), Karela (for metabolism regulation), Lasuna (for cholesterol protection), Shuddha Gugulu (lipid regulator), Tagara (for relaxation) and Triphala (bowel cleanser).

Sources peg this account at Rs 2 crore, to begin with. If these products take off well, the account has the potential of going up to Rs 5-crore-plus by the year-end. The Pure Herbs range will be available over the counter in packs of 60 capsules each and will be priced between Rs 45 and Rs 60. The range is positioned on the twin planks of purity and safety with the sign-off line claiming the range is "100 per cent natural, completely safe with no side effects".

According to Dipak Marwah, senior vice-president, Contract Advertising, Bangalore, the advertising strategy of Pure Herbs is based on product truths and consumer beliefs about herbs and forging a connect between the two. "In our research we found that people across India, across SECs, believed that herbs had beneficial properties that were good for them. In fact, a lot of people were aware of and were actually using various herbs in different forms. On the product side, we wanted to communicate that Himalaya was giving the pure concentrate of individual herbs in a capsule. From there, we got the strategy platform ‘Himalaya Pure Herbs. Concentrated goodness of herbs'."

Marwah says that the beneficial properties of products like Neem, Shallaki, Tulsi, Ashvagandha and Brahmi would be used to get an entry into households and then people would be wooed into trying the other products in the range. "We plan to depict the benefit of a particular herb with symbols made of herbs. For example, a hammock for Ashvagandha, a feather for Neem and so on," he adds.

With an eye to appealing to a larger national market, the agency plans to use a judicious mix of television and print. Of course, all this will be sans the garrulous and ‘with-it' Grandma who is so prominent in the advertising of Himalaya Ayurvedic Concepts. The reason, Marwah points out, is that Pure Herbs is an altogether new range and has to prove its point with a unique advertising idea. © 2002 agencyfaqs!