Case Study

'Revital'ising the brand

Ranbaxy's Revital successfully shifted from prescription to OTC and became a market
leader. Sonal Shukla charts out the transition of the Revital from a Prescription product
to an OTC brand
There is more to Revital than just a combination of vitamins, minerals and ginseng. This
is one of the top brands from the Ranbaxy stable that made a successful transition from
prescription to OTC markets in India. The careful planning and implementation of the
marketing strategy, which had a three fold objective of creating an appeal for the
product, moving away from its serious image, and rejuvenating sales for the product
made the move successful for Ranbaxy.
Ranbaxy chose Grey Worldwide to work on the brand during the transition of Revital
from prescription to OTC. The challenge was to craft an appeal, which would successfully
launch Revital in the OTC segment, by moving from a relatively serious image of Revital,
without alienating the already huge base of loyal user and at the same time energising
the sales curve with new regular users. Ranbaxy entered the OTC segment with Revital
in October 2002 after carefully assessing global trends and market potential.
Ranbaxy undertook an extensive market research to understand consumers and doctors
across urban and rural India to augment insights, to execute a four-pronged switch
strategy for Revital that was foraying into consumer needs through a well-thought
television creative.

iving it up with Revital
Revital is an adult health supplement product and rides high on a
positive health concept giving the user mental and physical vitality.
Revital fits into the users hectic lifestyle empowering them with energy
strength & mental sharpness, enabling them to enjoy life to the fullest,
hence making them live the brand punch line of iyo ee Bhar Ke"
O Grey Worldwide came up with a series of ads for Revital. First
phase of communication had 3 television commercials called
the Wake up ad, the bhangra ad and the Govind ad. Each
sought to demonstrate the pre & post usage and benefit
scenario of Revital, where in intake of Revital helped reduced
all signs of fatigue and weakness.
O The second phase of television ad the Husmukhbhai campaign,
wherein the puppet portrayal of an everyday man named
Husmukhbhai is seen able to make the most out of life even
after a hectic day of work which his friends and colleagues are
unable to because Husmukhbhai is a revital user unlike others.
O The third & the current phase of television commercials is
Testimonial creatives where a man & a woman talk about how
their lives have been enriched with Revital's regular intake
because it has helped them remain active throughout the day.


%he four-pronged strategy
The plan was to leverage the scientific edge into a functional benefit to acquire a huge
part of the OTC pie. This was done through the following four stages:
Shift from a molecule towards a consumer solution: A need gap analysis of the
product presented Ranbaxy with an unmet need of its target audience. Today's lifestyle
is characterized by stress and fatigue and Revital was positioned as a solution, one that
helped in sustaining energy levels and promoting overall well-being.
Building emotional Assurance: In order to develop emotional assurance, the company
had to undertake advertising that would help consumers' to make an informed choice.
This was an assurance that was based on educating him, creating relevance and
familiarity instead of making a blind choice based on prescriptions. Grey Worldwide came
up with a series of TVCs for the same. The first phase of ads looked at creating
awareness about the benefits of Revital, while the second phase of TVCs aimed at
building relevance and moving the product away from a problem-solution image.
The final and current phase of ads focus towards building familiarity and creating a
feeling that many people are consuming Revital today as a part of their daily health
regime. Some of the noteworthy ads are the wakeup commercials, `Hasmukhbhai
commercials and more recent testimonial ads.
Creating brand authority: This involved building channels of trust for Revital both
professional as well as personal. With a view to induce trials, the target customer was
looked at the places where person feels tiredness the most.
A consumer contact program was launched in 75 cities across India. Direct consumer
promotion was done in `anaaj mandis, wholesale food markets, chemist outlets and high
traffic areas where consumers were informed more about Revital and its benefits as a
daily health supplement.
nhancing Accessibility: With an intention to be accessible and available to the
consumers in their moment of need, the distribution network of the company was
expanded. Both pharma and FMCG distributors were brought into the trade ambit of
Revital along with efforts made to make Revital available in more chemists outlets
through enhanced geographical spread and also along side make it available in all kinds
of outlets (chemist and select retail stores). Today Revital is expanding distribution from
chemist outlets to general stores to make it a part of the monthly grocery purchase.
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