Brand Kingfisher

A brand build out of pure passion When the CEO takes interest in the brand and virtually promotes the brand in every occasion, there is so much equity generated on the brand. Mr Mallya takes the brand with him everywhere. Mallya also showed that the primary task for any CEO is to be passionate about the brand

Brand Kingfisher
Kingfisher brand thrived in an environment where liquor/ beer advertising was banned in India. In 1996 the brand become the worldwide sponsors of the West Indies cricket team. But the brand was conscious to keep Kingfisher the star . The West Indies team personified the brand values of fun loving but successful team. The brand directly talks to people who are Easy going, chilled out person who's always willing to take a break and party with the friends.

Brand Kingfisher
Was it right to take a beer brand for promoting an airline & lifestyle TV channels? The famous jingle " Oola la le lo" and the fun filled TVC rightly placed the brand as a fun loving one. The brand sponsors lifestyle events and the Kingfisher Calender has attained a cult status with in 4 years of launch. Kf has its own clothes line and organises many fashion shows all over the globe

Kingfisher Airlines
Kingfisher airlines sold the concept of lifestyle through its glamorous airhostesses, red-the color of vibrancy, and added hospitality which made every passenger feel like a guest on board-a-craft. The brand image of the parent Kingfisher brand gave further credibility to its marketing campaigns, featuring India's then top models. It marketed itself as a budget airline targeting the middle of the market. It used multiple promotional campaigns, from having India's top model Yana Gupta on flight, to schemes on discounted tickets, initially, to invite people to experience the 'good flying' concept.

Financial Turmoil
After acquiring Air Deccan, Kingfisher suffered a loss of over 1,000 crore for three consecutive years. By early 2012, the airline accumulated losses of over 7,000 crore with half of its fleet grounded and several members of its staff going on strike. Kingfisher's position in top Indian airlines on the basis of market share had slipped to 5 from 2 because of the crisis. Dr. Vijay Mallya called on the Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs and offered to pay up the dues by 13 Dec 11, Kingfisher bank accounts were unfrozen on 14th Dec 11.

Has Kingfisher Successfully Understood Customer Needs?

Hierarchy of flyer needs

Understanding needs
A typical LCC customer would have certain basic needs: economy, convenience, comfort and luxury. The fact that the customer chooses a LCC indicates one's sensitivity to price and hence economy seems to be the first basic need. This is followed by a need for convenience, which would translate into wants like punctuality, appropriate baggage handling etc. Following this is a need for comfort, which includes in-flight reading material, food etc. that Kingfisher Red offers.

The lost equity

The negative publicity that hits Kingfisher airlines is really about the pains of the traveler more than anything else. A traveler faced with flight cancellations at the last minute is impacted the most The airline is a service brand that touches the lives of hundreds of people. The beer is a product brand

The lost equity

Has it Ignored Points of Parity and Given Too much Importance to Points of Difference?
While Kingfisher Red has focused on higher order needs of the customer, it has ignored the lower order needs of the customer like economy and punctuality. people expect basic services from Kingfisher like cheaper tickets and adherence to schedules before facilities like free food. Indigo is the most preferred choice of consumers in the LCC segment because it delivers extremely well on the price and punctuality dimensions.

The lost equity

Is Kingfisher Red a Threat to the Kingfisher's Brand Identity?
With Kingfisher Red not really gelling in with the entire Kingfisher portfolio of products and services, the frugality of the brand may impact the brand equity of Kingfisher. After all, Kingfisher Red has tried to match up to Kingfisher in a number of stark areas, for example, the color red itself. Red is the first color that comes to a persons mind when he recalls kingfisher

The damage
Earlier, Jet Airways employees protests against job cuts some years ago didnt do much harm to the brand in the long run. the brand would have been affected if the issues were that involving ethics or credibility but something like a bailout and being cashstrapped will not impact it long-term as people already know that the airline industry is bleeding Consumers have a short memory and Kingfisher Airlines can find solace in that.

The damage
Branding literature suggest that the failure of a brand extension will affect the parent brand only if there is a strong perceived fit or similarity between the extension and the parent brand. In the case of Kingfisher, the similarity is only in the positioning and the categories are poles apart - one is beverage and other is a service. Another instance of the damage to parent brand occurs when there is similarity in the customer groups that use the extension. -Brands and Branding, Lehmann & Keller,2006, Marketing Science

The way ahead..

safely argued that the equity of Kingfisher beer will not be much affected by airline's failure. its a wait and watch policy and the next couple of months will be make-or-break as far as the Kingfisher Airlines brand goes Its important to be transparent and admit folly where folly lies.

The Way Ahead for the King of Good Times

Kingfisher Airlines should focus on bridging its 'points-ofparity' before enhancing its points of differences. It must improve its performance on key parameters like punctuality & air fares and should not introduce points of differences which increase the air fare of Kingfisher Red. While Kingfisher can continue with flashy ads featuring models depicting exuberance and lifestyle, Kingfisher Red ads can be more subtle focusing on safety, comfort & experience. The idea is amalgamate the two ends of the spectrum, to keep the consolidated identify of Kingfisher, while clearly spelling out to customers the differences between its premium and budget classes.

KFA Vs Jet - war for survival.

Jet seems to be working its way out of the current crisis, Kingfisher is in dire straits. High cost and low yields Kingfisher Airlines have reported a loss of Rs 1,027 cr while Jet Airways incurred a net loss of Rs 713.60 cr in the second quarters. The debts have also mounted up to Rs 7,057.08 cr and Rs 13,700 cr, respectively for both airlines. Kingfisher decided to rationalise network, drop unprofitable flights and expedite its fleet reconfiguration.No bailout. Jet is restructuring there debts.

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