| As consumers, we use so many products through our | | | | That’s what audience/consumer judgement is like |
| lifetime. There are some which just remain etched in | | | | – subjective and not always rational. They saw the |
| our memory since childhood. For instance, I don’t | | | | finicky, perfectionist Courtney Cox character as the |
| think anyone has forgotten the Parle G Glucose | | | | only one that fit a mould that they found |
| biscuits with that cute chubby kid on the wrapper and | | | | ‘true-to-life’. They criticized the other 5 |
| she’s still very much around. Another brand which | | | | characters in Friends, for one reason or the other, and |
| had a similar cute kid on its packaging was Amul’s | | | | made that the grounds on which to reject the sitcom |
| Nutramul chocolate milk powder. Now they have a | | | | entirely. Really, what are these people watching on |
| cartoon of a kid trying a karate kick, on it! | | | | television nowadays there anyway? Nothing remotely |
| I decided to make a list of products and services that | | | | real about most of the stuff that gets aired there and |
| have failed to sustain the advantages they had | | | | nowhere as good as ‘Friends’. I’ve watched |
| enjoyed with consumers. Some of them have actually | | | | reruns of this show and never tire of the great scripts, |
| gone and ruined what was a winner in the name of | | | | superb dialogues, effortless acting by everyone |
| making improvements and no amount of customer | | | | (including Jennifer Aniston) all put together with some |
| feedback forms that I’ve filled out, seems to wake | | | | nifty bit of tight editing. No wonder this show ran |
| up their woolly-headed back-office staff! So, these I | | | | houseful for 10 years. So, imagine if some smart studio |
| have definitely rated as products having failed me. | | | | executive had not greenlighted this show, what would |
| I’m wondering if this is some really bizarre strategy | | | | have happened? A waste of wonderful talent would |
| of getting people to notice them anyway? | | | | have been the least consequence of this audience |
| It does give stores some talk-time. I came across this | | | | consumer feedback. |
| video where two citizen journalists (I think) in the US, | | | | I know that yet another good show may have been |
| called Gary and Crystal, talked about how they had | | | | canned (it’s not airing in India at least) for precisely |
| gone to some mall in Chicago to be in time for a free | | | | the same reason. I watched 13 episodes of this new |
| coupon that was being given out to the first 400 | | | | show called Kevin Hill on STAR Plus two years ago, |
| shoppers who walked in. They walked in at 9.00 am | | | | which used to air on Tuesday at 8 pm. It was a show |
| and found the store empty and the store employees | | | | about this good-looking, smart, sassy black man called |
| pretending they didn’t know some such offer was | | | | Kevin Hill, who is a lawyer in a prestigious firm and all |
| on! One guy told them, the coupons were all sold out. | | | | the cases he has to fight in court were almost about |
| Another lady told them, the store had only seen about | | | | problems faced by black people in America. He helps |
| 80 people or so. Both Gary and Crystal then go on to | | | | his community in his spare time as well, doing pro bono |
| talk about how badly the store is managed and how | | | | work. Again, the issues were dramatized well without |
| even the clothes are not displayed well. Crystal finds a | | | | breast-beating about racism and it showed black |
| top-end designer dress marked down but hidden – | | | | people in a wonderful light. All of them pursuing the |
| if you didn’t look hard enough, you would never find | | | | American Dream with spirit and optimism in the face |
| it. She actually says that, may be someone in the store | | | | of personal and professional setbacks. There was no |
| was hoping that she didn’t find it! So, you see, | | | | sign of that show after the initial 13 pilot episodes. How |
| ultimately the store does get talked about. (Hear them | | | | many of you have watched it? |
| here:Shopping Escapades) | | | | The above examples show how audiences |
| Meanwhile, there are some products/services which | | | | consumers can fail to distinguish between good and |
| were good and have still disappeared from circulation. | | | | bad so completely, that atleast in one case, had their |
| I’m wondering if I should have hoarded some of | | | | opinions been listened to, all of us would have been |
| them since I can’t seem to find them anymore and | | | | much worse off. I think people’s opinions should be |
| maybe the big bosses who run these companies, will | | | | asked for but not always taken as the Gospel word |
| finally get the message? Have I failed these products | | | | because if asked to give an opinion, almost everyone |
| in some way? | | | | will express their two-bits worth of advice on ‘how |
| The fact is that sometimes, some products are only | | | | you can improve’ something! The product might be |
| released to test market reactions and then withdrawn. | | | | just great as it is but all this opinion-taking can backfire |
| But how many positive responses do these firms | | | | badly, and a perfectly good product will disappear from |
| need for a product to get a green signal and then a | | | | the market. As an example of this is the black Lux |
| more mass scale launch? Go to the ITC website and | | | | soap – launched recently – but taken off just as |
| you’ll see a range called Superia which is not | | | | quickly. |
| launched on a big scale – either the shampoos or | | | | Anyway, while researching this story, I found out that in |
| the soaps. I think this range is meant for tier 2 cities | | | | the US, there are websites which have done stories |
| and towns but why not the bigger cities? They do | | | | on failed products ranging from Apple gizmos which |
| have a very good shampoo made of hibiscus extracts | | | | didn’t cut ice with consumers to McDonald’s |
| and when I tried it, it felt good on my hair. Ironically, | | | | products which people were not willing to bite into. |
| it’s available in sachets at kiranas (mom-n-pop | | | | How about getting an India list going? By the very |
| grocery stores) across Mumbai but not in the bigger | | | | nature of this article, my list is personal. It might be |
| shops. Lately, I’ve not even seen this hibiscus one | | | | something I’ve actually tried or something that I |
| even at those small stores. | | | | know someone else might have liked – like the |
| Another initiative that was started recently and fizzled | | | | sugar-free cakes. Send me your list (if you like to, then |
| out just as quickly was sugar-free cakes. Not many | | | | state your reasons) to Your list can contain services |
| people were even aware that Monginis – a chain of | | | | as well, that you have enjoyed in the past and are |
| cake shops in Mumbai – did introduce a range of | | | | missing now. This could be like a consumer feedback |
| sugar-free cakes and that people had not taken to | | | | tidal wave…and let’s see who sinks and who |
| them. Again, I wonder which people didn’t like them | | | | swims. |
| because even I heard of this at the cake shop itself, | | | | Products failing Consumers |
| when a diabetic person asked the store owner about | | | | 1. The chocolate Lux soap. Smells nothing like the |
| sugar-free cakes and he in turn mentioned that such a | | | | chocolates I love so much. |
| range had been introduced but no one had liked it. So, | | | | 2. Lemon flavoured Maggi noodles. The flavouring is so |
| were diabetics the ones to shun sugar-free cakes? | | | | indistinct, it felt completely bland. |
| Obviously not. The sugar-free concept has | | | | 3. Moshe’s mud pie. The last time I tried it, it did |
| mushroomed to keep diabetics happy, so they can | | | | indeed taste like mud. They do the best sandwiches |
| continue to have their sugar fix without endangering | | | | and confectionery in Mumbai – don’t let the mud |
| themselves. In this case, who were the customers | | | | pie influence you too much. |
| polled or gave feedback about these cakes? | | | | 4. Birdys sandwiches. They have ruined the quality of |
| There are many such products launched by brands | | | | the bread by introducing something that is a mixture of |
| and then just taken off the shelves. If there is some | | | | white and brown bread with the consistency of rubber. |
| mysterious and small segment of trial consumers, who | | | | Is someone at Birdys testing consumers reactions or |
| are asked to give their opinions, then I know for a fact | | | | consumers patience? |
| that they can get it badly wrong. | | | | Consumers failed these products |
| | | | 1. The black Lux soap. |
| A few years ago, I read this report about how a pilot | | | | 2. The ‘German cake’ and bubblegum ice |
| audience had absolutely panned a sitcom. They had | | | | cream flavours from Baskin Robbins. |
| been invited into a studio to watch a few episodes of | | | | 3. Café Coffee Day’s drink called Chococino. It |
| this show and they had all universally disliked it. They | | | | had one scoop of chocolate ice cream and an |
| had not liked most of the characters (except one) | | | | Espresso shot. It acted like such a mood upper! |
| portrayed and almost all of them said that the | | | | 4. Sweet & Sour flavoured Maggi noodles. Loved |
| characters didn’t resonate with them. Only one | | | | the dual taste explosion. |
| character, somehow, got everyone’s attention and | | | | 5. Akai and Onida. Where has the ‘Owner’s |
| everyone identified with. | | | | pride and Neighbour’s Envy’ disappeared? Low |
| You won’t believe it, if I told you that this sitcom | | | | cost provider of electronics – Akai – could have |
| which almost got canned – and would have | | | | still blazed a trail, if quality and service were not the |
| seriously left me bereft, if that had happened – was | | | | reasons that it shut shop. |
| ‘Friends’! The only character everyone liked | | | | 6. Sugar-free cakes |
| was Monica Gellar. How could they not like the others? | | | | 7. Noga jams. Weren’t these good? |