Remember that day in primary school when you graduated from using a pencil to a pen? The excitement at getting one step closer to being a grown up? The thrill of that first encounter mostly culminates into a life-long association. Yet, at a basic level, a pen is a utilitarian, if often costly, writing instrument. Unless it’s a special-edition/luxury brand, we take them for granted though we would be lost without them.
So you might think spending millions on the advertising of a humble ball point pen makes little sense. Deepak Jalan, managing director, Linc Pen & Plastics, disagrees. “In an industry marked by a low level of differentiation, it is imperative that the major players strive to create brand differentiation among the potential target audience,” he says, adding, “it is essential for pen companies to advertise and popularise the USP of the product and the brand.”
To keep up the excitement around their brands, manufacturers have roped in popular cine stars and cricket icon — Amitabh Bachchan endorses Parker, Reynolds has Sachin Tendulkar on its roster and Linc is banking on Shah Rukh Khan (SRK)to get its message across. Little wonder, there’s a real buzz in the pen industry and consumers are becoming more and more enthusiastic about what brand they use.
Of course, brand differentiation is not difficult in the luxury pens market. Special-edition pens, pens encrusted with jewels and pens connected to historical figures are a collector’s item, prized possessions meant for flaunting. Linc, however, is focussing on the mass market, demand in which is driven more by availability than brand name.
Taking forward its earlier message — “Linc it. Love it. Move it” — Linc has introduced a new television commercial featuring brand ambassador SRK. The previous ad campaign with the actor showed Linc pens to be part of everyone’s life — be it a student, a road-side Romeo or a super-star; the new commercial, created by the ad agency Squirkle, focuses on SRK the star, showing how the pen has been his constant companion. “The thought behind the current ad is how a pen becomes part of a person’s life,” says Jalan. The tag line, “Zindagi judi hai Linc se”, takes the point further.
As Jalan points out, the writing instrument market is low-involvement and highly fragmented. About 80 per cent of the industry’s revenues in India comes from pens priced up to Rs 20. Linc, with roughly 10 per cent share of the Rs 2,000-crore market, is the second largest player in the country after Luxor. Ball point pens dominate with 70 per cent of the sales, followed by gel pens and fountain pens.
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Talking about their growth strategy, Jalan says, “We believe in doing something different. Our initiatives like having SRK as the brand ambassador or forging tie-ups with the Indian Premier League teams are the first such big-ticket initiatives in this industry.”
The 45-day campaign will be aired on music and lifestyle channels, and some general entertainment channels to reach the target customers (12-35 years).
Linc has pens ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 30 in the mass market segment and the uni-ball range, between Rs 30 and Rs 200, for the mid-market.It has a tie-up with German brand Lamy for a range priced above Rs 500.