TITAN MARKETING STRATEGIES

Titan Marketing Strategies



Titan Marketing Strategies

Introduction

Titan, a Tata group company entered the watch market in 1987. Since then it has developed into one of the most recognized brands in India. In fact, in a recent survey conducted by A&M, Titan emerged as the top brand in the consumer durable segment.HMT, the undisputed leader of the wristwatch market before Titan's entry completely neglected the quartz watch segment. Titan successfully filled this gap. Its wide range of designs, high profile advertising and distribution network helped it gain a substantial market share in a short span of time. The Titan brand was essentially positioned as a premium brand. As a result the lower segment was left uncovered. After it entered into a joint venture with Timex, it made inroads into this segment too. Internationally, Timex is seen as a mid-priced quality watchmaker. Its association with Titan in India led to wrong segment targeting. Here, the middle and higher income groups were buying its watches. In 1998, this association came to an end erasing Titan's presence in the lower segment. Since then, it has launched the Sonata range of watches that is in direct competition with the Timex range (Anderson, 1999, p. 40).

These watches are priced between Rs 800 to Rs 7500. If Titan misses an opportunity to attack itself, it can often recover simply by copying the competitive move. They projected the watch as a fashion accessory. 2) "Strong competitive moves should always be blocked" Most companies have only one chance to win, but leaders like Titan have two. 4000 Lower segment: The Sonata and Exacta range caters to this segment. However this strategy can be applied mainly to the lower range or digital range of Titan's watches, as the concept of 'class' remains constant over a period of time. In other words, Titan should strengthen its position by introducing new products that make obsolete its existing ones. The different market segments that it targets include: Upper premium segment: This range includes Tanishq and a new brand (soon to be launched) , Phillipe Charriol. All watches are highly water resistant, ranging from 50m to 100m. Specialty segments: These are special segments that tend to overlap with the others, because they are not mainly differentiated on the basis of price (Rindfleish, 1997, p. 45).

Discussion and Analysis

In order to Understand the Indian customer's psyche, Titan has been reaching its present position of strength. The company today has a model for every price segment and every market, urban and rural, regional and international. Within the Titan mother brand are Nebula, which comes draped in 18-carat gold; the exclusive Insignia; PSI, for those turned on by technology; and Raga, which has been considered exclusively for women. Titan's focus has always been on India. Research reveals some interesting facts and figures about this diverse market.

The Indian market is estimated at 25 million watches a year, with 50 per cent being sold by the organized sector. Titan is the runaway market leader, with domestic sales of ...