"New Nomarks pack focussed on Ayurvedic aspect": Sandeep Verma

Nomarks restages itself with completely new packaging, a new TVC campaign with Tapsee Pannu and launches first-ever AI-technology driven Skin Stress Tool.

With changing times, every brand needs to innovate itself to stay relevant for its audience. Bajaj Nomarks is no exception!

A pioneer in the anti-marks skincare space, Bajaj Nomarks was launched with the benefit proposition of clear and spotless skin. Being an Ayurvedic formulation, it gained market share rapidly in the initial years. Nomarks, however, lost its popularity due to the proliferation of new brands - many of which were steroid-based. Also, there were distribution related issues since the steroid-based brands were retailed through the pharmacy channel in which Bajaj Nomarks lacked a strong presence. Over time the brand also lost its connect with the ever-changing Indian consumer. Bajaj Nomarks needed a new strategy to reposition itself to win in the market.

Bajaj Nomarks' 'Chehre Pe Sirf Shaan' TVC

Understanding this, the brand has restaged itself with completely new packaging and released a new TVC campaign starring Tapsee Pannu. Nomarks has also launched a first-ever Artificial Intelligence (AI) bot aptly named Noma - a skin stress tool (created by BC Web Wise) - on the freshly-revamped Bajaj Nomarks website.

Screengrab of Noma
Click on the image to visit the website

"The brand leveraged on three key trends in the Indian skin care market that helped define its strategy - strong consumer preference for Ayurveda and movement towards safe, non-toxic products; consumers defining ideal skin as not just being fair but also healthy, without any spots or blemishes; and consumers moving from just 'Looking Good' to 'Feeling Good'," informs Sandeep Verma, president - sales and marketing, Bajaj Corp.

The repackaging of the Nomarks brand is to accommodate the complete new proposition which was created basis this new emerging consumer class that is moving away from looking good to actually feeling good.

Sandeep Verma

"Our Ayurvedic credentials needed to become the pivot of this change, which is what this new mix design aims at. The repositioning exercise involved an overhaul of the packaging which is now focused more on the Ayurvedic aspect of the brand," explains Verma.

Nomarks repositioned itself as a modern Ayurveda brand and the new packaging became a key element in strongly communicating this new positioning. "Our focus on being a modern Ayurveda brand is what sets us apart from the other anti-marks products that are currently available in the market," Verma says.

Verma even claims that Nomarks is among the top three anti-marks creams in the country. Being a north-skewed category, sales are predominantly strong in the Hindi-speaking markets. Hence, the brand decided to test the new mix in one state and then scale up the learnings to the rest of the country through a complete brand restage.

"We re-launched a month ago and the response from trade has been very positive. The new look has been very well received by retail and the trade support mix has helped us to achieve record distribution numbers on the brand. We are targeting to become a strong No 2 brand this year, but are hopeful of achieving an even higher market share going by the response received so far," informs Verma.

Through its latest TVC campaign, the brand aims at targeting those ever-striving Indian women who chase their dreams relentlessly. The campaign attempts to resonate with the brand essence of 'Only pride and not marks should show on my face.' And thus goes the tagline, "Chehre pe sirf shaan, no nishaan."

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"The brand believes that marks are a sign/ proof of your struggle in the journey to achieving your dreams. Making dreams a reality demands struggle and grind, which could result in skin stress thereby causing marks. Nomarks promises that it has a potent Ayurvedic formulation that starts working on marks from day one, and helps remove marks from your face giving you clear, spotless skin," says Verma.

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According to Verma, the competition is basically with steroid-based brands which may be able to remove marks in the short-term but may also have lots of side effects - something that consumers should be aware of and concerned about. There is a need gap for an offering that promises safety and efficacy (simultaneously) and this is where Nomarks comes in. The brand also has special sales deployment for the pharma channel in key markets, to ensure availability in the right channel.

But we wanted to know why the brand considered Tapsee Pannu a good selection to carry forward the brand philosophy.

"Taapsee (Pannu) is the epitome of confidence and ambition; something our audience aspires to be and hence was the perfect fit for our brand. The Nomarks woman is also someone who knows that success requires a lot of hard work and that it does not happen overnight but she has the confidence to chase her dreams," opines Verma.

Now, AI for Skincare

BC Web Wise - a digital marketing agency, notable for its extensive digital marketing expertise - has created the first-ever AI technology-driven Skin Stress Tool for Bajaj Nomarks that delivers a skin-stress message at a glance, creating user interest and interaction to know more. The tool is a way to understand how stressed an individual's skin is - basis skin type, sun exposure, water intake, and sleep duration.

While similar tools have been created by skincare brands in the past, this tool is unique in its experience. It does not need the user to scan their face, take a litmus test or press a tissue paper to their skin. It communicates through Noma. "Noma scans through the interaction and using AI, reveals a 'Skin Stress Meter Score', as well as gives the user the root-cause of skin stress. It also provides a customised skincare regime for the user to address the problem. The tool will be promoted through various digital platforms such as social, search and content distribution networks," informs Verma.

Taking the 360-Degree Route

For Nomarks, driving awareness and generating trials is the key marketing task. Hence, the brand has launched a complete 360-degree multi-screen marketing campaign. "While TV, Print and outdoor remains very important to build awareness and drive trials, we are working towards building credibility and preference for Nomarks using digital. We have a unique digital content strategy that focuses on influencers and generating credible, authentic content which will help us establish our expertise in the anti-marks space, apart from a strong search and social media strategy as support," says Verma.

Talking about marketing and distribution challenges, Verma informs that while anti-marks is the fastest growing category in skincare, the category penetration is still very low today and there is huge potential to increase the same. "The key thing for us is to be able to generate awareness and drive trials for Nomarks with this campaign using TV, print, outdoor, and digital. Digital, in particular, will help in building credibility and preference for Nomarks," Verma says.