The Journal

When Hammer was assigned the communication challenge, Artech realtors was strugling to make a dent into the market. Asset and Heera were the dominant players in South Kerala with Artech being an also-ran. As we got into our analysis we understood that Artech builds very good apartments with high level of customer satisfaction. And they ensured that the delivery of the finished product was on time. On top of it they had on offer properties at the right locations. These aspects were really bringing a smile on the customers’ faces.

What the brand lacked was a credible and meaningful story to communicate that is in sync with the product offering. Hammer came with a proposition – “Artech – Building Happiness”, and started communicating this story single-mindedly. Over a period of few months the brand started reaping the fruits of this endearing story. In a matter of time Artech became the leader in the South of Kerala and there was no stopping them.

Paragon’s entry into the PU segment was very late. By the time they entered the market VKC, Premire, Fischer, Sketchers etc. had established as lead players. The restricted shelf space at the retail stores was also a big challenge that the brand had to overcome.

With a view to provide a differentiation in the market place, Paragon adopted a segmentation route and introduced three sub-brands to cater to the middle and lower income segments. Each of these segments had various brands and hence the agency proposed clubbing all men’s offering under a group “OFFICE CHAPPAL”. Similarly, women’s wear got branded as Solea and monsoon wear as Paralite.

Hammer takes pride in the successful evolution of ‘Office Chappal’ to ‘Office Footwear’, from “Paisa vasool” to “India Ka Style”. Today Office Footwear is a clearly differentiated offering and a clear leader in many markets.

Solea with a clear positioning as a brand that facilitates noticeability has developed into a strong challenger brand and is creating ripples in the market place.

Today all these sub-brands are successful national players in the respective categories. The communication was predominantly through TV using TV commercials.