Company : Pustak Mahal
Brand Analysis Count : 357
Rapidex English Speaking Course is an offbeat brand. A brand which has been in existence for over 15 years has not come into limelight as an example of a good marketing practice.
Rapidex English Speaking Course is a book ( series) from the famous publishing house - Pustak Mahal. This is a book aimed at those people who would lik
e to speak plain spoken English.
I was surprised to find that this book has been in the best seller list for long time. According to the publisher website , Rapidex has sold more than 25 million copies so far, making it one of the most successful book brands in India.
Rapidex English Speaking Course is a book ( series) from the famous publishing house - Pustak Mahal. This is a book aimed at those people who would lik
e to speak plain spoken English.I was surprised to find that this book has been in the best seller list for long time. According to the publisher website , Rapidex has sold more than 25 million copies so far, making it one of the most successful book brands in India.
Its also a unique brand where the publisher has tried to promote this book as a product by carefully crafting all the marketing mix strategies.
The product is a very simple straight forward book. Rapidex English Speaking Course is designed as a self study book published in local language like Hindi, Tamil , Malayalam etc . The aim of the book is to give basic spoken English lessons to the reader.
The target segment consists of those who have education but lack the ability to speak English.
The product priced reasonably at Rs 150 also is in line with the value proposition. This book is often taken by those who are worried about getting a job and want to learn to speak basic English quickly.
The product priced reasonably at Rs 150 also is in line with the value proposition. This book is often taken by those who are worried about getting a job and want to learn to speak basic English quickly.
Pustak Mahal has invested heavily in building this brand. The single column print ads were frequently placed in newspapers and magazines. The tipping point for this brand came when the legendary cricketer Kapil Dev endorsed this course. Kapil was frank in admitting that he benefited from this book. This singe endorsement took the brand sales to new heights.
Another interesting feature I have noticed is that all these years, the brand has never changed its looks. The color schemes and the calligraphy still remains the same. The brand has been able to create a distinct identity by retaining all these brand elements.
The brand buoyed by the success of the English course tried its luck by launching Rapidex computer course. But to my knowledge the extension was not as successful as the parent product.
Now India is seeing a new wave of English language courses. With the Call center boom, new format of language training has evolved and has emerged as a big business. Even in this period, Rapidex is holding on as the first step in the spoken English learning. To keep up with the changing needs, the book also now comes with tutor CDs.
Rapidex is a good example of successful marketing practice. The brand could do more if its able to raise its share of voice positioning itself as the best self study spoken english course available in the market. We already have a culture which consider English learning important. And Indian consumers are aware that the present education does not add much importance in enhancing English speaking skills.
In such a scenario, the relevance of Rapidex brand is as high as in the past.
