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0 INTRODUCTION
With its famous leopard logo, Tiger Balm in all its forms has been a household icon in
millions of Asian homes for over a century. Whether it is traditional balm in hexagonal jars,
heated plaster or strong aromatic formulas has become a natural ingredient for people in
everyday life who want to reduce the pain of external pain especially involving joints.
But despite its popularity to this day, only a few people realize the story behind Tiger
Balm's existence, particularly how the company came to be so successful from its relatively
weak management and marketing experience.
In fact, the transformation from a small home-based business to an internationally
renowned name is through many exciting and rewarding lessons for a business, especially in
relation to the creation of long-lasting assets or brands and involves the reputation and
distribution of brands.
The roots of this Tiger Balm product can be traced to its founding in modern day
Myanmar, later known as Burma, by the Aw brothers who are children of Chinese
immigrants.

2.0 THE HISTORY OF TIGER BALM BRAND

The Tiger Balm story spans several generations in the interior of Fujian province in
southern China. Around the 1960s, it was Aw Chu Kin, the son of a prominent businessman
and herbalist who began accompanying his uncle to the Rangoon city of Burma.
The Aw journey is a long journey that begins in Singapore and through Penang in
Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia). Aw has the opportunity to gain experience and trade with port
workers in both locations and earn more than twice as much of herbs as her homeland.

By 1870, Aw had reached Rangoon and had established a pharmacy called "Eng
Aun Tong" which means "House of Eternal Peace". There, Aw set up a household and
bestowed three male spectators named Aw Boon Leong (Soft Dragon), Aw Boon Haw (Soft
Tiger) and Aw Boon Par (Soft Tiger).

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 Boon Leong died in infancy and Aw died in 1908. The family business was inherited
by the other brothers, Boon Par and Boon Haw. The two siblings then conducted a deeper
study of their family's heritage products that were their father's original recipe and have
adapted it to produce a type of analgesia balm to treat a variety of diseases. Launched in
1924, Booh Haw named the balm in the name of Tiger Balm.

The product is a reference to everyone in the Chinese community in Singapore, Malaya

and Fujian. While Boon Par focused on the business management side, Boon Haw began to
aim to forge a name while increasing its influence. He has donated to charities and schools
as well as founding newspapers throughout Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong. Among the
newspapers originally founded by Boon Haw were Sing Tao Daily and The Hong Kong Tiger
Standard, now known only as The Standard.
Tiger Balm then went through a difficult phase after both brothers died. Boon Par
passed away in 1944 and Boon Haw in 1954. Shortly after it was listed on the Singapore
stock exchange in 1969, Tiger Balm's company was acquired by British conglomerate Slater
Walker, who was subsequently devastated by the economic crisis.

3.0 PR CAMPAIGN FOR TGER BALM

Founder of the Tiger Balm brand, Han knows that managing a legacy brand is not an
easy job in maintaining good performance. The expectation of brands to continue to perform
better in terms of sales and growth is because their brand equity is considered strong. She
realizes that to be competitive, her brand needs to be global and stay relevant to Asian
consumers. It should not be stagnant or irrelevant as consumers change - and new markets
emerge. This means he needs to address complex issues to meet the diverse needs of
segment consumers in the East and West, without losing the Asian heritage he calls Tiger
Balm. The question he faces is where should he take steps to ensure this brand is well-
known in the future? What products, markets, and marketing strategies does he need to
implement to build a network in the eyes of the world?
On that basis, several gerilla marketing patterns have been implemented to make
this Tiger Balm brand famous not only in Asia but around the world.

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 A medicine box with nothing but a bottle of Tiger Balm:
This ad illustrates how Tiger Balm can replace all types of medicines especially pills to
relieve pain.

The giant medicine bottle fell to the ground, but did not contain any pills, and even some
bottles of Tiger Balm were inside. It can be placed in tourist places that many people visit.

4.0 SWOT ANALYSIS FOR THE CAMPAIGN

4.1 Strengths
 The geographic presence in different regions can act as one of the major
strength of the organisation. It determines the business’s reach to the target
market and ensures the easy accessibility.
 The wide product portfolio can allow the organisation to expand the customer
base and offset the losses from one product category with benefits obtained
from the other.

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 Strong online presence on different social networking sites and efficient social
media management can enhance and develop strong relationships with
customers.
 Strong financial position and health can allow the firm to make further
investments.
 Access to the suppliers that offer raw material at a lower cost can improve the
overall business efficiency.
 The locational advantage can improve the competitive positioning of the firm
in various ways, such as- lower cost, improved accessibility or enhanced
brand image.
 The well-developed and efficiently integrated IT infrastructure can improve the
operational efficiency and increase knowledge of the latest market trends.
 Competent and committed human capital can act as a powerful source of
competitive advantage, particularly when business is service oriented in
nature.
 High product quality increases brand loyalty and improves Tiger Balm Brand
Campaign performance in a competitive market.
 Workplace diversity can also act as a major business strength, particularly
when the organisation intends to operate in the international market.
 The horizontal and/or vertical integration can increase the control over whole
value chain, result in improved access to raw material and quick product
delivery to the final customer.
 An organisation may own different intellectual property rights that can make
the product offerings unique and exclusive, making it difficult for competitors
to imitate.

4.2 Weaknesses
 The organisation can draw the criticism from the environmentalists for its poor
waste management practices and inability to integrate sustainability in
business operations.
 The company may lose efficiency due to poor inventory management
practices. The shortage or excessive inventory can either result into
 The cash shortage or insufficient current assets negatively affect the liquidity
position and harms the overall business performance.
 Insufficient budget for the marketing and promotion activities weakens the
firms’ ability to expand the customer base and encourage repeat purchase.

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 Less expenditure on the research and development activities can weaken the
company performance due to poor local/international market knowledge.
 The inability to understand customers’ needs and expectations lead to an
ineffective strategic decision-making process. With this weakness, the
organisation may not be able to identify the potential improvement seeking
areas in product/service mix.
 The prices charged by the business may not be perceived as justified when
compared to the product/service characteristics. It indicates the need to
revise the pricing strategy.
 The poor customer service (such as inefficient customer complaint handling)
can trigger the negative word of mouth about the business and affect
business growth.
 The decision making in the Tiger Balm Brand Campaign takes too much time,
causing expensive delays in introducing new products in the market.
 Poor project management practices can internally weaken the ability of the
organisation to successfully open new branches or expand the product line.
 Lack of organisational commitment and high employee turnover can increase
recruitment costs and reduce organisational productivity.
 High job stress and consequent low workers’ morale makes the workforce
less productive.
 The misalignment between the organisation's leadership style and its core
strategic objectives can make the business organisation directionless.
 Organisational culture also becomes a big internal weakness when it does not
align with the strategic/business objectives. For example, the main strategic
objective of the chosen business organisation is to launch innovative and new
products in the market. But there exists a risk averse attitude prevailing in
organisational culture, which discourages employees from thinking creatively.

4.3 Opportunities
 The exponential growth in the population, and particularly in the existing or
potential customer segments is a great growth opportunity for the business
organisation.
 The changing customer needs, tastes and preferences can act as an
opportunity if the business organisation has good market knowledge.
 The development of new technologies to assist the product/service production
and delivery process can be exploited to embed the innovation in business

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 operations. The advanced technological integration can decrease costs,
improve efficiency and result in the quick introduction of innovative products.
 Rise in the customers’ disposable income and increase in the affluent
customer base can be taken as an opportunity to introduce more high-end
products.
 Reduction in the interest rates makes the fund raising and financing at lower
cost easier for the business organisation.
 Customers may start preferring new and creative products/services as a
result of changing tastes.
 The emergence of e-commerce and social media marketing as a trend can be
a great opportunity for Tiger Balm Brand Campaign if it can ensure strong
online presence on different social networking sites.
 The emergence of new market segments and new niches provide business
and product line expansion opportunities.
 The diminishing boundaries and rising global interconnectedness allow the
organisation to get into the international market; target geographically
dispersed customer base and increased profitability.
 The subsidies provided by the government and other policies to make the
business environment more friendly is a positive external environmental factor
for Tiger Balm Brand Campaign.
 Improvement in the customers- lifestyle and standards mean more
consumption on consumer goods and services, and more opportunities to
encourage the purchase.
 Tiger Balm Brand Campaign can improve its performance by exploiting the
above-mentioned opportunities. However, it must also recognise the threats
presented in the next section.

4.4 Threats
 The changing regulatory framework and introduction of new stricter
regulations impose a major threat to the Tiger Balm Brand Campaign. It
makes compliance with legal standards more complex and challenging for the
business organisation. Inability to comply with changed regulations raises the
risk of expensive law suits.
 Shortage of skilled labour in the market can make it difficult for the
organisation to attract talent with the right skills set.

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  The increasing number of direct and/or indirect competitors affects the
organisation's ability to sustain and expand the customer base.
 The deteriorating economic conditions affect business performance when
they directly influence the customers' spending patterns and purchasing
power.
 The rise in inflation increases the cost of production and affects the business
profitability.
 The growing environmental sustainability trends act as a major threat when
offered products/services are not environment friendly. It draws the negative
publicity and criticism from the environmentalists and affects the brand image
in a competitive market.
 The globalisation pushes the organisation to cross national boundaries and
deal with cultural diversity, which may have a detrimental impact if the
organisation lacks the cultural intelligence.

5.0 HOW THE MEDIA COVERAGE FOR THE EVENT

Most recently, Inception unveiled a new national advertising campaign for Tiger Balm
Brand. The concept is a multi-layered one: At first glance the word “Roar” evokes the
strength, prowess and performance of the tiger in nature, and creates a symbolic connection
with the brand. On a deeper level, the phrase “Roar Back” highlights the healing powers of
Tiger Balm’s herbal blend. It encourages serious athletes, weekend warrior’s active
lifestyles, and everyday people to trust the brand as a safe, effective, pill-free solution for
recovering from the pains that come from intense training, occasional workouts, and daily
life.
The method used by the media in this campaign is to incorporate this brand's
traditional and modern marketing patterns. It introduces several traditional and modern
brand packaging concepts to show the market how the brand is growing.

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 Tiger Balm Traditional Packaging

Taking on the role of those who succeed in developing the brand brand is a concern
and therefore a heavy responsibility to control the market price of this product. Heritage
brands are not as valuable and will not grow unless their quality and strength are
successfully utilized and able to change not only to meet current needs, but also the
changing and competitive future needs of the growing consumer lifestyle.

Tiger Balm Modern Packaging

6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
In expanding brand marketing internationally, organizations need to ensure the
success of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) by focusing on a concept based on
the outside-in, focusing on consumer needs and wants. The concept of external reasoning
can only be practiced if awareness is present in organizations that prioritize proactive

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corporate culture and dynamic marketing strategies. Elements in the potential overlap
between the brand community for Tiger Balm and the cricket sports community could create
a positive relationship with penetrating the global market.
As part of the strategy to increase marketing of health products or health products,
the "Tiger Balm" brand is a sponsor of the "Chennai Super Kings" team in cricket. The
“Chennai Super Kings” team is one of the most famous cricket teams in India and has huge
supporters.
Cricket is the number one sport in India and has the largest fan community in India.
The growing cricket community may indirectly help raise the brand for Tiger Balm products.
Cricket players who have been idolized by fans around the world have helped promote Tiger
Balm products. These sponsorships provide opportunities for review, marketing and
testimonials at the same time and will last for a long time.
Marketing promotions are also given a fresh breath and in the context of the IMC, as
it functions not as a telling and selling process, but rather as a process of communication in
the form of continuous dialogue. This open dialogue process involves interactive
communication and at the same time enhances the listening and learning skills that are
increasingly important in the branding and brand relationship process.
Tiger Balm's products show that the aggressive identity and the spirit of
sportsmanship are high among the Indian community. Tiger Balm is synonymous with the
slogan of 'health, pain relief and fitness' which as a cricket team needs these products as
medical kits or essentials during sports.

7.0 CONCLUSION
Tiger Balm, is a world-leading analgesic drug that works in painful places. A name
believed by many generations to provide care, healing and comfort for nearly 100 years.
With a unique formula made with herbs that are proven to be safe and effective,
Tiger Balm's healing properties and calming release bring balance and balance to modern
busy lifestyles, and provide well-being to the body and mind.
Suitable for young and old alike, this broom remedy has also evolved into a kind of
remedy through modern technological processes such as plaster, oily oil, creams, sprays
and gels that address a variety of needs for a variety of lifestyles.
This study focuses more on the traditional and modern Tiger Balm gerilla marketing
campaign as it was developed into a very popular drug. In addition, we will also discuss in
detail the Swot Analysis for the campaign used by these generations.
Finally we will focus on how the media coverage for the event involving Tiger Balm
advertising and marketing especially popular among the global community.

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REFERENCES

Anon. (1993b). The Complete Volume of Chinese Pharmaceutical Factories. Department of

Health of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing, China.

Bloomberg Businessweek (2015) JCH, Jack Chia Industries (Thailand) profile. Retrieved
from http://www.bloomberg .com/quote/JCT:TB, accessed on Oct 1, 2015.

Cua, G. (1992). Tiger Balm’s comeback trail. Business Times, January 16

Lee, S. H. (1993). A roaring good rub. The Straits Times, August 9

Straits Times. (1990). Tiger Balm man. September 20, p.3

Tan, K. (2008). Manager@Work: The Tiger Balm story. The Edge (Malaysia), November 24

http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?
y=2003&dt=0217&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Ekonomi&pg=ek_02.htm#ixzz5Uj53gbGW

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