Advertising and Promotion of different FMCG brands in India

Promotional Strategies of different FMCG brands in India [By Rohit Gupta] MBA – IB 2009-‐11

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Promotional Strategies of different FMCG brands in India

Index Contents Introduction Sales Promotion – Ponds Case Major methods of Advertising Rural Promotion and Advertising – Tiger Biscuit and Parachute Case Promotional activities in 2009 HUL (Hindustan Unilever Ltd.) GCPL (Godrej Consumer Private Ltd.) Segment – ORAL CARE - Colgate - Pepsodent - Close up - Babool - Anchor White Segment – SOAPS - Dove - Lifebuoy - Dettol - Lux - Medimix - Cinthol Segment – WASHING POWDERS - Surf excel - Nirma Fair and lovely ITC Biscuits Cornetto Ice cream Axe Deodrant

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Page no. 3 5 6 8 9 12 14 14

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39 44 48 49 49


Introduction The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is also a rapidly evolving one, where companies have to literally ‘move fast’ to ensure they are ahead of the competition. While advertising and promotion costs are high, companies have to frequently launch new products to expand their market share. Leading FMCG players have a vast portfolio of products and brands that keeps growing by the day. The Indian financial year starts in April while as the peak consumption season – both for agricultural and consumer products in India is in the post-monsoon phase beginning October. This also coincides with the festive season and manufacturers and retailers come out with several attractive offers and schemes for consumers. Rural India is flush with cash following the monsoon, and consumers are inclined to spend a great deal more during this period. For many FMCG companies a large chunk of their revenues – up to about 60 per cent – comes from new product launches. Companies like Dabur, ITC, Britannia Industries, Nestle and Amul are among those, which are currently unveiling dozens of new products in time for the peak consumer season. Leading FMCG firms like HUL, ITC, Nestle, Procter & Gamble and GlaxoSmithKline Healthcare – which account for almost 70 per cent of FMCG revenues in the country – spend almost 10 per cent of their turnover on advertising and brand promotion. They also focus a great deal on new product launches. With growing competition in the sector, it is natural that ad spends keep rising. Unlike the manufacturing sector, FMCG is not capital-intensive, but expenditure on promotions and branding is huge. FMCG players also have to diversify into other sub-sectors to ensure continuous growth. For instance, leading companies are now briskly expanding their presence in the bakery segment, enhancing their product portfolios by launching new brands. ITC, Britannia Industries, Amul and even a relatively smaller player like Gujarat-based Rasna, are currently unveiling new campaigns relating to their bakery product launches. The promotion strategy includes tying up with top Bollywood actors and other celebrity brand ambassadors, besides going in for high-profile launches at leading retail malls and outlets. 3


Sales Promotion A sales promotion strategy is an activity that is designed to help boost the sales of a product or service. This can be done through an advertising campaign, public relation activities, a free sampling campaign, a gift campaign, a trading stamps campaign, through demonstrations and exhibitions, through prize giving competitions, through temporary price cuts, and through door-to-door sales, telemarketing, personal sales letters, and emails. The importance of a sales promotion strategy cannot be underestimated. This is because a sales promotion strategy is important to a business boosting its sales. While developing a sales promotion strategy for the product it is important to keep the following points in mind- Consumer attitudes and buying patterns, Brand strategy, Competitive strategy, Advertising strategy, and other external factors that can influence your products, availability and pricing.

Sales Promotion strategies There are three types of sales promotion strategies: 1:-A push strategy 2:-A pull strategy or 3:-A combination of the two A 'push' sales promotion strategy involves 'pushing' distributors and retailers to sell your products and services to the consumer by offering various kinds of promotions and personal selling efforts. The basic objective of this strategy is to persuade retailers, wholesalers and distributors to carry your brand, give it shelf space, promote it by advertising, and ultimately 'push' it forward to the consumer. Typical push sales promotion strategies include; buy-back guarantees, free trials, contests, discounts, and specialty advertising items.

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For Example: Ponds Cold Creams Pond’s offer different cash discounts to the retailers for different quantities. 2% discount on 10000 Purchase 3% discount on 15000 4% discount on 25000 or Ponds offer A PVC jar Free on Purchase of 100 (100gm) Cold Cream. A 'pull' sales promotion strategy focuses more on the consumer instead of the reseller or distributor. This strategy involves getting the consumer to 'pull' or purchase the product/services directly from the company itself. This strategy targets its marketing efforts directly on the consumers with the hope that it will stimulate interest and demand for the product. This pull strategy is often used when distributors are reluctant to carry or distribute a product. For Example: Ponds offer low introductory prices to the customers like in case of their new product AGE MIRACLE, They give some complementary gifts. A 'combination' sales promotion strategy is just that; it is a combination of a push and a pull strategy. It focuses both on the distributor as well as the consumers, targeting both parties directly. It offers consumer incentives side by side with dealer discounts

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Advertisement Advertising is the means of informing as well as influencing the general public to buy products or services through visual or oral messages. A product or service is advertised to create awareness in the minds of potential buyers. Some of the commonly used media for advertising are T.V., radio, websites, newspapers, magazines, bill-boards, hoardings etc. As a result of economic liberalization and the changing social trends advertising industry has shown rapid growth in the last decade. Advertising is one of the aspects of mass communication. Advertising is actually brand-building through effective communication and is essentially a service industry. It helps to create demand, promote marketing system and boost economic growth.Thus advertising forms the basis of marketing.

Major methods for advertising E-mail messages: These can be wonderful means to getting the word out about the business. In this we design a e-mail software to include a "signature line" at the end of each of our e-mail messages. Many e-mail software packages will automatically attach this signature line to our e-mail, if we prefer.

Magazines: Magazines ads can get quite expensive. Find out if there's a magazine that focuses on your particular product. If there is one, then the magazine can be very useful because it already focuses on your market and potential customers.

Newspapers: Almost everyone reads the local, major newspaper(s). You can get your business in the newspaper by placing ads, writing a letter to the editor or working with a reporter to get a story written about your business.

Radio announcements: A major advantage of radio ads is they are usually cheaper than television ads, and many people still listen to the radio, or example, when in their

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cars. Ads are usually sold on a package basis that considers the number of ads, the length of ads and when they are put on the air. . A major consideration with radio ads is to get them announced at the times that your potential customers are listening to the radio.

Television ads: Many people don't even consider television ads because of the impression that the ads are very expensive. They are more expensive than most of major forms of advertising. However, with the increasing number of television networks and stations, businesses might find good deals for placing commercials or other forms of advertisements. Television ads usually are priced with similar considerations to radio ads, that is, the number of ads, the length of ads and when they are put on the air.

Web Pages: You probably would not have seen this means of advertising on a list of advertising methods if you had read a list even two years ago. Now, advertising and promotions on the World Wide Web are almost commonplace. Businesses are developing Web pages sometimes just to appear up-to-date.

Special events: These tend to attract attention, and can include, e.g., an open house, granting a special award, announcing a major program or service or campaign, etc.

Promotional activities through Media Articles that you write: Is there something in your product about you having a strong impression? Consider writing an article for the local newspaper or a magazine. In your article, use the opportunity to describe what you're doing to address the issue through use of your product. For example we do get good examples of product based articles in tribune, where sometimes products also compared.

Press kits: This kit is handy when working with the media or training employees about working with the media. The kit usually includes information about your business, pictures, information about your products, commentary from happy customers, etc.

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Rural Promotion and Advertising In country like India, where the 70% of the people live in rural area, the rural market holds a lot of marketing potential. There is a wide spread difference in the standard of living between urban and rural India. In order to launch products and develop advertising for rural market there is a need to understand both the rural context and also the consumer very well. Promotion of brands in rural markets requires the special measures. Due to the social and backward condition the personal selling efforts have a challenging role to play in this regard. The word of mouth is an important message carrier in rural areas. Infact the opinion leaders are the most influencing part of promotion strategy of rural promotion efforts. To communicate effectively with rural audiences, it is important to understand the aspirations, fears and hopes of rural customers, in relation to each product category, before developing a communication package to deliver the product message. Hence, there is a strong need to build reassurance and trust about product quality, service support and company credentials in the minds of rural consumers. This is best done through the faceto-face 'below the line' touch, feel and talk mode at haats, melas and mandis. Language and regional behaviour variations should be considered while developing rural communications strategy. Although the reach of television in rural India is high, frequent power-cuts restrict viewing time considerably. With the licensing of FM channels to cover all district headquarters, the power of radio to deliver a localized message in a local language will soon be available to advertisers as a cost-effective way to reach rural masses. Rural India has a very high ownership of transistor radios and as these run on batteries, radio can once again be expected to become a popular medium for reaching rural masses One of the most popular and widely accepted Marketing Myth is that the rural consumers will only buy really cheap mass market brands. But the stark reality is that though brands like Nirma lead, but penetration of premium products has also been observed even to the lowest SEC (socio-Economic Classification). The percentages may be very small, but given the large universe, the actual figures may be significant. Thus when we are aware of the fact that brands like Nirma, Tiger biscuit, Parchute oil rule the rural market, it would be interesting to study and analyse their basic marketing inputs.

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For Example A) Tiger Biscuits: Britannia has entered in to the rural market by participating in rural melas and displaying its down market brand Britannia Tiger Biscuits. These rural melas and weekly haats have become more popular medium of rural advertising by the media planners. Apart from stockists and substockists, Britannia has used traditional haats and melas to promote the Tiger brand. It has made the ongoing Kumbh Mela a major promotion and sales outlet. Whenever they come to know of a major mela or haat, they ensure that their brand is stocked in large quantities. There are hoarding, which are put up by the company in the rural areas. The hoardings are mostly put up with complete information regarding the product. The information is given in the local language in order to let people know about the product. The hoardings also have the mascot tiger which emphasises a strong healthy individual. T.V. The various ad campaigns throughout the country are done by preparing a single advt but the language in which it features is according to the regional language of that state. The ads include famous personalities like Saurav Ganguly. The ads mainly focus on the children and emphasise a strong diet for a healthy mind and body. School children in rural areas are often given small packs at a confessional rate and at times they are distributed as free samples B) Parachute Oil: With the objective of creating awareness for Parachute Coconut Oil pouches in towns with less than 20,000 population in Tamil Nadu, and in order to convert loose oil buyers into Parachute pouch customers, Marico Industries launched a van campaign. The communication Strategy focussed on getting women out of their homes to participate in the van campaign, which was aimed exclusively for them and for the first time conducted by women. Result - A study by

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Marico showed a 25per cent conversion from loose coconut oil usage to Parachute Pouch Pack, post van campaign and a substantial increase in sales from the campaign areas.

Promotional Activities in 2009 Hindustan Lever, the fast moving consumer good giant has reduced promotional offers in 2009 as it focused on profitability at a time when volume growth was back. Hindustan Lever which has launched a slew of offers in year 2008, like the 'buy three, get one free' offer on the Rs 75 multipack of Lux, which is its second largest selling soap brand has withdrawn the offer. Lux has a market share of 15.5 per cent in the Rs 7,500 crore soap markets. HUL has also raised the price of the 400 milligram Clinic Plus shampoo Rs.139 to Rs.154. Clinic Plus has a market share of over 25 per cent in the Rs.2,500 crore shampoo market. HUL has been affected by the volatility in 2008 the most, with the company losing market share across all its key soap, detergent and oral care categories. So in a bid to get the volumes back, HUL went in for consumer offers and aggressive advertising. This move worked, as the company saw a 2 per cent volume growth in the June quarter of 2009 financial year compared to a 4 per cent decline in the previous quarter of the previous year. Wipro Consumer Care has revised its consumer offer on Santoor soaps 'Buy 2 and get a Reynolds pen free' to Rs.1 discount on a soap bar of Rs.18. It’s not the case that all market players followed the same line, though. For instance, ITC launched promotional offers for its soap brands in select markets. ITC is offering a 2 +1 scheme on the Superia and Vivel Di Wills soap. It also has a 'buy four and get one free' offer on its Vivel soap. 70 per cent of the category sales in case of shampoos sachets are dominated by players like ITC and CavinKare which are running '25 per cent extra' schemes.

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Buy More Save More Companies also adopt "buy more to save more" concept to boost sales during the t slowdown. While price correction is clearly a focus area, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies like ITC, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), Emami and Marico are also building on “tactical” promotions, bundled offers and “buy more to save more” concepts to beat the current recession. GCPL’s promotional offers, for instance, include one free cake of soap on purchase of three, and discounts on purchase of linked packs. According to officials at GCPL discounts and promotional offers are temporary means to achieve strategic ends, which could include trial and competitive reaction. Reasons for promotional offers include rewarding loyal customers, passing on cost savings to consumers and inducing trial. A few of Emami’s schemes include Emami Pure Skin worth Rs 22 free with Boroplus Advanced Moisturising Lotion worth Rs 98; five pieces of Sardija Cough drops worth Rs 5 free with 100 ml of Sardija Cough Syrup worth Rs 50, among others. In many ways, discount is a starting point as it helps create buzz and excitement and ensures higher sales. Consumers might curtail consumption of high-end products but not ‘mass’ products. During trying times, ‘save more when you buy more’ strategy always work. ITC is offering Vivel Di Wills shampoo (200 ml) free with its 75 gm bathing soap for Rs 89. ITC brands are new hence marketing efforts are geared towards enhancing consumer engagement and trial. The consumer response to brands, Fiama Di Wills, Vivel and Superia, has so far been excellent says official at ITC

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HLL (Hindustan Lever Limited) now HUL (Hindustan Unilever Limited) Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) is India's largest fast moving consumer goods company. It is a leading player in home and personal care products, foods and beverages, and speciality

chemicals.

The product portfolio with its wide range of products

sets

HLL

apart! It has achieved market leadership in soaps and detergents (Surf) as well as hair and skin care products (Sun

Silk,

Dove,

Hamam). It is the second

largest

manufacturer of dental care products (Close-up, Pepsodent). HLL is also market leader in tea (Taj), processed coffee (Bru), ice cream (Kwality-Walls), tomato-based products (Kissan), jams and squashes (Kissan), and branded staples (Kissan Annapurna). With a plethora of brands, Communication becomes imperative. Every company has to communicate the presence of its products to capture a large market share. How does a company do that? There are many tools that a marketer can use: advertising, hoardings, radio, television and internet ads! What’s missing is the freebie! Is sales promotion only made up of ‘atta free with soap’? promotion programmes to build its brands.

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This is how HLL used sales


1. Consider this: When Dove was launched in the market, people had a certain reservation against the product. Why? There were two reasons: a. Price factor. Most housewives found Dove to be pretty steep and thus consumption was restrained. b. Secondly, the rumours of one of its ingredients being animal fat. HLL began a sales promotion campaign: Get Dove soap free with a kilo of Surf Excel. With this promotion tactic, HLL got the opportunity of converting “non-users” of Dove to users. At the same time changing attitudes of other detergent users by converting them to Surf users. 2. On the other hand, HLL sought to increase usage of Close-Up amongst the target audience by introducing the travel tube, initially giving it free with every 200gm pack of toothpaste bought. 3. When attacked by Cavincare of Fairever fame, HLL adopted a defensive strategy by giving awayone more Fair and Lovely free with every purchase of it(BOGOF). This is one of the many ways by which a marketer can piggyback on the brand’s standing in the market Repositioning and Repromoting Organics When Organics was first launched on the platform of “root nourishing “ shampoo, consumers were sceptical towards the positioning. No one wanted to spend thirty six percent extra when compared to Pantene. Consumers were happy using coconut oil to strengthen the roots. What did Levers do to push the product? 'Buy one get one free'(BOGOF) on every small pack of Organics. The surprising aspect is that this promotion failed to work for Levers. The next step that HLL took was of repositioning Organics. They found out that the common problem in India was hair breakage. Glucosil was added to the product for healthy hair and the product was now revamped on the grounds of beautiful and healthy hair.

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Where promotion was concerned, HLL used an entirely new outlet - bookstores! Contests were conducted there and the winners were given Organics hampers. This exercise helped a lot in brand recall thereby placing Organics on the map of the consumers’ mind. That’s the power of sales promotions in building a brand!

GCPL (Godrej Consumer private Ltd) With the new strategy of tapping the middle and lower ends of the market, Godrej expects the Godrej brand name to work for him. In the low income housing market, known for fly-by-night builders, the Godrej name will be leveraged more. With all this is mind, Godrej launched the group_s first ever ad campaign for the Godrej brand rather than for its individual brands such as Cinthol soap or Godrej Hair Dye. Aimed at packaging the brand for younger consumers, the campaign showcased the group_s products for the space programme, and included sponsorship of the Indian Premier League and a show created to promote the Godrej products range, called Godrej Khelo Jeeto Jiyo. Godrej says the group will continue to build on branding. Group companies have used the campaign to target their individual advertising better. For instance, Godrej Consumer now buys ads more on Doordarshan because the brand campaign takes care of cable television. It means Godrej Consumer has an advertising budget lower than most competitors.

Segment - ORAL CARE Practically all of rural India prefers cleaning their teeth with traditional products such as neem twigs, salt, ash, tobacco or other herbal ingredients, contributing to a low percapita consumption of branded oral care products. According to WHO, India’s overall awareness of oral hygiene is still very poor. The dentist- to-population ratio is 1:35,000 in comparison to 1:7,500 as recommended by the WHO. But with burgeoning middle class and multi- pronged advertising campaigns, there is now a latent demand for the formal oral care products and this is set to rise exponentially in the coming years. Growth is also likely to emanate from consumers ‘upgrading’ to matured, value-added and innovative products in this category. Of late, growth of modern trade has also propelled brand sales, 14


especially in the urban markets. Overall, the oral care sector is mainly represented by toothpaste. Other products include mouthwashes, sprays, teeth whiteners and oral rinses. In India, there is also significant usage of toothpowders, especially in semi-urban and rural areas. In India, toothpowder was primarily targeted at people who used traditional products like salt, neem twigs and other herbal products. Brands like Colgate, Dabur, Babool, Vicco are the prominent players in the toothpowder market in India Major players in the oral care market are Colgate Palmolive India Pvt. Ltd. (CPIL); Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) and Dabur India Ltd. brand loyalty is quite high for toothpaste where CPIL and HUL together account for over two-thirds of the branded toothpaste market. In toothpowders, CPIL, which manufactures white toothpowder, and Dabur India Ltd., which manufacture red toothpowder, are the leading players, sharing three-fourths of the branded toothpowder segment. In rural areas, red and black toothpowders continue to be very popular, with the market being led by local manufacturers. Among smaller, but fast growing companies in the oral care segment are Ajanta India Ltd., Vicco Group of Companies, The himalaya Drug Company, Anchor health & Beauty Pvt. Ltd. and Henkel India Ltd. The oral care market in India is divided into three main segments -- economy, popular or regular and premium. The brands from CPIL, HUL, Dabur India Ltd., are more popular in metros and major cities, while smaller and regional brands such as Anchor, ColgateCibaca and Ajanta have a stronghold in the smaller cities. In recent years oral care in India has been greatly driven by product innovation, widening of retail availability, packaging and sustained brand promotions. For a new brand to grow and gain market share, strong brand promotion in a specific category has been the chosen marketing strategy. For instance, if a product is made especially for night brushing, the marketing strategy would typically build a story around this usage. Over the years, such focused advertising (sometimes using popular brand ambassadors and television programme sponsorships) have helped many brands to connect swiftly with the target audience. For instance, HUL tried to increase its share in the Indian oral care market through the launch of Pepsodent, and campaigning with a message that communicated to kids and

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their parents the importance of protection from germs through the night. As a value addition, the next stage of the campaign was focused on ‘Germ Indicator’, which was included in every Pepsodent pack allowing consumers to see the efficacy in fighting germs for themselves. Following that, Pepsodent offered dental insurance to all its consumers to demonstrate the confidence that the company had in the technical superiority of the product. The re- launch of the campaign widened the context towards the adverse effects of “sweet and sticky” food and leveraged the fact that children do not rinse their mouths every time they eat, thereby reinforcing the power of Pepsodent in fighting germs for themselves. Close up on the other hand was positioned as a youth oral care brand from the very beginning. In 2004, the brand was re-launched with a publicity blitz that communicated virtues of a ‘Vitamin Fluoride system’ present in the product -- a powerful mix of vitamins, fluoride, mouthwash and micro-whiteners, for fresher breath and stronger, whiter teeth. Clearly, HUL derived critical mass growth from having two brands targeting two different sections of consumers – Pepsodent as a family brand and Close Up as a youth product.

When Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited (CPIL) launched its advanced Whitening toothpaste in 2005, it roped in Sonali Kulkarni of ‘Dil Chahta hai’ fame, looking at further strengthening the expansion of its whitening variant amongst the youth. The brand Colgate herbal White was also launched communicating the message of ‘pearly white teeth’ with an attractive packaging in green, white, red and blue. The advertising campaigns through television commercials used the beaver ‘gillu’ as a mascot of the product. Dabur India Ltd. launched Dabur Red toothpaste with the brand association of Star Plus channel by sponsoring one of its programmes, ‘Star Parivaar awards’ for two 16


consecutive years in 2003 and 2004. Anchor White, the toothpaste brand from anchor health and Beauty care Pvt. Ltd., has been extensively promoted as a ‘family product’ with Bollywood actor Kajol along with her daughter targeting the price-sensitive middle-class segment through its convenient packs and price points. While toothpaste advertising has by and large used the traditional images and characteristics of family values, the use of humor and imagination has also been highly effective in generating brand recall for new- age oral care products. Perfetti Van Melle’s very popular ‘happydent White Palace’ advertisement is a case in point. Conceptualized by Prasoon Joshi and McCann

Erickson,

the

ad

communicates dental hygiene as a fun activity by making it interesting rather than therapeutic. Given it in- innovative departure from the norm, the commercial has clearly broken through the clutter by positioning happydent as not only a children’s confectionery but a functional product that gives healthy and white teeth. But the story is not all urban. Rural India may well be a sleeping giant; already there are signs of rural Indians shifting from traditional dental care products to brands -especially the herbal variants -- at popular price points. Burman from Dabur explains that growth in hitherto untapped regions will be greatly driven by affordability. ““We

have

observed

the

growing

demand

for

economically priced herbal toothpastes in rural markets. Therefore, Babool is well placed to benefit from this growing demand, and has been the fastest growing toothpaste brand for three years in running.”

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An appropriate product with an effective communication strategy can drive the growth further in the rural markets,” he adds. As of now, manufacturers’ and marketers’ efforts have focused on enhancing penetration -- bringing new users into the toothpaste segment – by strengthening their presence in the economy segment. Both CPIL and HUK have concentrated on building their rural distribution networks by rolling out smaller units of toothpastes at affordable prices, and have also launched nationwide community dental health programmes and informative commercials on dental hygiene in association with dental associations. The companies have also been using channels such as e-choupals and Disha to further reach the rural population. Dabur has also been participating in rural community practices, besides organizing special oral care clinics with school children to propagate the advantages of brushing which have helped them drive deeper into the market.

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ecently, Colgate launched a creative billboard campaign for its toothpaste

brand, MaxFresh, where the toothpaste's cooling crystals appeared to be popping out of the hoardings. The idea of the campaign was to communicate the product superiority of MaxFresh - to emphasize that it contains cooling crystals in abundance, and to highlight the fact that while other gel toothpastes freshen breath, only Colgate MaxFresh has cooling crystals that are more effective than regular gels. While the product is not new, the company built interest by adding a short code to the creative. The objective was to call people to action. The ad says, 'SMS MaxFresh to 57007 for a free sample.

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Here are few strtegies adopted by Colgate max fresh: •

Colgate Max Fresh Gel- first toothpaste infused with cooling crystals that create whole new dimension of freshness.

•

Saif Ali Khan and Asin are the celebrity brand ambassadors.

•

For the launch of this new gel, interactive media was of foremost importance given the core target audience of young adults.

•

The USP – cooling crystals – had to be highlighted in all communication.

•

Campaign on:

•

Online: Reaching consumer across various sites.

•

Mobile: Downloads for consumers

•

Extensive online media plan

•

Innovations and large sized banners across portals

•

PPC (SEM): a customized search marketing campaign on Google

•

Keywords ranging from Valentine’s (topical) to Ipods (prizes) to Saif Ali Khan(brand ambassador) carried the maxfreshclub message & drove traffic to the site.

•

Content Sites across genres – Cricket, Movies, Business, News

•

Google partner sites related to bollywood/ greetings/ jokes/ mobile fun were also

•

part of the campaign – all building on the premise of contextual relevance.

•

All banners directed traffic to www.media2win.com/maxfresh

•

Mobile integration enabled consumers to not only download ringtones & wallpapers but also play interesting games & get a ‘Fresh Joke of the day’ by smsing MaxFresh to 58558.

•

Innovative rich media banners across leading sites to ensure high frequency • Rediff • Yahoo • Indiatimes • MSN • Sify

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Sponsorships/ Interactive Properties on select sites •

Special sites like Galatta.com (for the south film-crazy audience) were included since

the brand ambassador for the southern audience is Asin, a Tamil movie star. •

All Asin related content on Galatta was branded by MaxFresh & Galatta users got to

meet Asin as part of the online promo. •

Innovative units such as the browser branding on Yahoo India ensured that the

campaign has high impact. •

This innovation re-skins the browser bar with MaxFresh brand colors and message –

delivering cut through visibility. •

In addition to this, rich media creative was used wherever possible to maintain

impact. •

Phase 2 of the campaign focused on specific games on the site to ensure visitors keep

coming back •

Microsite:www.media2win.com/maxfresh

The micro site had a range of games, wallpapers, screensavers, viral ideas product info & a specially created dimension test – all based on the brand proposition of cooling crystals & the 2 flavours, spicy fresh & peppermint ice. •

The music on the homepage was composed only for the site.

•

The launch of the site, timed with Valentine’s Day, promoted the viral & topical ‘Max Muuaah’ by which a user could send an e-kiss. .

•

Crystal Quest’ & Crystal Challenge’ required users to collect or spot the crystals in the game – in sync with the fun, energetic feel of the site.

•

The downloads drew on the brand ambassadors Saif & Asin.

Results

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•

Over 1 lakh unique users to the site.

•

Average time spent 9 minutes.

•

Over 25 million impressions served through the online campaign.

•

Generated 140,000 clicks.

•

Innovations- browser branding worked well with 1.5% CTR.

•

Downloads from the site close to 8000.


Trial pack campaign

Conscious about your Teeth? Then get a free trial pack and free oral dental advice from colgate. Colgate is a famous toothpaste company. It is giving free trial pack and free oral dental advice. To get the free trial pack, you need to fill a form which includes your personal information, contact details and other information. In personal details, you need to submit your name, email ID and occupation. In contact details, you need to submit your address, city, pincode, area, state, landline number and mobile number. Other information includes the questions like How did you come to know about this offer/promotion and Currently used Toothpaste Brands. COLGATE'S BRIGHT SMILES, BRIGHT FUTURES The Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Oral Health Educational Program worldwide was developed to teach children positive oral health habits of basic hygiene, diet and physical activity. This Program also encourages dental professionals, public health officials, civic leaders and most importantly, parents and educators to come together to emphasize the importance of oral health as part of a child's overall physical and emotional development. Under this Program conducted by Colgate-Palmolive, India children in primary schools receive instructions in dental care from members of the dental profession nominated by the Indian Dental Association. Education is imparted with the aid of audio-visuals and printed literature created by the company. Free dental health care packs, including samples, are also distributed by the company to encourage the practice of oral hygiene. Teachers Training Program is an integral part of the School Dental Health Program, conducted regularly across the country to promote preventive dental health care.Colgate

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also has launched its first-ever online school curriculum featuring fun and entertaining activitie

Super Saver Offer for 'All Around Decay Protection'. Buy 200g plus a 100g tube with a Colgate Extra Clean

Toothbrush

in

a

Family Value Pack for Rs. 82/-. Save Rs. 18/-.

Colgate Maxfresh Gel is the

first

toothpaste

infused

with

crystals

giving

cooling you

a

whole new dimension of freshness.

Get

a

150g

plus a 80g tube with a Colgate

Extra

Clean

Toothbrush in a Freshness Value Pack for Rs. 79/-. Save Rs. 20/-.

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Toiletries Soaps and Shampoos The toilet soaps market is estimated at 530,000 turnover per annuum including small imports. The market is littered over with several, leading national and global brands and a large number of small brands, which have limited markets. The popular and premium brands include Lifebuoy, Lux, Cinthol, Liril, Rexona, and Nirma. Soaps form the largest pie of the FMCG Market with bathing & toilet soaps accounting for around 30% of the soap market, by value. Currently, the soap industry is divided into three segments namely Premium, Popular and Economy/ Sub popular To fight competition, major players Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) and Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting are now drawing up fresh game plans. And the accent is clearly on innovation to gain mind share as well as market share in this overcrowded category.

R

emember the ‘Is it love? No it’s Dove’ ads? In the 1990s, when everything had to be low priced,

consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever launched a brand of soap that was considered expensive, frightfully expensive , for the times we lived in. For about Rs 30 for a bar, it was nearly twice as expensive as any toilet soap brand that was then sold in India. This was a time when hanging out for coffee was at the neighbourhood Udupi restaurant that charged Rs 6 for a serving and not the Barista where a mug of coffee cost Rs 50. To get consumers living with that mindset to graduate to a brand like Dove was a big leap. Certainly the well-traveled Indian consumer who had seen and touched the brand abroad were the first set that moved towards the brand for its superior and “gentle on skin” properties. Others who sampled the brand had mixed opinions. Occasionally you heard the sob story from a neighbour on how a Dove bar got over in just four days, when the Rs 10 soap lasted for a month, giving rise to rather unkind remarks that Dove was 1⁄4 moisturiser and 3⁄4 love. This set of consumers used the bar for washing the face while a less costly soap would be used for the rest of the body, a value-for-money approach. From those use-for-special occasion days, Dove has come a long way. HUL executives 23


claim that Dove has grown by 100% in shampoos and 23 by 42% in soaps. “Dove is the largest premium brand in the Hindustan Unilever portfolio,” says Rajaram Narayanan, vice president, hair care and Lakme, HUL. Now the Dove portfolio delivers Rs 500 crore in sales. Real Women Face Test The faces that represent the Rs 500 crore premium brand are of ordinary women. The faces that represent Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL) biggest premium soap brand are not familiar. For, they represent 11 ordinary women who won Dove’s Real Women Face Test – a campaign that received over 4,500 entries. Recently the fast moving consumer goods major put all of them on billboards, newspapers and on television to endorse the Rs 500 crore brand in a high voltage advertisement campaign. That’s Dove’s way of going off the beaten track in its communication strategy. Unlike other soap advertisements, the premium brand did not use the usual models or movie stars. Instead, it got real women who use the product to give testimonials of their experience with the brand. In May 2007, HUL launched Dove shampoo from Unilever’s portfolio. For Dove’s hair wash variant too, HUL initiated huge sampling in malls by setting up counters where consumers could get their hair washed and then photographed. These pictures were showcased in the Dove Gallery. As a result, testimonials were not just on TV, but also online through consumer-generated content and in print. The same year, the company also launched shampoo sachets priced at 50 paise each in an effort to increase penetration and usage of the product in rural and poor households Until these launches HUL’s presence in shampoos has largely been restricted to so-called midpriced shampoos with its Clinic and Sunsilk brands and their variants. The changes seem to have worked for the company. According to research firm AC Nielsen, HUL’s share in the haircare business went up by one percentage point from 47% in the first quarter of 2007 to 48% in the December quarter. In comparison, its nearest rival Procter and Gamble’s (P&G) share fell from 25% to 23.3%. Dove is a classic case of consistency especially in a country like India where people have

24


come of age in terms of affluence. The soap’s advertisements are very timely. Sales of the soap have been growing at over 40 per cent annually and the recently launched shampoo variant at 100 per cent. Dove is now almost a Rs 500 crore brand, with soaps accounting for around half of that figure. The rest comes from hair care, a category launched two years ago.

W

hen we talk about HUL the first name that comes to our mind is Lifebuoy. It is the world’s largest selling

soap and offers a stronger health benefit to the entire family. Launched in the year 1895, Lifebuoy, for over a 100 years, has been synonymous with health and value. The brick red soap, with its perfume and popular Lifebuoy jingle have carried the Lifebuoy message of health across the length and breadth of the country, making it the largest selling soap brand in the world. Lifebuoy contributed 30 per cent to the Hindustan Lever detergent business turnover and hadn't undergone a major restructuring and repositioning in 107 years. However, the sales were declining as the consumers were moving away from the carbolic based soaps to beauty soaps - perceived to be superior; with better fragrance and lather; aspirational image. The agency devised a strategy to ensure that it advocated family health rather than personal hygiene. There were large chunks of the users who were in "unreachable areas" - rural markets. Through TV and print campaigns, the agency team focused attention on the family health themes, conducted consumer education exercise using "Germ tests" through multimedia; and established the brand's credentials as an authority in a credible manner. The agency also explored the communication options during important days such as World Health Day. For rural markets, it created the Lifebuoy Swashthya Chetana project wherein 450 teams of health officers tapped 8000 villages in 11 states. Nearly 40 million people in rural areas were covered. The

25


brand registered a 30 per cent increase in volumes and the share of contribution to HLL's detergent division turnover increased to 55 per cent. HLL used Mahakumbh mela as an opportunity to change hand-washing and bathing habits in rural India. "The Mahakumbh” at Allahabad is the biggest mela in India and, with its focus on `cleansing' is a good fit for the health Promotion in Melas Lifebuoy for health' message of the brand". Innovative communication tools were used at the mela to communicate the importance of health and hygiene. “The company 14 stalls at various points in the mela grounds. Some hand-carts have also been deployed for increasing access. The numbers of both was increased based on response. ``The activity aims to build awareness in the target audience about hygiene and health through product demonstrations". People in Mela were asked to put there hands below some special camera where the 7 year could see the germs on their hands and were asked to wash their hands with lifebuoy and then see the difference. These type of promotional activities worked in these melas. Swine flu campaign Flu fighter -The flu, caused by the H1N1 virus, has caused several deaths across the country and has spread panic in households. Schools have been shut in cities across India, while hospitals are struggling to cope with the rush of patients. Its largest victims are children who don’t have a strong immune system. Brand consultants and experts feel this will give the brand the much-needed boost. Hindustan Unilever’s latest salvo is its new communication centred around swine flu. The “public interest advertisement” opens with the image of a mother washing her child’s hand. An informative voiceover follows about the importance of washing hands before eating, after sneezing, shaking hands or touching shared surfaces which can help prevent swine flu. A print campaign was also launched. Hindustan Unilever, or HUL, India’s largest consumer goods company by sales, is plugging Lifebuoy soaps and hand washes in newspaper advertisements as products

26


“proven to protect from H1N1 type virus”. “Wash away swine flu germs,” goes the tag line on advertisements running across media platforms, including television and print. Lifebuoy sales seem to have won a lift as consumers take precautions to guard against the risk of swine flu, which claimed its first life in India in August when a Pune teenager died after being infected. “The ads are all over the media and it has definitely created an impact. Hindustan Unilever, on its part, plays it down and maintains that it has always kept the health proposition in mind. “The current advertising campaign is an extension of our effort to use mass media to effectively communicate to people at large to increase hygiene awareness to combat this health threat,” says a company spokesperson. Way back in 1985, Lifebuoy’s entry into the Indian market coincided with the outbreak of the plague epidemic. That’s when Lifebuoy became a household name in the country. “Lifebuoy hai jahan, tandroosti hai wahan”, (Where you have lifebuoy, you have good health) ran the long-playing jingle. Some time in 2002, Hindustan Unilever came up with a health and hygiene programme called the Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna (Lifebuoy Health Awareness) in media-dark villages to spread awareness about the importance of washing hands with soap. Through this initiative, Hindustan Unilever has spread itself across 53,000 villages reaching out to as many as 120 million Indians. The insight here was that regular usage of soap helps reduce illnesses like diarrhoea, respiratory infection, eye infection and so in children. This was underscored by the fact that diarrhoea is a major cause of death in the world today. It is estimated that diarrhoea claims the life of a child every 10 seconds and one-third of these deaths occur in India.A year back, Lifebouy came out in aid of the victims of the Kosi floods in Bihar and Aila cyclone in West Bengal. Therefore, the swine flu initiative was a natural extension for HUL as a brand. Lifebuoy took on the responsibility to raise awareness about swine flu and how it can be prevented as a social cause campaign to reduce the risk of infection. Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna Campaign The Company has continuously designed innovative promotions to reach the rural markets. Lifebuoy in its rural contact program called “Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna”, where it spread information on how washing hands can keep diseases away, targeted a

27


population of 5 crores in 15000 villages. It also promotes general hygiene in rural areas that are difficult to reach through usual marketing campaigns such as television, press or in-store advertising and promotions. It applied a 2 prong approach. HUL employed Health Development Officers and Health Development Assistants who went to all the villages and educated the community through lectures and community meetings. They returned to the villages after 2 months, offered toys, badges and medals to children who had made it a habit to wash hands regularly (read saved “Lifebuoy” soap wrappers) and a certificate to the children who had won these badges most often. The campaign has three communication tasks: •

To establish the presence of germs, even on clean hands, through the use of a 'glow germ demo kit' that has been developed by Unilever for use in Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna. The simple and powerful tool makes unseen germs visible.

•

To establish the consequences of these hidden germs, which when ingested, can cause stomach infections and diarrhoea, or be transferred to eyes causing painful eye infections, or infecting wounds.

•

To establish how current practice is not enough to fight these germs by using the glow germ demo kit to demonstrate that washing with water is not enough, and that it is necessary to wash hands with soap for germ protection.

Tools used to communicate the central Swasthya Chetna message are adapted according to the specific audience. Lifebuoy teams visit each village several times, engaging all segments of the community and ensuring the formation of local 'self-help communities' that can sustain the message. School children, being initiators of change, make excellent ambassadors of communication, provided they find it fun and engaging. The element of Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna that involves children focuses on fun, using stories, games, songs and quizzes. Efforts are made to ensure that the learning does not fade over time. Additionally, these visits also include a meeting with the Panchayat (village elders).Covering 130 million people in 30,000 villages since 2002, the Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna programme has made its mark as the single largest private hygiene

28


education project in the world. The Swasthya Chetna programme will be re-launched in 2009, and will cover even more villages in India as part of the Lifebuoy brand's crusade. Banaye Healthy Hindustan Campaign Lifebuoy conducted a 17 state capital survey among mothers to understand the perception and satisfaction levels of the overall health of their children and the important factors that influence them. The findings of the health report led to 'Banaye Healthy Hindustan' signature campaign which was launched on the occasion of World Health Day. Hundreds of school children between six and twelve years gathered at two of India's historic monuments, India Gate, Delhi and Gateway of India, Mumbai and signed an appeal to health experts and authorities to take care of their health concerns. Lifebuoy also launched a health rally in Chennai, Hyderabad & Jalandhar to generate awareness about the latest threat – swine flu.

D

ettol celebrated its 75 years of existence in 2008. This highly popular antiseptic brand has come a long way since 1933.

After a plethora of extensions and experiments, this brand is still ruling the Indian market as the most preferred antiseptic lotion and also

as

a

premium

soap.

The brand celebrated its 75 years by reinforcing the germ killing positioning and the tagline " Be 100% sure ". The brand is currently running a campaign highlighting the efficiency

and

the

multi-uses

of

the

product.

In marketing theory , it is taught that one of the strategy for a brand which has reached

29


the maturity stage of PLC is to find new uses for the product. The Dettol brand is currently in the process of discovering those new uses for the product. When the consumer uses the product for different purposes, the sales naturally increases. The best way to find the new uses for the product is to ask the consumers. Dettol did just that. It ran a series of promotions asking consumers to tell the company , how they used Dettol. The brand asked the consumers to contact them and tell the company on the multiple uses of the product and thus gained lot of insights into the various uses of the brand. The brand later came out with a series of campaign highlighting the various uses of this antiseptic. Dettol now taken the platform of a multi-use antiseptic which can be used during

bath,

to

clean

wounds,

to

sterilize

clothes,

floor

etc.

Although homemakers has been using Dettol for all these, the company has now taken these uses as a part of the core product. The brand is trying to break the image of Dettol as an antiseptic which is used for cleaning wounds. Along with this initiative, the brand also reinforced its commitment towards hygiene. The brand has selected hygiene as the core brand value and theme which it will fight for. Unveiling new campaigns and public awareness rallies, FMCG majors such as Dabur, Reckitt Benckiser and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) are trying their best to communicate what their respective brands can do to prevent the spread of the virus. Apart from Dabur’s campaign, HUL and Reckitt have been enhancing the ‘health-oriented’ equity of their flagship brands such as Dettol and Lifebuoy to target consumers. Meanwhile, soap and hand wash brands such as Lifebuoy and Dettol have also been doing their bit to create new communication about swine flu. For instance, Reckitt’s Dettol brand has decided to support the Global Hygiene Council to conduct doctors’ conferences on swine flu prevention. So far over 1,000 doctors have attended these sessions. The plan is to reach out to doctors in all key cities in the country to raise awareness on prevention measures and readiness. The company has used print, television and online mediums to educate consumers about hygiene and its importance in its brand campaigns. Recently, its Swine Flu campaign guided consumers about the precautions which are required to fight the deadlyinfluenza. Sethi also informs about an H1N1 Flu (Swine) digital campaign of Dettol, which

30


positions itself as 'Dettol kills 99.9 % bacteria and Flu viruses' and educates the consumers about the disease. The digital campaign seems to be an endeavour by Reckitt Benckiser to leverage the rising number of searches on Swine Flu, to awareness on how Dettol can help people maintain personal hygiene. As a result The market share of Dettol increased from 6.4 per cent in June 2008 to 8.1 per cent in June 2009, placing it ahead of Wipro's beauty soap Santoor as the country's third-largest soap brand by value. Promotional offer Dettol Fresh range has been introduced in Bar soaps and Liquid handwash. The bar soaps are priced at Rs. 18/- and Rs. 29/- for 70gm and 120gm respectively. The liquid handwash will be available in three sizes - 250ml pump at Rs. 55/-, 185ml pouch at Rs. 30/- and 900ml refill pack at Rs. 135/- The pricing is at par with the existing portfolio of Dettol soaps and liquid handwash. As part of an introductory offer, a discount of Rs. 2/- and Rs. 4/- is being offered on 70gm and 120gm soap bars respectively. This offer was valid during the month of February and March 2009.

S

antoor, India's third-highest selling soap brand, and South India's second

biggest

soap

assiduously

brand

with

has

been

advertising

that

built has

presented the Santoor Woman in a 'mistaken identity' situation. The campaign, which is in its 20th year, keeps getting refreshed every two years. Women want their skin to lie about their age. The image managers of Santoor, which has become the largest selling soap brand in South India, has made that the main selling point of their promotion campaign over the years. Previously in tune with the mood of the country Santoor came out with a film that shows the Santoor woman entering a voting booth, to cast her vote,

31


only to be stopped for 'age proof'. Again a new interpretation of the mistaken identity theme. Ageless skin campaign Over the years pricing obviously played a crucial part. Santoor was originally launched in 1985 as an ordinary soap with sandalwood and turmeric being its main ingredients. Though Moti and Mysore Sandal soap were the other brands which had sandal as main ingredient, they were available for a premium. Wipro tried to position the soap in the skincare segment at a popular pricing. However, when the company realised that by banking on ingredients may not bring good results for long, it decided to reposition the brand from being ingredient-oriented to benefit-oriented on a platform of ‘younger looking skin’. The theme of ‘ageless skin’, captured first in a TV advertisement 20 years back, has remained constant over the years. And the company intends to keep it that way as long as it’s bringing the right results. “While the theme has remained constant, the Santoor woman has evolved. In the first two years, the Santoor woman was at a wedding ceremony; she was buying bangles; she was buying a book etc. After that she began going to aerobics classes, and then after four-five years we took her to do dress designing. Interestingly Santoor had come out with a cricket film in time for the World Cup. As a result of the campaign women see themselves in every single Santoor soap ad. That may not be an exaggeration as women are surely buying the soap in large numbers. In the first quarter of the last fiscal, Santoor became the largest brand in its category in South India in value market share, though the company has just 7.5 per cent share in the Indian personal care soap market worth around Rs 8,000 crore. In other markets, Santoor has gradually begun to garner market share. In Maharashtra, it is number three in terms of value though the brand is almost neck-and-neck with Lifebuoy in rural Maharashtra, with a market share of 22.7 per cent (Lifebuoy is at 22.9 per cent).

32


W

hile FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) products usually take off in the

urban centres, and then spread through the hub format, Medimix was pitched in the villages first. The only alternative to medimix was Chandrika soap, which had adopted a direct marketing approach. Officials at medimix used to attend numerous village melas and talk to the people. Today, of the three lakh tonnes of soap sold, ayurvedic soap comprises 7 percent, of which medimix has 3 per cent. Medimix is a medicated soap that is 100 per cent handmade is exempt from tax and rural consumers seem to be attracted to the medical qualities of the soap far more than they are to the same qualities in a cosmetic Today when a villager visits a city he asks for Medimix soap by name. No offers, no schemes, no inducements. As Chandrika soap was following the monopoly of direct distribution. Medimix decided to woo the stockiest and distributors and claims there are 25-year-old loyalties here. "From 1969 to 1990 growth was slow 'But when S. Pradeep joined the company as managing director the firm took off in just four years." A firm decisions were taken that Medimix would aggressively market to over 3,000 small hotels all over India, even in small towns. Its a pleasantly surprised to find that even foreign tourists to places such as Pondicherry were impressed by the medicated quality of Medimix. Medimi decided not to compromise on the packaging or appearance or the perfume or colour of the soap to gain entry into five-star hotels. Hotels will never buy at the maximum retail price (MRP), so they supply at cost.

33


T

he great Indian brand wagon started nearly four decades ago. Great brands sometimes outlast their ambassadors as

proven by Lux which celebrated its 75th anniversary in India. Lux campaigns have wooed millions of people over the decades. Popularly known as the beauty soap of film stars, Lux has been an intimate partner of the brightest stars on the silver screen for decades. An ode to their beauty, an announcer of their stardom, advertising campaigns on Lux have featured film stars across the nation, promising their beauty and complexion to ordinary women. With top movie stars – from Madhubala to Madhuri, from Babita to Karisma and Kareena having endorsed the goodness of Lux over generations, it was natural that the brand has built equity as the best beauty soap in India. From the beginning Lux, by using a leading film star of the time, has fulfilled the consumers’ aspirations of using beauty soaps via the rationale ‘if it’s good enough for a film star, it’s good for me. This later moved into a transformation role of having a bath with Lux, which transports the user into a fantasy world of icons, film stars and fairy lands. The first ambassador, Leela Chitnis featured in a Lux advertisement which flagged off the Lux wagon. She gave way to a galaxy of stars which includes Madhubala, Nargis, Meena Kumari, Mala Sinha, Sharmila Tagore, Waheeda Rehman, Saira Banu, Hema Malini, Zeenat Amaan, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Aishwarya Rai and Kareena Kapoor. The last frontier for most actors aspiring to stardom is becoming a Lux ambassador. The brand has outlasted many soaps. From the beginning, Lux became a household name across the country

34


Change in communication strategy However, the communication was slowly seen to be losing relevance, as consumers were beginning to question if the film star actually used the brand. In addition to this, several competitive beauty soap brands had begun advertising using similar methods of communication. In this context, the global brand team for Lux developed a new communication strategy. This strategy – bring out the star in you – for the first time moved the brand away from the long-running film star route. The film star still features in the new communication but not as her gorgeous self but rather as an alter ego/projection of the protagonist (a regular girl), for a few seconds of the entire ad. Thus, for the first time the film star was used as a communication device and not as the main feature of the

ad.

move

The away

from the film star

and

her

fantasy world to a regular Lux user, with the focus

on

the

protagonist’s star quality, is a change from the norms set by Lux advertising in the past. With the new communication strategy, the film star is used purely as a communication device to portray star quality in every Lux user. This can be significantly seen in the latest TV commercial of Lux Crystal Shine where Priyanka Chopra is portrayed as a normal woman. This idea – bring out the star in you – puts the consumer at the heart of the brands’ promise. This promise goes beyond the functional deliverables of soap, beyond bathing and the bathroom to the world outside. It’s a world where with Lux on her side, an ordinary woman can impact her world with her own star quality. This is a successful attempt to bring the brand closer to its users and to give it a more youthful and contemporary image.

35


Prominent Sales Promotion Schemes Used By LUX Lux presented 30 gm gold each to the first three winners of the Lux Gold Star offer from Delhi. According to the promotional offer that Lux unveiled in October 2000, a consumer finding a 22-carat gold coin in his or her soap bar got an opportunity to win an additional 30 gm gold. The first 10 callers every week got a 30 gm gold each. The offer could be availed only on 100 gm and 150 gm packs of Lux soap. Lux Star Bano, Aish Karo contest: All one needed to do was buy a special promotional pack of Lux soap. The pack comes with a special scratch card. The 50 lucky winners and their spouses were flown down to Mumbai to live a day like Aishwarya Rai would. They could also be given gift vouchers worth Rs 50,000 from Shoppers' Stop along with an exclusively designed Neeta Lulla sari and a beauty makeover by Michelle Tung, Aishwarya's preferred designer and stylist. The pièce de résistance was a dinner date with Aishwarya Rai herself. Lux celebrated 75 years of stardom with the Har Star Lucky Star activity. All wrappers of Lux had a star printed inside them. If the consumer found written inside the star, any number from “1” to “5”, she would get an equivalent discount (in rupees) on her purchase from her shopkeeper. If the consumer found “75 years” written inside the star, she will get a year’s supply of Lux free. LUX PR Activities Press relations: Lux has been maintaining constant communicating with its customers and potential customers, of the various developments taking place in the brand by using press relations. Events: Lux

celebrated

75

years

of

existence in a grand way by unveiling Shahrukh Khan as their

36


latest brand ambassador. Kareena Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Sridevi and Hema Malini graced the event and made it special. All the stars have endorsed Lux in the past. The event was held at the grand Intercontinental in Mumbai Limited edition: Coming up with limited edition of the brand is also a way of attracting attention towards the brand. It creates a buzz and a feeling of urgency to try out the product and helps in promotion of the brand. This strategy was also implemented by Lux by bringing out limited editions like Chocolate Seduction, Aromatic Glow, Festive Glow and Haute Pink

O

ver the first three decades of its existence, the brand took the platform

of protection from body odour. But the markets were gradually changing. In 1986, in an attempt to modernise the image, 'New Cinthol' soap was launched with a new-look packaging, shape and advertising, using celebrities like Vinod Khanna and Imran Khan. The communication campaigns developed strong, confident and active associations with Cinthol- attributes that went on to become an essential part of the brand imagery. In 1989, in an attempt to capture a share of the lime soap market, Cinthol Lime was launched. The attempt to capture a segment of this developing market was a resounding success: it grabbed 8% market share in six months. In 1992, Cinthol Cologne was launched to extend the brand franchise into a modern and new fragrance. cinthol-vinod-khanna cinthol-imran-add By 1993, Godrej realised that it had to re-jig the brands to keep pace with the changing environment. The three variants that had been launched post 1986 were brought under the Cinthol International umbrella – Cinthol International Spice, Cinthol International Lime and Cinthol International Cologne.

37


A complete positioning overhaul was undertaken between 1993 and 1995. Shah Rukh Khan became the brand's new icon. His panache matched the brand's new platform: revitalising and re-energising. With the launch of Cinthol Fresh in 1995, the brand was extended into the popular segment as the first popular segment lime soap. It was a runaway success. It was redefined as a family soap with the famous 'Tan taaza, man taaza' campaign in 2000. Currently, Godrej plans a complete makeover of its flagship soap brand Cinthol and has hired Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan as a pitchman. The brand, which was launched in 1952 as the first deodorant soap in the country, has been through several changes since then. It was initially positioned as a male-centric product but later it was repositiioned as family soap but now, the company plans to pitch it as a youth-centric brand, along with launching new products under the same brand name. Promotion in rural market Most fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have a two-pronged strategy to tap rural markets. It comprises launching nano packs and scaling up rural distribution. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is going a step further by adding a regional advertising component. The company advertises on Doordarshan, local TV and radio channels, the local press and outdoor media. For its top-performing brands, it spends most of the cut-out budget on regional advertising only. "For Godrej No. 1 soap, 100 per cent spends go in regional advertising. For Cinthol, it is more than 50 per centThe strategy has borne fruit. Godrej No 1 is now the number one soaps player in the north. Its annual sales exceed Rs 500 crore and it is the country_s third largest soap brand. Cinthol_s market share has increased from 2.5 per cent to 2.8, while Cinthol deodorant has grown by 50 per cent in the second quarter. For Expert, the company is running a campaign wherein it brands local barber shops and salons under the _Expert_ brand. Under the programme, its sales team introduces its products to rural folks through barbers, engaging the latter to co-brand their shops or salons as Expert salons. The company has engaged 50,000 barber shops and salons under this programme.

38


Price points are also important. Godrej has also been rolling out nano packs priced between Rs 5 and Rs 10. Besides Godrej No. 1 (Rs 5), Cinthol (Rs 6) and Expert (Rs 10), a couple of months earlier, it introduced Nupur (mehndi) in Rs 5 and Rs 10 packs.

Washing Powders

E

ver heard of a detergent that praises its foe? We have one which says _Daag achhe hain_ very confidently.

For any other brand, it would have been difficult to convince the customers about the product with such a paradoxical statement, but for Surf Excel, which can easily be called as one of the most powerful detergent brands of India, it seemed a cake walk. What_s more, the brand not only focuses on its generic space of a detergent but also on making a social difference in the lives of its consumers. Surf Excel_s social awareness campaigns like _Do bucket paani ab rozana hai bachana_ and the scholarship campaign for unfortunate students too endear the brand to the morally responsive Indian consumer. Right from _Lalitaji_, representative of the true-blue cost-conscious Indian woman, till the inspiring storyboards of today, Surf Excel has done it all and in style.

39


Innovation truly distinguishes leaders from wannabes, and as detergent adverts go, Surf Excel has proved to be the last word – both in terms of product offering and advertising communiqué.. The era of Lalita Ji ensured that Surf represented the woman of that epoch, which in turn managed to instill confidence among consumers. Surf transformed itself into Surf Excel in 1996 with its campaign, ‘Kadi Safai, Magar Pyaar Se’, clearly differentiating itself from the herd by offering a supplementary benefit of care. While competitors such as Rin, Ariel, Tide and Henko were positioning themselves as detergents that would aid in the removal of dirt by virtue of technological expertise, Surf Excel chose to walk on an entirely different path. And now, with its plucky glorification of dirt, it’s written the new clean-up mantra, ‘Daag Achche Hain.’ In sync with this credo, the latest commercial of Surf Excel does not rely on thematic communication like the previous TVCs. The concept was that while kids get stuck on one thing, stains get stuck in 10 different places.” Surf owns the distinction of being the first ever detergent brand in India to have begun advertising on television. The brand has optimally utilised the medium of TV to bring across the intrinsic worth of ‘bucket wash.’ From placid and peaceful to feisty and quick-witted, Surf Excel today practises a refreshing modus operandi to speak to its customer. The brand’s advertising gained a humongous amount of exposure by flagging off a host of in-store programmes and road shows that entrenched it in the good books of the consumer. Being an overseas brand, Surf has excelled in Indian markets for decades together – by no means a small achievement – and marketing gurus admire the brand for its sheer tenacity.

40


Distinctions in promotion of Surf •

Surf was the first brand of detergent that was advertised on TV. It is advertised on more than 300 channels across the globe .

•

Introduced the concept of bucket wash to housewives who up till now used to washing clothes with laundry soap bars.

•

Brand to set up a one-stop shop - called Care line - for people seeking solutions to their varied laundry problems.

•

Surf Excel underwent various changes in its Brand Communication; from ‘Lalitaji' to 'dhoondte reh jaaoge' to 'jaise bhi daag ho, surf excel hai na', and is today communicated on the platform of 'Dhaag achcha hai'.

•

HLL is now reworking the Surf Excel strategy by moving away from positioning the brand on functional benefits, to building an emotional connect.

•

Surf Excel is currently running two campaigns riding on the popularity of the "Daag Ache Hain" ( Dirt is good) campaign.

•

The new campaign too strikes a chord with the consumers. Power of a "Big Idea”.

•

The second campaign takes a cue from the World cup. The ad features a group of kids preparing for World Cup 2015.

•

The company has re-packaged the product using brick packaging which is a first among detergents in the country.

Radio city campaign Surf Excel, a leading detergent brand from Hindustan Unilever Limited, has come together with India’s leading Radio Network, Radio City 91.1 Fm to celebrate International Peace in Mumbai, where Children across the city got dirty for a noble cause and spread the message of peace in a unique & colorful way. Children across Mumbai are invited to participate in this activity through an on air campaign on Radio City. Across schools, kids will leave colorful hand impressions on multiple canvases. Surf Excel will then showcase these canvasses on hoardings and in malls across the City, in a bold statement for World Peace as defined through a Child’s eyes.

41


W

hen we think of strong detergent in general and low cost in particular,

Nirma is the first brand which comes to our minds. Everyone remembers not just these lines but also the tune! “Washing powder Nirma,

Washing powder Nirma; Doodh si safedi Nirma se aaye, rangeen kapda bhi khil-khil jaye; Rekha, Jaya, Meena aur Sushma, Sabki pasand Nirma” The kind of impact that Nirma’s simple “Dancing Girl” advertisement managed to have on prospective buyers was phenomenal. It perhaps was the most famous audio-visual of its times. And it remained etched in the minds of people for a very long time. Advertisements of Nirma focus on the “performance” and “cost effective” features of the washing powder which has made it popular in most Indian households, who have been using it for many years now. This product is targeted for middle class and lower middle class population of India. Washing Powders have undergone a number of changes in terms of composition, advertising etc ever since they were first introduced. And consumer preferences have also changed accordingly with people more comfortable with more sophisticated brands. Yet, Nirma with its distinct yellow color (later which became blue) does crop up somewhere in the mind space of consumers, even nonusers. The detergent brand that started out of Karsanbhai Patel's 100 square feet workshop in 1969

continues

to

be

popular

in

middle-class

homes

of

the

country.

Recently Nirma launched the 'underwater' commercial, which showed dancers moving with flowing fabric - a metaphor for clothes being washed in a bucket. An important point in the ad was that it did not use the iconic Nirma jingle. This was a first since 1982, when the first Nirma ad was made. Now, Nirma wanted its communication to get back to talking about the dirt tackling properties of the detergent,

42


as well as use the legendary 'Washing powder Nirma' jingle The brand was firm that it did not want to carry on with the montage film route; it needed a different take on dirt removal. The ad opens on the shot of a vehicle rolling into a puddle. A large amount of slush is about to fall onto a woman who is passing by. But just as the slush is ready to land on the woman, she sternly turns towards the puddle. Pointing her

index

finger

at

the

slush,

she

says,

"Nirma.

Washing

powder."

The slush pauses, surprised at the woman's words. She continues with the words of the jingle, in a firm tone and without any music, and the slush begins to feel threatened. Finally, she walks away untouched by the slush, which plops back into the puddle, much to the surprise of the onlookers. Without any change to the product itself, the TVC conveys the fact that dirt had better stay away from Nirma. Though Dhyani was skeptical about whether the big bosses at Nirma would like the firmness of tone in the jingle, he was pleasantly surprised when they were glad with the strict stand. Nirma's success is synonymous with its advertising and marketing strategy. When Karsanbhai Patel started selling his detergent powder, he decided to call it Nirma, derived from the name of his daughter Nirupama. In the early years, the Nirma packet featured a lady washing a garment. Later, however, the design was changed and an image of his daughter was featured on the pack. The white dancing girl, featured in Nirma's television advertising, is perhaps the most enduring image of Nirma. Though Ms. Patel passed away in a car accident, she continues to live on in the corporate logo and the best selling brands of the company. Nirma's advertising has always focused on the value-for-money angle. Its simple and catchy jingle - Dudh si safedi Nirma se aye, rangin kapda bhi khil khil jaye - has continued to echo in the drawing rooms of middle-class Indian homes through the decades. While the jingle stresses on the product, it also salutes the savvy and budgetconscious Indian housewife. The jingle, which was first aired on radio in 1975, was broadcast on television in 1982. It is one of the longest running jingles and the spot has seen very few changes since the time it was first aired.

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Nirma's promotion strategy, too, has many firsts to its credit. The company pioneered product sponsorship through the electronic media. Besides, the company has developed a unique advertising strategy - new products are launched with no advertising support. Once the distribution glitches are sorted out and the product reaches the shelves of retailers, the company begins to advertise it. The umbrella branding strategy helps to give new products instant recall without increasing the advertising expense. Nirma used radio, posters, banners and mobile vans among others as better media options. It was also one of the first major advertisers on the National Network, a fact borne by its jingle (Nirma Detergent tikia, iske jhaag ne jaadu kar diya), which still generates instant recall. When you hear the all too-familiar tune Washing Powder Nirma, you instantly know what it is talking about. The title 'Nirma Girl' going round and round on her feet and her white dress rising fluff too made for a strong mnemonic for the brand. This stood up to Surf's Lalitaji's "samajhdari."

Segment – Cosmetics Promotional tools over the years • TV Campaign • Fairness Meter • Fair

&

Programme

Lovely 2007

Scholarship on

Reliance

Mobile or R World (Aug 14 – Sep 17, 45,000 Response • Getting the Dream Man there were a series of films made on getting the man of one’s dreams. In addition, Fair & Lovely also spoke to the married women about keeping the spark in the marriage alive. • The Airhostess ad. A young dark skinned colored girl’s father laments he has no son to provide for him, as his daughter salary was not high enough-the suggestion being that she could not get better job or get married because of her dark skin.

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• The girl then uses the cream becomes fairer, and gets better paid job as an air hostessand makes her father happy. • Theater Actress Advertisement . Fair and lovely scholarship The Fair & Lovely scholarships are awarded annually to deserving young girls who intend to pursue higher education in India leading to Graduation, Post-Graduation and PhD. Awarded by the Fair & Lovely Foundation, the Rs 100,000 )US $ 2500) scholarship is meant for women ‘with an aptitude and ambition to achieve their goals’. To provide visibility and synergy to the Fair & Lovely Campaign - Reliance Communications’ R World platform was thought to be the best medium for advertising the Scholarship programme for women as it gives a high reach in the desired target group The Foundation specifically targets women who are from the low-income groups in the rural and urban India. This being a CSR activity the objective was to enable lead generation of potential women candidates with a cost effective campaign as Hindustan Unilever Ltd did not include the traditional media – TV & Print in its plan. To break free from the clutter of the traditional medium and be the first brand under the Hindustan Unliver Limited umbrella to explore the mobile platform which has never been used by the company in India before. Induce call for action by enticing the user to fill in personal important details after sharing the Scholarship and Fair & Lovely Foundation information which then could be followed upon to shortlist the applications received. Banner Advertising: Fair & Lovely Scholarship clickable banner on top of the screen on the Main Menu of the Reliance Mobile World in WAP handsets. The Banner was conceived to build rapid awareness about the Fair & Lovely Foundation and scholarship program. Microsite: The banner was also linked to the microsite which captured the essence of the program in brief and allowed the interested users to apply then and there. Millions of Impressions )more than 2 million impressions) have been recorded on the Fair & Lovely Foundation Banner Ad

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The Banners were rotated / refreshed at regular intervals to maintain saliency & ensure that it does not become a blind spot. Fair & Lovely Scholarship Zone: Lead Generation Zone for the fair & Lovely Scholarships Aspiring women could apply for this scholarship through Reliance Mobile Phones’ R World for the first time. Short-listed applicants were to be contacted by Fair & Lovely Foundation Potential students can send their entries through Reliance Mobile World on R World>Hot N New>>Schlrshp Zn Circles targeted to tap maximum number of applications – UP, AP, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh &Chhatisgarh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka. Candidates could fill-in important information such as name, age, area of interest to apply through the Reliance Mobile World and apply instantaneously for the scholarship. The zone also has detailed information about the Scholarship program and picture of one of the previous scholarship winner – Amrita Singh which will inspire others to apply More than 30,000 students have applied on the Reliance Mobile World till date, filling in all 4 inputs required for a successful entry SMS Blast: SMS has been sent to all subscribers in the select circles for driving traffic to the Scholarship Zone, encouraging students to apply. IVR: The scholarship Program has also been promoted through the IVR in select circles. The message relayed gave information about the program and directed the subscribers to apply through the Reliance Mobile World. Short Code: Subscribers can also apply by responding through the Short Code 51234 to Reliance Communications. Reliance Mobile World Website: Campaign details have also been uploaded on the Reliance Mobile World website

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The Campaign Results

Promotions in Rural market When Hindustan Lever, the fast-moving consumer goods numero uno, embarked on an exercise in 2002 to promote its Fair & Lovely brand in the rural markets, the brief was simple and clear: the brand was being looked at by rural consumers more as a one-time make-up product rather than as a process product and this mis-positioning had to be corrected right away. The challenge was to convey to the consumers that this product had to be used regularly for a visible difference in complexion to happen. Lever’s solution was an out-of-the-box one: The company created a brand ambassador— an educated woman in her mid-twenties who was seen as a trendsetter—to spread its gospel among the village’s women folk. The person was christened the ‘Fair & Lovely Didi’, a person who would educate women to become sarva gun sampan (i.e., replete with fine qualities) by giving them cookery tips, tips on how to do fine embroidery and so on. By 2004, the initiative had expanded in scope to cover 11,000 villages. The strategy bore fruit: Within two months of its operation in an area, more than 80% of the consumers there were viewing the brand as a process product. Encouraged, HLL applied this tactic to its other brands as well. 47


While connecting with the rural masses has always been an integral part of Lever’s marketing strategy, striking an emotional chord with rural India has now become the mantra for success of every big company Promotion: Advertisements on Television In serial branding with product placement in DD serials Relationship building: Direct Contact Programs with villagers – sales team to visit from time to time to increase awareness, induce trial and repurchase Find and target opinion leaders of the village to increase advocacy for our product POP’s – danglers, shop branding, bus shelters, buntings Target beauty parlors – to stock and advocate our product Presence of stalls during Bazaar – offering makeovers and sampling

ITC BISCUITS Biscuits and tea in the morning were a routine. So were the key market players and their favorite products. The two major players Britannia and Parle were busy biting of chunks of the national market among themselves, with a host of smaller brands in various regions. While the business was still very competitive, there wasn’t anything groundbreaking. In 2003, with ITC foraying into the segment, a lot of that changed. At that time, Britannia and Parle held, between them over 82 per cent of the market in value terms. ITC decided to enter the foods segment because it’s a Rs 550,000 crore market in India. But only 6 per cent of this is branded and packaged

48


Promotions In August 2003, a month after its launch, the company undertook a major sampling exercise topromote the product. For two years then, the brand did all the usual rounds — riding behind buses, blocking television spots, booking that corner space in your favorite newspaper and so on. In April 2005, Sunfeast launched its major campaign. It signed on Hindi film actor, Shah Rukh Khan as its brand ambassador. In the same year, as the official sponsor of the WTA tennis championship — titled the Sunfeast Open — the company had teenage sensations Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi campaigning for it. But that’s not all. For promotions in southern states, Sunfeast has signed Tamil super star Surya as a brand ambassador.

Cornetto Ice Cream Music album campaign Kwality Wall's Cornetto launched the music album 'Ho Jaane De' in collaboration with Universal Music to promote its two new flavours – Black Forest Flirt and Strawberry Tease Cake. The music album features talented singer Raghav Sachar and the multi-faceted Shruti Hassan. Besides the album, a unique campaign 'Dedicate and Win' was also rolled out. This campaign promotes the expression of love by facilitating people to dedicate songs to loved ones over the mobile or internet.

Axe Deodrant Call Me' campaign The study about phone conversations conducted on 750 girls by Axe research labs across six cities in India showed that getting a girls phone number is a first step forward in the mating game. This insight drove the new Axe “Call me” campaign idea that shows girls giving out their phone numbers uncontrollably to guys who are wearing Axe. Besides the TVCs a full 360 media plan was used to drive consumers to call the Axe number. About 45 lakh calls were received on the Axe number and 10 lakh wake up alarms were registered.

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Advertising and Promotion of different FMCG brands in India

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