REPORT ON COMPARITIVE ANALYSIS ON DETTOL VS LIFEBUOY Done by, Dinesh Kumar.

J Upendra singh Tomar Nishtha Aggarwal Amber Yadav Pritam Kumar

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Index:
S.No Content
1 2 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 4 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5 6 7 8 Company profile- Dettol Company profile- Lifebuoy The 4Ps of marketing for Dettol Product Price Place Promotion The 4Ps of marketing for lifebuoy Product Price Place Promotion

Page number
1 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 6

Table 1- year wise comparison of market shares of Dettol 7 and Lifebuoy Comparative analysis of Dettol and Lifebuoy Suggestions for Dettol Suggestions for Lifebuoy 7 8 8

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

COMPANY PROFILE : DETTOL

Dettol Antiseptic Liquid Disinfectant is the name of commercial liquid and solid antiseptic products belonging to a household product line manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser. Reckitt Benckiser was introduced in India in 1933 with the brand Dettol. Dettol was introduced only as the antiseptic liquid. Around the end of 1940s, Dettol became a legacy brand with 85% of market share in the antiseptic liquid market. The brand today is present in various segments such as soaps, hand wash, shaving creams and plasters. Despite its first mover advantage, it did not become a household name from the word go. To break into the consumer space, the company launched an aggressive advertising campaign in 1960. By 1970, 4.7 million Dettol bottles were sold and, over the next one decade, the brand had penetrated into 40% of urban households in India, says Chander Mohan Sethi, chairman and managing director, Reckitt Benckiser India. Dettols reign in the market, though, has not been unchallenged. When UK-based consumer products company ICI Plc. brought its flagship brand Savlon to India, recalls Sethi, Reckitt Benckiser realized how serious the competition wasand Dettol went to consumers with even more forceful campaigns. In the 2000s, the companys long-standing slogan, Strong enough to protect the ones we love, changed to Dettol, be 100% sure. As a brand, Dettol has always retained its standing on the anti-germ platform, although its portfolio has expanded to suit the lifestyle demands of consumers, says Suman Srivastava, chief executive, Euro RSCG, the advertising agency for Dettol. It was voted as the third most-trusted brand in an AC Nielsen ORG Marg survey last year. Reckitt Benckiser's flagship brand Dettol, still contributes to almost 40% of the revenue for Reckitt Benckiser. Dettol is the leader in the antiseptic market with 85 per cent market share. Liquid hand wash created a new market and lords over 60 per cent of the market in the category, while the various Dettol soaps account for 18 per cent of the health soap division. The legacy that the company looks to carry forward is, Dettol is believed in by everybody, even doctors. That is the core deliverable that we wanted to emphasize."
Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

COMPANY PROFILE : LIFEBUOY

Lifebuoy is a product of Hindustan Unilever Ltd., India, which was earlier called the Unilever ltd. Lifebuoy is actually a brand which was invented globally before the term 'global branding' itself was invented. It was invented in 1894 in UK as the royal disinfectant soap by William Hesketh Lever. In India Lever brothers introduced Lifebuoy in 1895 with the set up of offices for sales and marketing in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Karachi. Consistent in Lifebuoy's 110+ year history has been its championing of health through hygiene. The brand's core promise of protection and a commitment to support life through unbeatable protection is at the heart of the brand name itself Lifebuoy, the guarantee of protection when you are threatened. While brands have managed to upgrade their image and evolve together with their consumers Lifebuoy is a great example, having moved from a carbolic, sweaty association to desirable health imagery there has been no example of a brand that has moved to the top of the pole after residing at the bottom. The relaunch of the soap in 2002, 2004 & again in 2006 have been turning points in its history. In 2004, Lifebuoys product offering was revamped with contemporary packaging and an upmarket look. While that went down well with existing users, new users were still elusive; they continued to perceive the product as a cheap soap for poor people. That perception had to be changed without alienating the Lifebuoy loyalists. The objective for HUL was to launch a campaign that helped the soap shed its old-fashioned image and gain an entry into two million urban households. Lifebuoy before the end of the first quarter of 2011 was the leader in soap market in India after which they lost the competition to Reckitt Benckiser's Dettol. Dettol is now the market leader with 42% of the market share whereas lifebuoy has 41% of the market share in the same market.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

The 4Ps of marketing for Dettol :

Product:
When we start talking about the products of Dettol, the first thing that strikes a chord in our mind is that Dettol means secure and we are 100% sure about that. Dettol, earlier they entered the soap market only with one soap and that is the Dettol Original. And in due course they have come up with a series of products range which includes the diversification of Dettol into 4 different soaps namely- Dettol original, Dettol skin care, Dettol cool and Dettol Fresh. Among these 4 brands Dettol cool is found to be the most sold soap in the market. And as usual and a sign of trust, Dettol soaps always come with a recommendation from IMA- Indian Medical Association. This sign of the recommendation of IMA makes Dettol more secure and safer. And the diversification of dettol's products into the four categories, original, skin care, cool and fresh have in-fact, increased the customer base of the company because each one of its product is quality-wise different and caters the needs of different people in a much diversified country like India where preferences differs vividly. As far as the diversification and quality of products is concerned Dettol have really done a good job so far in the market. And when brand image is concerned, as we all know, Dettol is a very old brand in India and is always considered as one of the most trusted brands. They are the 3rd most trusted brand in India.

Price:
Pricing is one area where Dettol has been consistent. All their brand products had a very good premium pricing strategy, which led them into fierce price wars with other able competitors like lifebuoy and savlon and others. Actually the heavy competition in the sector forced Dettol to reduce their prices. Now almost they are on the same page with the other competitors' pricing. And if the market share in this industry should be studied, it 'll be impossible to miss out the influence of pricing in market capitalization. FMCG market is generally a very price sensitive market and the effects of increase or decrease in pricing will directly affect the presence of a firm in the market.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Place:
Place in marketing refers to the market and the market conditions. As far as Dettol is considered, it has a very strong influence in the market. In the initial days the target customers of Dettol were only the people who require antiseptic soap as a necessity. Later on they developed themselves into a company who is ready to deliver products to almost all range of customers in the industry itself. The diversification of products helped them in increasing their customer base heavily. And it has been observed that the sale of Dettol is kind of dependent on market conditions. Say, when there is a change in weather, in rainy and winter seasons, people start buying more of Dettol products starting from the antiseptic liquid to the soaps like Dettol original, and in summers the sale of Dettol products like Dettol cool and fresh has been observed increasing. The fact is that Dettol has diversified in such a way that there is a need for their products in different varying market conditions. When speaking about the market conditions, the influence of economics has to be taken into consideration. Since Dettol is safely into FMCG sector, the effect of economy on the product is comparatively less.

Promotion: Promotion is a marketing term which refers to advertising and

endorsement of the product. Dettol's advertisements have been always emphasizing only on cleanliness and safety. And the tag line of Dettol is something which every person who has seen TV will recognize- Be 100% sure. And all the Dettol ads released so far have never been caught in slandering which steps on other brands to endorse their own brand. And morover, the Dettol initiatives like Mother's day(skincare), Each day is a global handwash day have captured the attention of viewers and customers and have also ensured the customers that Dettol is something which everybody can trust at any time. And these promotions also held up to the CSR activities of the firm which increased the trust level. As far as we have studied the case, Dettol has never been caught for maulicious or inexplicit content in promotion and advertisements.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

The 4Ps of marketing for Lifebuoy:

Product:
The products of lifebuoy have not been much varied. Generally when the product is to be studied in terms of marketing, we will be considering a few parameters like, variety(diversification), quality and design. As already stated lifebuoy has never intended itself towards diversification of products. But, yes, they have changed themselves from being just a producer of carbolic soaps to producer of disinfectant soaps and normal bath soaps. The success story of lifebuoy is in having moved from a carbolic, sweaty association to desirable health imagery. And when we discuss about the quality of lifebuoy, it stands as the soap with most durability in India. Sometimes this quality of lifebuoy has also led to funny comments, yet it continues to be the same. Long lasting life of the soap itself is USP for the brand. And coming to the next parameter in product category for lifebuoy, design, the design of the earlier bars of the royal disinfectant soap had been carried over for years by the company. The red color that really marked the brand name went under changes in years. The lifebuoy which is present in today's market is sleek, sexy, compact, precise and most importantly doesnt have that traditional 'macho' kind of look. And generally lifebouy still remains as one of the most popular soap brand in India.

Price:
Regarding pricing, lifebuoy has been in the market for long coz of its pricing strategy one can say. When all others had their own pricing strategy, it was lifebuoy's strategy that controlled the price of similar products in the market. And more over, only because of their pricing(durability) they established themselves as a king of soaps in rural markets. Lifebuoy has been the price setter for lower end products targetted towards the rural market. And this low pricing have also decreased the customer base in urban areas, just because people in urban areas are getting a perception that lifebuoy is only for poor people and those who belong to the lower middle class. And this is also the reason why they have lost the market to Dettol.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Place:
Place in marketing refers to the market and the market conditions. As far as lifebuoy is considered, it doesnt have a very strong influence in the market. In the initial days the target customers of lifebuoy were only the people who require costefficiency soap as a necessity. Later on they developed themselves into a company who is ready to deliver products to almost all range of customers in the industry itself. The diversification of products helped them in increasing their customer base heavily even though they have not diversified much. The market is the deciding factor and lifebuoy has complied with it and has set pricing its strategy. The fact is that Dettol has diversified in such a way that there is a need for their products in different varying market conditions but lifebuoy is not that much adoptable to market conditions but lifebuoy has been constantly performing even in changing market conditons. When speaking about the market conditions, the influence of economics has to be taken into consideration. Since Dettol is safely into FMCG sector, the effect of economy on the product is comparatively less.

Promotion:
lifebuoy as a company, in early stages when they had a very huge market share were not concentrating in advertisements and promotions even though there were a few. And later on when they started feeling the heat of the competition, they started creating innovative ads and TV commercials. But if u follow the ads of lifebuoy u can easily say that they are little bit bullish. And because of this once in 2008 they were fined for telecasting an ad which directly critisized the use of their most potential competitor- Dettol. And they ended up paying some amount to the court as well as Dettol as a compensation. And one more important thing about lifebuoy is that they were the 1st to start this- global handwash day ad campaign but however they finally lost the game to Dettol in this as Dettol launched each day is a handwash day concept. And lifebuoy has been in CSR activities such as supplying bathing bars in time of natural crises and calamities and they are also doing some good educational trust activities which has increased the trust value of the brand and lifebuoy has been very inconsistent in maintaining a tag line or punch line for their brand.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Year
2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-Q1

Dettol
32.00% 31.00% 34.00% 34.00% 35.31% 33.74% 35.98% 38.44% 39.99% 38.71% 42.00%

Lifebuoy
30.65% 29.00% 36.00% 36.70% 39.00% 35.00% 39..61% 40.00% 40.10% 40.09% 39.00%

Note : The above table shows the percentage of market shares held by both Dettol and Lifebuoy in the respective years. It is given only up to the first quarter results released on april 5th. (source- www.livemint.com)

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Comparative analysis of Dettol on lifebuoy:

Dettol
1) Reckitt Benckiser product 3)introduced as a antiseptic soap 5) has a wide variety of products 6) started with premium pricing and came down 7) has a very big market share in urban markets 8) recommended by IMA 10) sales of different products depend upon market conditions. 11) less durable 12) less aggression in advertisements 13)clean ad strategies 15) india's 3rd most trusted brand 16) be 100% sure- is the tagline

Lifebuoy
1)HUL product 3) introduced as a disinfectant soap 5) not that much diversified as that of Dettol 6) price setter in FMCG market for soaps 7) king of rural market 8) no such recognitions 10) not that much market sensitive 11) more durable 12) aggressive advertisements and promotions 13) fined for delivering slander. 15) no such claims but has a huge trust in rural areas 16) has been using many tag lines.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Suggestions for Dettol :

1) Should concentrate and increase advertising. 2) Can consider price reduction 3) Can consider the introduction of smaller size packs 4) Should focus more on rural markets 5) Packaging can be changed and made more attractive.. 6) can consider giving free articles along with the products 7) Still can increase CSR activities since it is the one of the most trusted brands in India.

Suggestions for lifebuoy:

1) should strongly consider diversification of products. 2) Can create some more products for high-end customers 3) should focus on the design of the soap and color 4) packaging can be improved. 5) Should instill a thought among customers that it is not only a brand for rural markets 6) should invest a lot more in advertising and targeting the youth 7) advertisements should not be the 'bully' kind of advertisements. 8) Can increase and maintain its CSR activities.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.