LIFEBUOY-BrandStory

Lifebuoy is a brand owned by HLL. William Hesketh Lever in 1894 wanted to come up with a soap which can be used for hygiene purposes. After some experiments he found that carbolic acid is the compound which can be used to combat against germs and bacteria. Thus Lifebuoy came into existence in 1895 .In 1914 during World War 1, HLL came up with a campaign wherein people were encouraged to send lifebuoy soaps to the soldiers fighting for them. This campaign turned successful and made lifebuoy a national hero. In 1930, people started buying products for personal care to boost their self-confidence and hence during this period the advertisements showed lifebuoy as the perfect tool to prevent body odour along with keeping clean. Around this time (i.e.) in 1935, Lifebuoy was launched in INDIA. Until now lifebuoy was marketed as a soap for the male (head of the family) ,but the increasing awareness among the females forced the brand to revamp its image. Thus a new element puralin was added to lifebuoy which gave the soap a sweet smell and a softer feel. During 1966, hand sanitizers had become a cause of concern for lifebuoy, and thus HLL came up with a cooler lifebuoy with refreshing mint flavour. Until 1990, Lifebuoy did good business in INDIA, but soon after it faced a lot of competition from new companies entering INDIAN market. In 2002, Lifebuoy came up with a major change when it started focussing at the familys health. It wanted to create a niche as a healthcare soap.

By now lifebuoy had establishes its image as a red box shaped soap with a typical fragrance. This revamp in the advertising strategy worked very well in the INDIAN market. In 2003, Lifebuoy was able to come up with a product costing just Rs2 in the retail market. This specific soap was meant for the rural population where hygiene was a big issue .The product was appreciated and sales figure zoomed up.In 2004, Lifebuoy again revamped its image. This time the aim was to make the soap look and feel better. Thus the 100 year old brick shape was given up and it was given a rounded curved shape ,a better fragrance and softer feel. Also by some laboratory tests HLL demonstrated that the new lifebuoy was twice as good as other soaps in fighting against germs .After this revamp there has been no looking back for lifebuoy. After the re-launch the Market share of lifebuoy increased from 12% to 18% .Today LIFEBUOY is one of the leading healthcare soap brand not only across India but also across the entire world. It has become synonymous with hygiene. Lifebuoy today comes with four different variants-Lifebuoy Gold, Lifebuoy Fresh , Lifebuoy Natural, Lifebuoy Strong. Today lifebuoy is not only a toilet soap but it also comes as a refreshing bath bar which offers a superior bathing experience. Lifebuoys ads have always been focussed on cleanliness and healthier environment. Lifebuoys recent advertisement on social issue of malnutrition has received wide appreciation. HLL has over the period used all the modes of communication effectively for marketing its product. Thus, Lifebuoys Brand story is a source of inspiration for any soap brand and will continue to be so. HLL has always strived to provide the best quality at an affordable price. Thus effective marketing and pricing strategy has helped lifebuoy reach where it is today.

Reference: 1. 2. 3.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-03-23/news/29178563_1_lifebuoyglobal-brand-soap http://www.lifebuoy.com/about-us/history-of-health/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifebuoy_(soap)

-Submitted by Ayush Agarwal PGP 1 Sec B 20130120099