DETTOL

Brand Image Measurement Study

Submitted to: Prof. Govindarajan

11/22/2010

Submitted By:
Shruti Kedia (U109136)

Subheksha Sharma (U109139)

Zarine Ali (U109151)

Purbesh Mahapatra (U109158)

Anas Aouad (U109195)

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Barthelemy Anais (U109196)

Table of Contents
Table of Contents...................................................................................................2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 4
HISTORY .............................................................................................................4
THE LIQUID HANDWASH MARKET.......................................................................5
PLAYERS IN THE MARKET....................................................................................6
POSITIONING AND SUBSEQUENT REPOSITIONING..............................................7
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION:.................8
BRAND ASSEST VALUATOR....................................................................................9
ANALYSIS............................................................................................................. 12
QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTERED FOR THE QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
(SCREENSHOTS)...................................................................................................18

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Dettol (Liquid Hand Wash), a brand from Reckitt Benckiser India Ltd, has been tracked in
this report, with an objective to quantify the performance of the brand in the liquid hand wash
market category. The study has been conducted via Quantitative methodology. A fitting
adaptation of Young and Rubicam’s Brand Asset Valuator was used for specificity purposes.
The pool of respondents constituted of 58 individuals, all of whom were contacted through an
online questionnaire. The age group of respondents ranged from 15-50, from school/college
students, professionals to housewives. To ensure that errors while doing the survey was
minimised, the questionnaire was proof read by a small group falling within the target
respondents. The questionnaire contained a list of 22 questions, all of which fell into one or
more of the BAV pillars, i.e. Knowledge (3 questions), Relevance (9 questions),
Differentiation (7 questions) and Esteem (3 questions)

Using the BAV model, the percentage of Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem and Knowledge
of the brand was calculated which was 68.33%, 70.33%, 86% and 78.7 % respectively. The
Brand Strength is calculated to be 69% and the Brand Stature is calculated to be 82%.

The low Differentiation score can be attributed to the fact that Dettol is synonymous with
antiseptic lotion, and the Brand in the minds of the consumers is primarily meant for cuts and
wounds rather than for daily use. A high Relevance score in comparison to the Differentiation
score further strengthens the argument that Dettol has become commoditized. A high Esteem
Score is indicative of the Brand’s appeal and its ability to retain consumers. This can be
attributed to the enormous amount of trust families all over India put into the brand, and its
100% germ free status. A lower Knowledge Score as compared to Esteem can be attributed to
the fact that while the awareness and the appeal for the brand are high, there is a lack of in
depth understanding of the brand. This in conjunction with a low Differentiation score is
shows that consumers may not have the knowledge of the various product extensions of the

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brand. A lower Brand Strength than Brand Stature signifies a lower growth potential, which
could be due to the well-established market share of Dettol.

INTRODUCTION

Dettol, the flagship brand of Reckitt Benckiser was introduced in India in 1933. Since its
launch the brand has become a household name in fighting germs and become synonymous
with antiseptic lotion similar to Xerox in Photocopiers. It has been voted amongst the most
trusted brands in India, and the brand celebrated its 75 years of protecting families from
illness causing germs in 2008. Dettol is endorsed by the Indian Medical association.

Reckitt Benckiser (India) Limited, formerly known as Reckitt and Coleman Limited, is one
of the fastest growing companies in South Asia. The company has a number of brands in
India, namely Dettol, Harpic, Mortien, Lizol, Cherry Blossom, Vanish, Easy Off Bang, Veet,
Colin, Disprin, Strepsils, Clearasil and others. It has major presence in home and personal
care, surface care, fabric care, pest control and health care. The company is present in 140
countries worldwide and Dettol is its 300 crore brand.

HISTORY

In 1933, RB launched Dettol in India as an antiseptic, mainly for small cuts and wounds.
Since its launch, Dettol has been slowly but surely gaining momentum and trust of millions
of Indian homes which led to consumers using the product in a myriad number of ways for
disinfections. Stagnation set in by the 1980’s, with Dettol having a high penetration; most
households kept a bottle handy but rarely used it. To increase the frequency of use and
increase sales, RB launched the famous communication campaign that turned Dettol into an
all-purpose antiseptic.

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Dettol soap was introduced in 1984, extending the 100% protection shields to baths.
However, the company launched Dettol soap on a premium platform, instead of focusing on
its core properties of hygiene and cleanliness. As a result, the reaction to the product was less
than warm and RB was forced to rethink its positioning. In the following years, RB re
launched the product as a 100% germ fighter, a strategy which has always worked well for
Dettol.

In the mid 1990’s, there was an increase in competition within the soap category which
resulted in the company looking for fresh initiative. 1994, was the year when Dettol Liquid
soap was introduced, in a convenient yet contemporary format, complementing the brand’s
core values and at the same time becoming more accessible to consumers. Since then, Dettol
has extended its Liquid hand wash line to include specially formulated liquid soaps such as
Dettol Sensitive hand wash, Dettol Fresh hand wash and Dettol Skin Care hand wash.

THE LIQUID HANDWASH MARKET

Dettol introduced the Liquid hand wash in 1994 as it was known that many consumers use
Dettol Soap for cleaning hands. Dettol Liquid hand wash gave the consumers soap in a
modern and convenient format.

In hand washing, the need for germ protection is top most on consumer’s mind. Due to its
early and continued efforts in building the segment and given the strength of the parent brand
Dettol, this segment was historically dominated by Dettol Liquid Hand wash.

The size of the hand wash market was around 59 crores by the end of 2007. In spite of the
incidence of hand wash in a day is quite high, the penetration of liquid hand wash is still low
in India which was estimated to be 10% of all Urban House Holds in 2007. The prominent
reasons for low penetration are ‘expensive/low value for money.’ Users claim that the
motivators for the use of the product are ‘protection from germs’ followed by ‘convenience
of use’. Given category building efforts, the penetration has been showing a steady increase.

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The Liquid Hand wash Segment can be divided into two formats:
1. Dispensing format: Pump Packs
2. Refilling format: Refill Sizes (varying from 200ml to 5 ltr)

The category development has been mainly due to the increasing penetration of the Pump
Pack. The dispensing pack dominated the market with over 60% contribution in 2005. The
refill segment is seeing an increase in growth as regular customers purchase the refill pack
after entering into the segment via the pump pack.

In building the segment, Dettol has played the role of the market leader and the innovator. In
2005, it was the first player to launch the Pouch refill pack. As the market evolved and the
Pouch refill segment grew, all the other competitors entered the pouch refill segment in 2007.
Similarly, the latest product innovation offering from Dettol has been the launch of the small
pump pack, at a lower pick up price, in the first quarter of 2007.

As per consumer research, the number 1 category driver for hand washing has been ‘need for
Protection from germs’. Additionally, consumers look for product attributes like nice
fragrance and softness. Another characteristic of the hand wash market is its disproportional
dependence on the Modern distribution channel, ie. Self‐service stores.
Close to 25% of the category business comes from this channel. The self‐select environment
of the target consumer has multiple implications for the brand. Variants become a key driver
for widening the consumer choice set in such a shopping pattern.
Dettol Liquid Hand wash currently has four variants, namely, Original, Skincare and
Sensitive and Fresh.

PLAYERS IN THE MARKET

Lifebuoy: It became a serious player in Liquid hand wash market in Q3, 2006. Its share went
up from 9.3% to 19.8% for the year 2007. Positioned on a ‘protection from germs’ platform it
carries the tagline of ‘have no fear’ in the Liquid hand wash segment too. Other than Dettol,

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it is so far the only significant player that invests in the category. With media support and
strong promotional support, supporting its re launch, it has made quick gains in this segment.

FEM: Fem, from Ivory chemicals, was historically the key brand in liquid soap category. It
used to be the strong number two brand until recently. However, it has lost share heavily
since the Lifebuoy Hand wash re launch. The brand is positioned on the platform of ‘soft
hands and moisturizing care of Fem’. In 2007, it launched a premium range of products under
a sub brand of Fem Cool Angel (three variants, priced at Rs.79/‐ for 250ml pump pack).

Palmolive: Palmolive launched hand wash in October 2003 with a premium pricing and
imported stocks. In Oct 2006, they dropped prices from Rs. 90/‐ for 300ml Pump to Rs. 55/‐
for 250ml Pump. While the brand is supported by promotions mainly in the modern trade, it
is not active on air.

Savlon: It launched its hand wash in March 2005 on the ‘gentle protection’ platform. It
currently has a 2% share. It is not supported on air.
The liquid hand wash category has seen a sharp increase in the competitive environment with
new players entering in 2007 and big brands like Lifebuoy getting active. As the liquid hand
wash category grows, given the usage of single product for hand washing and bathing in
many homes, more and more bar soap players are launching liquid hand wash. Chandrika &
Margo are two such new entrants, but with no strong marketing support, they are yet to make
their presence felt.

POSITIONING AND SUBSEQUENT REPOSITIONING

When first launched, Dettol was positioned as an antiseptic for small cuts and wounds, with
special focus on germ protection. For around 47 years after its launch, Dettol became a
household name with virtually no competition. To combat the stagnation in 1980’s efforts
were made to increase the frequency of use. Therefore Dettol was repositioned as an all-

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purpose antiseptic for shaving, rising and general disinfectant but its core position as a 100%
germ fighter was maintained. When Dettol expanded into the soap category, it focused on
love and care with a premium platform position. This proved to be disastrous, as the
consumer was used to Dettol being the 100% germ fighter and soon RB had to reposition the
product as a 100% germ fighter. Taking this lesson to heart Dettol has maintained a
consistent positioning status of being a germ fighter even with other brand expansions such as
Liquid hand wash, shaving creams, medicated plasters and body wash.

Consumers see Dettol as an expert which is effective, versatile and guarantees protection
from germs. It has been likened to a body guard that protects one form an unhygienic and
unclean world.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL DATA COLLECTION

AND EVALUATION:
Some ground rules as listed below were used:

a. Knowing Your Audience:

The first step in any collection and evaluation technique is to accurately recognize the
audience for the evaluation. Since the respondents would range from school/college going
students to housewives, the questionnaire was framed in accordance to that.

b. Determining Costs and Schedules:

There was no cost incurred, as majority of the data collection was done by the questionnaire,
on and off campus. However, it was of prime importance to plan the various steps for
completion of the project over a specified duration of time.

c. Identifying Appropriate Study Participants:

Since Dettol hand wash is used by the age group 15-50, respondents were from campus as
well as off campus.

d. Developing, Pretesting and Refining Data Collection Instruments:

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Both Qualitative as well as Quantitative Data Collection techniques require that the
instruments of data collection make sense to the respondents. Thus, a sample questionnaire
was prepared and reviewed by a group of individuals who fell within the target audience.

e. Administrating Instruments Appropriately:

Overlooking the minute details in data collection can have serious implications on the
outcome of the evaluations. Therefore effective steps were undertaken to ensure that the
questionnaire was appropriately received as well as filled out by the respondents. A key
concern was getting the full participation of the respondents while filling out the survey.
Steps like getting the questionnaire reviewed, conducting the survey on a one-to-one basis,
holding these surveys in a pleasant atmosphere etc were carried out to make the experience as
easy as possible for the respondents.

BRAND ASSEST VALUATOR

The Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) is a database of consumer perception of brands created by
advertising agency Young & Rubicam. BAV's database is based on data on 30,000 brands
across 400,000 consumers in 48 countries through 240 studies. BAV measures the value of
the brand under 4 broad dimensions;

1. Differentiation: Ability of the brand to stand apart from its competitors.

2. Relevance: This gauges personal appropriateness of a brand to consumers and is

strongly tied to household penetration.

3. Esteem: Perceived quality and consumer perceptions about the growing or declining
popularity of the brand.

4. Knowledge: Extent of the consumer’s awareness of the brand and understanding of

the brand’s identity.

These 4 core aspects of the brand are called PILLARS. They can be clubbed to indicate:

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Brand Vitality: This is composed of Differentiation and Relevance. It illustrates future
growth value and momentum potential of brand. This is the Leading Indicator.

1. Brand Stature: This is composed of Esteem and Knowledge and illustrates current
perceived performance. However, over time Brand Stature mimics brand strength.
This is a Lagging Indicator.

BAV is used to provide information to companies in order to improve their market decision
making process. It was be used for a number of processes such as positioning/repositioning
exercises, understanding target audience and managing brand portfolios.

THE PILLARS SAMPLE QUESTIONS RATIONALE

Differentiation 1. For each of the following brands is It measures how unique

there a similar brand with similar the brand is to the
offerings? consumer. Based on this
- Dettol characteristic, premiums
- Fem are charged for brands.
- Lifebuoy
- Colgate-Palmolive
- Savlon
2. Rate each of the brands on a scale of
1-5 (5 being the highest and 1 being
the lowest) on the following attributes
(Antiseptic, Scent, Lather,
Moisturizing Content, Packaging and
Price)

Relevance 1. Which of the following do you use? It measures how

- Dettol appropriate and suited the
- Lifebuoy brand is to the consumer’s
- Savlon lifestyle.
- Fem
- Palmolive
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2. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being the highest
and 5 being the least), how willing are
you to recommend the brand to your
friends?
- Dettol
- Fem
- Savlon
- Lifebuoy
- Palmolive
3. Rank the 5 brands in order of
preference on a scale of 1-5 (5 being
the highest and 1 being the least), rate
Dettol on the following attributes:
(Scent, Lather, Antiseptic,
Moisturizing Content, Packaging and
Price)

Esteem 1. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being the highest Measures how well

and 5 being the least), how much do regarded the brand is. It is
you trust the following brands? a function of positive
(Dettol, Lifebuoy, Palmolive, Fem and brand experience and
Savlon) positive brand
2. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being the highest communication.
and 5 being the least), rate the 5
brands on basis of delivery of their
promise.(Dettol, Lifebuoy, Fem,
Palmolive and Savlon)
3. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being the highest
and 5 being the lowest), how much
would you like to be associated with
the brand? (Dettol, Savlon, Fem,
Plamolive and Lifebuoy)

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Knowledge 1. Name 5 brands of liquid hand wash This showcases the

that you can recollect intimate understanding of
2. Can you identify the brands from the the brand by the consumer.
following taglines? Some brands make you
3. Rank the 5 brands in order of your feel like a old friend. This
perception of their market share is called knowledge. This
(Dettol, Lifebuoy, Fem, Palmolive and is supported by all the
Savlon) other 4 pillars.

ANALYSIS

A. Administering the questionnaire

The questionnaire developed for the Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) Model was administered
on a single set of customers and a sample size of 58 responses were used for evaluation.

The Age group which took up the questionnaire belonged to the range of 15-50 years.
Demographics included school/college students, housewives, professionals, etc to get a
varied but universal set of responses.

NOTE: All consumers whose responses were considered valid were users of Dettol.

The Questionnaire consisted of a total of 22 questions, which were further subdivided for the
purpose of analysis in the following heads:

a. Knowledge : 3 Questions

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b. Relevance: 9 Questions

c. Differentiation: 7 Questions

d. Esteem: 3 Questions

The questions pertained to the extent of association each individual had with dettol versus the
other competitor brands and also aimed at measuring the key differentiators of dettol as a
brand.

NOTE: Some questions may have been used in two categories due to their overlapping
nature to compute overall scores.

B. Evaluation of responses

The four categories as mentioned above were estimated for Dettol:

i. Average Knowledge Score: 78.7%

ii. Average Relevance Score: 70.33%

iii. Average Differentiation Score: 68.33%

iv. Average Esteem Score: 86%

This can be graphically represented as:

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The next step was to calculate the Brand Strength and Brand Stature Scores for Dettol. The
Brand Strength was calculated as a percentage product of the Relevance and Differentiation
values while the Brand Stature was calculated as a percentage product of the Knowledge and
Esteem values. The results are obtained on a hundred point scale (Percentage).

Brand Strength 69%

Brand Stature 82%

The above data leads to the following conclusions:

a. Brand Strength:

The Brand Strength/ Brand Vitality is relatively lower than its stature which signifies a lower
growth potential for the brand in the near future. This might be due to the already well
established market share of dettol, which shows lesser potential for growth in a relatively
saturated market. The score of relevance i.e. 70% is still higher than the differentiation score
i.e. 68% which shows that people have a higher regard for the brand from a personal
standpoint rather than its differentiation compared to the other brands in the market.

Dettol has been successfully positioned in the minds of consumers as being highly antiseptic,
which according to the survey received the highest score (92%) and was therefore consistent.
Consumers also preferred to recommend dettol as compared to any other brand to others
increasing its relevance to them. The differentiation of dettol is perceived to be low as many
feel there are similar products in the market which reduces its uniqueness value and thus the
Brand Strength score. Thus, not only absolute benefits, but the relative benefits of dettol
compared to the competitor brands have to be adequately communicated to the target
audience.

b. Brand Stature

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The Brand Stature Score is relatively higher (82%) describing the current power that the
brand has. A major contributor to this score is Esteem Score which is about 86% while the
knowledge score component is only 79%. This shows that there still exists a potential to
create greater awareness about the brand as the set of customers who already are aware, hold
the brand in high esteem. The Brand, being one of the first few and strongest antiseptics, has
a lot of credibility amongst the consumers giving its esteem a high score.

The knowledge component is still higher than the relevance or differentiation scores as many
would know about the brand, and also use it, but only as a commodity (antiseptic). Its brand
value may have to be further reinforced in consumers’ minds to create a differentiating factor.

The differentiation and relevance of a brand depict the future value of the brand rather than
just reflecting its past. Thus this dimension of Dettol has to be increased to ensure future
profitability. Differentiation measures the distinctiveness or the “Margin Opportunity” of the
brand. Relevance, on the other hand, measures the appropriateness or “Brand Appeal” of the
brand.

The following Graph shows the comparison between the percentage scores of relevance and
differentiation for the brand Dettol in the “Hand Wash” industry.

As seen from the above graph, Relevance is higher than Differentiation. A higher degree of
Relevance shows that the brand has been successful both in understanding the needs and

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wants of the consumers and communicating the offerings to the consumer. This shows that
the positioning has been effective. However, low Differentiation as compared to Relevance
shows that the brand is increasingly becoming commoditized, which is an unhealthy pattern
for the brand. To keep the consumers excited, the brand should continuously renovate and
come up with new offerings.

Esteem and Knowledge together make up “Brand Stature”, which is indicative of the past as
well as current perceived performance of the brand. Esteem measures reputation and respect
of the brand and its ability to attract and retain consumers. Knowledge measures the in depth
understanding of the brand and the ‘Affinity’ that the consumers feel towards the brand.

The following Graph shows the Knowledge and Esteem scores for the brand Dettol.

As is indicative from the above, Esteem is higher than knowledge which signifies that
consumers are interested in the brand and would like to know more about it. It can also be
inferred from the above that the awareness level of the brand maybe high as compared to
knowledge. High interest level in the brand is a healthy pattern and the company should strive
to constantly excite the consumers.

Next, a power grid was plotted between Brand Stature on the X-axis and Brand Strength on
the Y axis. From this, it was noted that Dettol lay in the top right quadrant of the grid which
denoted “Leadership” in the category. Given the high esteem and relevance values of the
brand, it holds a better place in the minds of the consumer when compared to the other brands
as it has a long standing brand image and well-positioned attributes like its antiseptic
properties.
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This data is mainly used for “Category Understanding”. Brand Stature and Brand Strength
values were calculated for each brand namely Dettol, Palmolive, Fem, Savlon and Lifebouy
and is plotted on a grid, Dettol being the highest in value on both the fronts. Thus Dettol
emerges as a clear Leader in the category.

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QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTERED FOR THE

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH (SCREENSHOTS)

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