Durability, reliability and excellence. These are the key attributes which have
made Durex (the name is a combination of the core brand traits) the world’s No. 1
condom manufacturer. More than four billion condoms are sold every year and Dure
x accounts for around 29 percent of this global market. The company is a market
leader in more than 40 countries. With a long legacy of investment in marketing,
research and development, the company is now recognised internationally as the
premium condom brand in terms of quality, safety and reliability. The Durex bran
d is credited with many developments in the condom’s modern evolution. These inclu
de the first lubricated condom, the first anatomically shaped condom and, more r
ecently, the world’s first non-latex condom. Durex also works with healthcare prof
essionals, governments and organisations including the World Health Organisation
, UNAIDS and United Nations Population Fund in promoting good sexual health and
the importance of consistent condom use to prevent HIV and other Sexually Transm
itted Infections (STIs).
survey, led by an independent research company. The results showed that there wa
s an opportunity for Durex to expand into new product categories, by shifting it
s brand positioning from safer sex to better sex. The goal for the company’s marke
ting team was therefore to expand Durex’s market and map out various products whic
h consumers want to use to improve their sex life. The company also wanted to ch
ange the perception of these products. “whilst the traditional sex toy in many cas
es is effective, they look awful. We wanted to ensure our products are well desi
gned, effective and don’t look pink and phallic.” Critchley said “The goal for Durex i
n stretching the brand is to appeal to both males and female consumers, all our
products therefore need to be well thought through and relevant.”
Communication for Durex Play has also taken a different track. Durex has long us
ed the internet to communicate with young adults across the globe and provide th
em with safer sex information in their own language. With Durex Play, however, t
he company moved to use above-the-line communication such as TV ads, a method no
t much used for these products before which again helped to change consumer perc
eptions about these goods. For the younger target group, Durex’s communication foc
uses on education, prevention and encouraging condom-use. Durex Play focuses mor
e on the slightly older audience, emphasizing the fun and experimental values.
Playtime is serious business:
The Durex brand is well known and well trusted. So was the company’s marketing str
ategy. Condoms are most used by the 16 to 35 age group – a group most at risk in t
erms of sexual behaviour. For an older target group, the relevancy of Durex prod
ucts wanes. This group is in a different life phase and has different sexual nee
ds. Most people over 35 are married or in long-term relationships and therefore
use other protection. While brand name recognition in this group is still very h
igh, the product is no longer considered as relevant. The traditional and ongoin
g challenge, according to Durex global marketing head Mark Critchley, is to cons
tantly attract new customers to the company’s primary age group, 16 to 35, to comp
ensate the natural drop on the upper side, 35 plus. “We call it youth recruitment,
we have to keep attracting young consumers to the brand as older consumers use
Durex less because the condom is less relevant to them.” Critchley said.
Durex needed to come up with a range of products that would be relevant to the 3
5 plus age group: a group concerned with better sex, rather than just using a co
ntraceptive, given they are in long term (thus low risk) relationships. The comp
any formed the sub-brand Durex Play, a new brand under the wings of Durex. Durex
Play focuses on just this! The products in the Durex Play range are lubricants
and devices. The brand also emphasizes different brand values, moving from durab
ility, reliability and excellence to more fun, playfulness and experimentation.
This also shifted the tone of the company’s key branding. “The Durex brand has alway
s had a slight masculine brand personality,” Critchley said. “For the Durex Play bra
nd this personality is more unisex. In our communications this applies through t
he tone of voice which is more feminine.” Durex Play also shook up the traditional
distribution method. The company wanted to change consumer perceptions of these
products. Where as before, they were only sold in sex shops, Durex Play began m
aking them available in supermarkets and traditional chemists. “Durex Play has hel
ped to give permission and normalise the buying process and thereby changed cons
umer behaviour by making people feel less embarrassed about buying lubricants or
sex toys,” Critchley said. “Because Durex is so well known, its recognition and tru
st provides an element of reassurance to consumers.”
Coolbrands: David and Jorn in discussion with Mark Critchley
The traditional business
Durex Play
Non-condom products have grown into a major component of Durex’s key business conc
erns. Starting from scratch less than four years ago, this product range is gene
rating around USD 60 million in revenue each year. The company has also become N
o.1 in the vibrating ring market and the number 2 brand in the lubricant market.
“In the future we hope that Durex will continue to play a major role in helping c
onsumers be inspired to try new things to improve their sex life ”.
Play on…
Stretching the market
Rather than just replenishing the existing consumer base, over the past few year
s Durex has taken the decision to expand its business concerns into other areas
of sexual well-being. Durex wanted to expand its product base; to stretch the ma
rket by introducing products that would be relevant to the lives of its older co
nsumers. The company started by researching potential consumers. In the past fiv
e years Durex has polled more than a million of them, focusing on different them
es: concept level, users’ research (every time a new product is launched the produ
ct is always tested with consumers before launching), online research and also a
comprehensive worldwide sexual wellbeing
CEO Garry Watts | Number of employees 5,000 | Company revenue € 500 million GBP (S
SL worldwide) | Brand values Unfailing, Authoritative, Approachable and Proactiv
e | Brand promise ??????? | Main target group People who want trusted, tested, p
roven products and services to enable and empower them to take charge of, and en
hance, their own sexual wellbeing | Primary advertising media TV and Print