LIFEBUOY HANDWASH SANITIZER (AT THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID)

Submitted by:ARPITA BHARGAVA(PG20125245) AYUSHI TENDON(PG20125489) SANDEEP PANWAR(PG20125311) SAURAV PRAKASH(PG20125223)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Lifebuoy is one of unilevers oldest brands, a brand that was truly global before the term global brand was invented.lifebuoy royal disinfectant soap was launched in 1894 as a affordable new product in UK,to support people in their quest for better personal hygiene.soon after launch lifebuoy soap travelled across the world reaching countries such as India where even today it is still the markets leading brand. Today the brand provides the hygiene and health solutions for families including a range of bar soaps,handwash liquid and liquid shower gel. The first part of the report contains the marketing strategies made for selling the lifebuoy liquid handwash in the rural market,the most compatible market for the product i.e lifebuoy handwash.Then the branding and positioning of the liquid hanndwash is done and then the marketing mix of the lifebuoy handwash is made. Second part of the report contains the conclusion part and the reference part is done. Before drawing any conclusion based on this report it may be noted that there might be lack in data, but still it may be useful for designing any further study.

TABLE OF CONTENT
1.Most compatible market for lifebuoy handwash 2.Marketing Strategies 3.Brand Name Strategy 4.Positioning Strategy 5.Marketing mix of lifebuoy handwash 6.Conclusion 7.References 4 5-6 6 7 8-10

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THE MOST COMPATIBLE MARKET OF LIFEBUOY HANDWASH

Company orientation towards the market place means the arena in which the company focuses. There is various concepts which comapany may follow to reach out to customers.

Production concept: Lifebuoy uses production concept where it tries to

make its product available in all the parts of the country. It has its availability in 50000 villages in India and the part of Lifebuoy handwash affordable and lowest among all itscompititors.

Product concept : Lifebuoy also uses product concept where it has

introduced its several products such as Lifebuoy active red , Lifebuoy active orange , Lifebuoy plus. It has also launched new products under the brand Lifebuoy such as talcum powder, Shower gel.

Selling concept : Lifebuoy uses aggressive selling concept via advertisement,

tag lines, etc; because it has to face stiff competition when Lifebuoy entered the hand wash and talcum powder industry , their were existing market player who were already established . So as to capture market share Lifebuoy undertook aggressive selling and promotion.

Marketing management concept: the four pillars of marketing concept

are Target market; customer needs integrated marketing, profit ability. Lifebuoy targets the rural; market, where the customers needs are goods at lower cost, lifebuoy considers that and markets its products considering the needs of the target market.

Societal concept: Lifebuoy SWASTHY CHETANA is a single largest rural

health a hygiene educational programme ever undertaken in India. Its major objective is to educate people about hygiene. Lifebuoy became first Indian brand to have a special postal cover which was released on the occasion of World Health Day for the phenomenal work done by Lifebuoy.

MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR LIFEBUOY HANDWASH

India is a country where around 30% of the worlds diarrheal deaths take place. A disease that can simply be prevented by using handwash. HUL, the largest handwash and detergent manufacturer in India saw this as an opportunity to push its handwash brand Lifebouy. The strategies that it used included:

1. Changing the mindset of the rural consumer: HUL had before it the
great task of getting people to adopt hygienic practices like washing of hands and making them switch from using sand or ash to soaps then to handwash .It leveraged on the historical brand platform of health by tying handwash usage to eradication of health problems. For this, it demonstrated in villages how handwash washing can reduce eye and stomach infections. It also made them realize that preventive measures could save them the costs of spending after getting infected. This encouraged consumers to buy the handwash.

2. It changed its target audience from men to entire families:so that

its audience for the health message expanded. It also demonstrated the increase in influence of women on purchases for the family.

3. Product strategy: Changed formulation to replace carbolic smell to

fragrant one to appeal to women and families. It made it into milled handwash to make it even more long lasting. It included Active B in it to show it its additional health benefits.

4.Pricing: Developed a challenge cost / target cost and minimum

target margin by working out how much the consumer could pay for a mass market product like Lifebuoy.

5. Promotion campaigns:Direct contact campaign-Targeted schools with

mandatory hand washing during lunch time campaign.

6. Launched Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna program:-When HUL

researched its rural consumers it found that cleanliness meant absence of dirt. It considered only sticky and oily hands as dirty wheras hands that appeard clean were germ free.Thus this program was launched to show that Hands that look clean are not clean and encouraged frequent handwashing.

7. It also put up 14 stalls at MAHAKUMBH MELA in Allahabad.

Research shows that brands that build social messages and change behavior are more likely to get brand loyalty which is what Lifebuoy has managed to get by becoming a household name in the rural market.

BRAND NAME STRATEGY

Individual brand name :
HUL has different soaps under which Lifebuoy is one of them. Thus Lifebuoy is marketed under an individual brand name.

Family or Umbrella brand name :

Lifebuoy uses Umbrella brand name to sell products such as Lifebuoy Shower gel , Lifebuoy Talcum powder, Lifebuoy liquid hand wash.

POSITIONING STRATEGY
Lifebuoy's goal is to provide affordable and accessible hygiene and health solutions that enable people to lead a life without fear of hygiene anxieties and health consequences. The brand was initially positioned in the health and value platform. It was positioned by the jingle " thandurusti ki raksha kartha hai lifebuoy, lifebuoy hai jahan thandurusti hai vaham." Lifebuoy was previously targeted at the male user with an individual-oriented success through health positioning. During its entry into the soaps market it was also positioned as having low prices. The new

Lifebuoy handwash is targeted at todays discerning housewife with a more inclusive family health protection for my family and me positioning. Its variants - Lifebuoy Total is positioned for all those mothers with active kids who constantly fear hygiene threats from germs leading to stress and anxiety for the mothers. Lifebuoy DeoFresh is positioned especially for young adults who lead active lifestyles. Lifebuoy active green, on the other hand, which comes with neem and tulsi, is positioned as a herbal handwash.

MARKETING MIX OF LIFEBUOY HANDWASH

PRODUCT MIX:
Product mix of Lifebuoy is all the products and items that it offers. The details of the same are given below: The width includes the range of handwashes, the Shower gel, talcum powder and the liquid hand wash. The product length will include the various fragrances that Lifebuoy offers under its handwash category. These are in the Lifebuoy active gold, Lifebuoy active red, Lifebuoy active orange, Lifebuoy deo fresh, etc. The depth of Lifebuoy includes the variants and the sizes of each of the product that it offers. The depth of Lifebuoy handwashes is Lifebuoy gold has only one category. It gives a variant of 100 gms; Lifebuoy active red gives 75 gms & 125 gms and Lifebuoy clear skin gives 80 gms & 125 gms.

PRICE MIX:
Market penetration: Lifebuoy extensively uses market penetration for its sales of products. All the products that Lifebuoy sales are affordable by one and all. Lifebuoy products are mainly targeted towards lower middle class and hence the prices are low. For example 215ml bottle cost only rs 42. One price strategy: HUL as a company also charges fixed price for all its products and from all its customers. Lifebuoy especially charges fixed price to all its customers throughout the nation. These are the MRP charges. Leader pricing: Lifebuoy also adopts leader pricing when it gives discounts on its products. they also give out schemes such as buy 2 get 1 free, etc. this strategy automatically lowers the prices attracting the customers to buy the product.

PLACE MIX
Zero level: As a brand of HUL, Lifebuoy also follows zero level channel, where it conducts door-to-door selling, where it gives free samples of a new product launched. One level: Lifebuoy follows one level of channel very effectively. Here the manufacturer supplies the goods to the wholesaler who may also act as a retailer and sells to the ultimate customer. Two level: Lifebuoy follows this channel where it follows a traditional channel. Where the manufacturer supplies the goods to the wholesaler , who supplies it to the retailer and ultimately to the consumer. Three level: Lifebuoys, major aim is to cover the untapped rural market for which it needs to have more number of intermediaries to take the goods from the place of production to the place of consumption. It uses these channel level when the manufacturer passes on the goods to the sole distributor, who gives it to the wholesaler who gives it to the small retail shops in the rural areas where the customers can have easy access to the goods.

PROMOTION MIX:
HUL as a company uses integrated marketing communication. It was all the possible promotion tools for making its product famous. Lifebuoy uses all the promotion tools available for selling its product. Advertising : Lifebuoy uses advertising extensive for the sale of its product , they use advertising in all the stages of the product life cycle.they modify the advertisement as the product reaches the concerned stage. Modes of advertising : Broadcasting media Television : Lifebuoy uses various advertisement on television which leave a visual impact on the minds of the customers. These adds value around keeping oneself clean and healthy just by using a soap. Radio : they promote Lifebuoy on the radio sponsoring products such as KRISHI DARSHAN , AAP KA SWASTHYA, a greater number of audience it attracts customers. Another jingle used by them is

Tararum pumpum, Uefhliuerhu] Kabhi khusi kabhi gum, Lifebuoy se nahaya karo..... Tandrust rahe hum , Rajana nahaya karo......!!! Print media Newspapers / magazines : Lifebuoy also uses newspaper for promoting its new products with attractive graphics and catching tg lines. Banners/Posters : Several banners and posters are put out across the city, reflecting the products of Lifebuoy with cathcy images and tag lines such as....... germs free health ko..... Tandurushti kahate hain...... Doctors jise recommend karte hai..... Use Lifebuoy kehte hai......

SALES PROMOTION
Lifebuoy uses sales promotion in several ways to targets its desired audiences Lifebuoy being a consumers. And hence consumer promotion tool is extensively used. Samples: free samples of Lifebuoy soap and handwash were given in its initial stage of introduction. Coupons: coupons in newspaper are a common see where Lifebuoy products go. Recently the coupons printed was on a purchase of a Lifebuoy handwash 250ml u get a Lifebuoy soap absolutely free. Price packs : most of the Lifebuoy handwash are sold with price packs. Its generally always buy 1 get 1 free offer that is available.

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CONCLUSION
As the worlds leading health soap, Lifebuoy aims to make a difference by creating accessible hygiene products (handwash) and promoting healthy hygiene habits. With this in mind, Lifebuoy aims to change the handwashing behaviour of a billion people, by 2015. As part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, Unilever is aiming to improve the hygiene habits of more than a billion people who are living in rural areas.We have reached 100 million people with our handwashing, oral care and self esteem programmes, and a further 35 million with safe drinking water. These initiatives will help reduce the incidence of life-threatening diseases like diarrhoea. At the end we can say that if the people living in rural areas will also start using the lifebuoy liquid handwash then definitely the number of people who are dying due to diarrhoea and other hygienic diseases will be less.

REFERENCE
Google.com Scribd.com Slideshare.com Managementparadise.com Hul.co.in

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