2011

hul[Type text] PGHR11 HUL:AXE: GROUP 4

SUBMITTED BY:

Anuradha Ghosh
11PGHR11
Urshila Thacker
11PGHR57
Gunjan Kumar
11PGHR20
Peeyush Pasbola
11PGHR37
Sidhesh Kamath
11PGHR22
Tanuj Srivastava
11PGHR56

[MARKETING PROJECT
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER:
AXE DEODORANT]
HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest fast moving consumer goods

company owned by the European company Unilever. The Anglo-Dutch company

Unilever owns a 52% majority stake. HUL is the market leader in Indian consumer

products with presence in over 20 consumer categories such as soaps, tea, detergents

and shampoos amongst others with over 700 million Indian consumers using Its

products.

The report deals with our survey on AXE deodorant for men. The first section

comprises an introduction of the project and the methodology adopted. The second

section deals with the SWOT and PEST analysis of the product, followed by the

application of the Porters five forces model to the industry. The third section deals

with the positioning strategy of AXE in the Indian market.

The SWOT analysis came up with a opportunities that could further build on AXEs

strength. AXEs nation-wide presence and distribution network, will make it easier to

spread awareness about new AXE products in different segments of hair gels, shaving

foams, shaving gels and after shaves.

Threats were also analysed, as most competitive brands are going in for mimetic and

normative isomorphism in the advertising for their products. Most advertisements are

similar, showing the attraction of the fairer sex. Our survey concluded that this form

of advertisement was an attention grabber in villages, small towns but the urban city

folk do not get carried away by these advertisements. However, this is a threat

because rural India is fast becoming a market for deodorants and has huge potential.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

Our inference is that AXE body sprays and other products lead the mens grooming

industry. 49% of our respondents favoured AXE over other brands, but surprisingly

they did not believe in the AXE effect, which is what the marketers want the people to

believe in. 35% of those who favoured AXE, did so because of the persona that AXE

exudes, the ruggedness and outdoorsy feel. It makes the men feel and be macho.

We have also discussed the positioning strategy of AXE in the India context.

A top marketing executive at HUL has described AXE as a product that you grow

old with.

AXE is targeted at the younger crowd, but that doesnt imply that people who have

used it all their life will stop using it after they touch 30 or 40. AXE can introduce

new products like anti-perspirants, which is becoming a craze now, but with respect

to AXE deodorant, HUL should just reap the benefits of its marketing strategy and

positioning and do nothing about it. AXE still enjoys market majority.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank Dr.Kapil Kanwil, our professor for the subject Marketing Planning for helping
us gain a deep understanding of the subject and giving us the opportunity to conduct this project on
studying and analysing the market strategies of a chosen product . He has been a constant source of
inspiration to all of us and has motivated us to perform to the best of our abilities. Without his
support and guidance the completion of this project would not have been possible. Also, with
tremendous experience he brings to the class, we have been able to develop a solid foundation to
our course.

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 HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

INDEX

Serial Topic Page No.

No
1 Introduction 6-8

1.1 How levers carved a niche in the market 8-10

1.2 SWOT analysis of AXE deodorant 11

1.3 PEST analysis of AXE deodorant 12-13

2 Five Forces Model 14-15

2.1 Application of FIVE forces model to INDIAN context for AXE 16-17
deodorant
2.2 18-22
Findings of the survey

3 Positioning Strategy of AXE 23

3.1 Should there be a change in the positioning strategy in the 24

present context?
3.2 25
How to make the AXE effect more effective?
3.3 26
Foresights in the future of AXE
4 Conclusion 27
5 References 28

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

SECTION 1

INTRODUCTION

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest fast moving consumer goods company owned by
the European company Unilever. The Anglo-Dutch company Unilever owns a 52% majority stake.

HUL was formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited and came into being in 1956 as Hindustan
Lever Limited through a merger of Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati Mfg. Co. Ltd. and United
Traders Ltd. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India and has an employee strength of over 15,000
employees and contributes to indirect employment of over 52,000 people. The company was
renamed in June 2007 as Hindustan Unilever Limited.

Hindustan Unilever's distribution covers over 1 million retail outlets across India directly and its
products are available in over 6.3 million outlets in the country, nearly 80% of all retail outlets in
India. The company claims that two out of three Indians use its many home and personal care
products, food and beverages.

HUL is the market leader in Indian consumer products with presence in over 20 consumer categories
such as soaps, tea, detergents and shampoos amongst others with over 700 million Indian
consumers using its products. Sixteen of HULs brands featured in the ACNielsen Brand Equity list of
100 Most Trusted Brands Annual Survey (2008).According to Brand Equity, HUL has the largest
number of brands in the Most Trusted Brands List. It has consistently had the largest number of
brands in the Top 50, and in the Top 10 (with 4 brands).

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

The company has a distribution channel of 6.3 million outlets and owns 35 major Indian brands. Its
brands include:

Kwality Wall's ice cream

Knorr soups & meal makers
Lifebuoy
Lux
Pears,
Breeze,
Liril,
Rexona,
Hamam and
Moti soaps,
Pureit water purifier,
Lipton tea,
Brooke Bond (3 Roses, TajMahal, Taaza, Red Label) tea,
Bru coffee,
Pepsodent and
Close Up toothpaste and brushes, and
Surf, Rin and Wheel laundry detergents,
Kissan squashes and jams,
Annapurna salt and atta,
Pond'stalcs and creams,
Vaseline lotions,
Fair and Lovely creams,
Lakm beauty products,
Clear, Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear,
Sunsilk and Dove shampoos,
Vimdishwash,
Ala bleach,
Domex disinfectant,
Modern Bread,
Axedeosprays and
Comfort fabric softeners.

Our chosen product for survey and analysis is AXE DEODORANT for men.

Competitive Landscape of Deodorant Market In India

Deodorant sales are led by Hindustan Unilever Ltd, with the Axe brand; Paras Pharmaceuticals Ltd,
with Set Wet; and McNroe Chemicals Pvt Ltd, with Wild Stone. These three manufacturers held a
combined value share of over 49% in 2010. The leading brand is Axe, with 25% of value in 2010,
followed by Set Wet and Wild Stone with 10% and 9%, respectively. Axe is a well-established and
widely distributed brand, and is heavily supported by advertising across India.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

HISTORY OF AXE

Axe was launched in France in 1983 by Unilever. It was inspired by another of Unilever's
brands, Impulse.
Unilever were keen to capitalize on Axe's French success and the rest of Europe from 1985 onwards,
later introducing the other products in the range. Unilever were unable to use the name Axe in the
United Kingdom and Ireland due to trademark problems so it was launched as Lynx.[1]
The European launch of the deodorant was followed by success in Latin America and moderate
impact in Asia and Africa. In the new millennium, the brand has launched with great success in
the United States and Canada. The company has also consolidated its deodorant portfolio by
migrating other overlapping male deodorants into the Axe brand such as South Africa's Ego brand

INTRODUCTION TO AXE AS A PRODUCT

Axe (or Lynx in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia & China) is a brand of male grooming
products, owned by the British/Dutch company Unilever and marketed towards young males. The
scents range from popular scents to the least common scent called lemon-lime.

Although Axe's lead product is the fragranced aerosol deodorant body spray, other formats of the
brand exist. Within underarm care the following are available: deodorant aerosol body spray,
deodorant stick, deodorant roll-on, anti-perspirant aerosol spray (called Axe Dry), and anti-
perspirant stick (also called Axe Dry).
From its launch, the yearly fragrance variant has played a key part in the success of the brand by
offering something new each year. The type of fragrance variants have evolved over time. From
1983 until about 1989, the variant names were descriptions of the fragrances and
included Musk, Spice, Amber, Marine, and Oriental.
From 1990 until 1996, geographic names for fragrances were used, such
as Africa, Alaska, Java, Nevada, and Inca. From 1996 to 2002, Axe took inspiration from Calvin
Klein fragrances (also owned by Unilever at that time), using the same fragrance consultant, Ann
Gottlieb, to develop the scents to launch variants, such as Dimension, Apollo, Dark
Temptation, Gravity, and Phoenix.
In 2009, the brand launched an 8-centimeter container called the Axe Bullet. The brand has also
extended into other areas such as shower gels,aftershaves, and colognes, skin care, shampoo,
and hairstyling products. Failed extensions include Barbershop [3] and razors.
Most scent names usually have a shower gel to companion them and sometimes an
antiperspirant/deodorant stick.
The 2009 frame has a mint scent.
The Axe Shampoos come in two different sizes, the regular and most seen 12 floz size and the travel
or sample size of 1.7 floz that has a different top, 22oz bottles were introduced recently.
Axe also ships a shower scrub tool called the Axe Detailer.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

1.1 How Levers carved itself a niche in the deodorant market?

No one could have imagined that deodorants would become a 1000 tonne market in India by the
millennium. Not because the need was not strong, but because it has always been a monumental
marketing task, converting people from an old to a new way to meet a primary human need.
In this case the need was to smell good. India being a high-perspiration market and one where body
odour (BO) sensibilities have always been sharp, Camouflage products has always done well and for
several decades a ritualised Indian existence included the usage of a perfumed soap and talcum
powder combination. So when Hindustan UniLever (HUL, previously Hindustan Lever) decided to
create a market for specialised deodorants with the launch of Rexona in the mid 90s, there was
much scepticism.
However, the marketing pundits were proved wrong when the market itself grew from nearly
nothing in 1995 to 308 tonnes in 1997 and was 616 tonnes in 1998. Other brands joined in, but the
market creators share stood at 57% in the initial years.

HLL understood the Indian market. It had a gut-level understanding of the precise coordinates of the
target consumer on a two variable map (conservative-liberal scale on one axis, monetary
tightfistedness on the other). They also had a feel of how quickly this was changing, how the
transformation could be hastened and what could play the catalyst. That they had the marketing
acumen, no one doubted, because back in the mid 90s Rexona was not the first deo to be launched.
Baccorose was selling its Copper for men, with sensual ads that went Before you get close, get
Copper. This was an aerosol spray deo, priced at Rs 200 for a 150 ml can. Fa, aimed at women, was
the other brand in the fray. Neither of these had made a splash.
HLL realised that Copper and Fa were aiming for those who understood the deodorant as being
distinct from a perfume, and also the products advantage over the old soap-talc combination. Those
who already knew the function of a deo. They aimed the product at a market which already knew
that that a deo delivers lasting BO freedom (all through the day) because it doesnt merely mask BO,
but it actually prevents it.
But the majority of Indian consumers couldnt guess it at the time, and that was why the two
pioneers remained insignificant, even as the Indian talcum powder market stood firm at a huge
24,764 tonnes.

HUL understood that selling a deo would require market creation and it was important to
disseminate information. So HULs market approach was different. Research had shown that only 10
per cent of the target population had any awareness of deodorants, and a few felt that BO was their
own private business!
HLL understood that pitching a deo on a high-sensuality platform at this stage could botch up its
chances for a wide consumption base. And that was what the company wanted: to enter the
bathroom cabinet of the relatively conservative Indian household.
So that was why the advertising had a good, clean, family setting to sell the primary benefit. They
knew that the time to do a close-up of the product benefits would come only later, once it had
achieved a multi-generation approval.

HUL was keen on step-up ladder pricing. It wanted to attract people beyond the Indian elite. The
latter in any case were already tuned in to using products like Old Spice, Denim, and other foreign
brands. Thus it was the uninitiated Indian consumer that HLL wanted to target, a consumer who was
contentedly using the soap/talc combination, a consumer who used perfume only occasionally.
Fragrance sensitivity was an important factor as this was often a matter of consensus between the
husband and wife. That was why it chose the brand: Rexona. Rexona was known in India as a soap
although globally it was an anti-per spirant brand.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

Actually that was what HUL wanted to launch firs the Rexona anti-perspirant. But they realised that
an anti-perspirant would baffle people even more than a deo. Besides, an anti-perspirant doesnt
really stop all perspiration, and in a hot sweaty environment that India had, there was a risk that it
would be labelled as a non-performer.

The pitch: a deo that lasts long is worth more per application than talc.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

1.2 SWOT Analysis of AXE Deodorant

STRENGTHS

High Brand Equity the AXE effect is a well known phrase amongst men

As compared to other imported Deodorants and Perfumes, AXE enjoys the strong
distribution of Hindustan Unilever in India

In India, the Marketing team doesnt have the added responsibility of making
commercials, hence can focus on other aspects.

Innovative marketing strategy for instance Call me Campaign

WEAKNESSES

Clichd advertisement concepts the target segment is composed of educated

people who are not swayed over the concept of attracting many women by using
AXE

Priced on the higher side, AXE is considered as more of a luxury than an item of daily
use.

Based on the customer analysis The Axe Effect does not exist

Chauvinistic Publicity

Old designing in packaging

OPPORTUNITIES

Mens grooming industry is a large market around $2.5 billion

AXE has a strong brand identity to tap into other product lines such as Hair gel,
shaving gel, creams etc. targeted at men

AXE can look to launch smaller SKUs or products like shaving gel for mass market.

AXEs women brand LYNX, has a huge potential in India.

THREATS

Other players like Set Wet,Zatak, Wild Stone and other imported deodorants and
perfumes along with local brands.

Dilution of Brand Identity since every competitor has similar concept

advertisements.

Prices are sensitive to trade policies.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

1.3 PEST Analysis of AXE Deodorant

POLITICAL
Considerations:
Stability of political environment.
Government policies on trade (custom duties etc.)
Government stand on marketing ethics
Government policy on economy
Government view on culture and religion
Government involvement in any trade agreements

For AXE:

Government policy on trade.

The custom duty on imported perfume is around 27%

Government stand on advertising

The pattern for almost all deodorant advertisements is based on sexual innuendo
girl attraction to boy spraying deodorant

AXE advertisements are built on this theme. (Axe especially generally imports its ads
and doesnt do indigenous commercials). ASCI may not allow such advertisements to
be aired sometimes.

ECONOMICAL
Considerations:
Interest rates.
The level of inflation. (this directly affects purchase as well as profit margins as costs
increase and then companies have to decide whether to pass this cost to the consumer or
suffer a drop in margin)
General state of the economy a well to do economy is a good place to have demand
based/luxury products.

For AXE:
AXE is not a need based product but is luxury product.
When economy goes down (inflation rises) then people cut down consumption of luxury
products first.
Priced at around Rs 135 for a 150 ml bottle.
Inflation in India is around 9%

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

SOCIAL
Considerations:
Dominant religion.
Attitudes towards foreign products and services.
Roles of men and women within society.
Social Norms.

For AXE:
AXE is basically a deodorant the hot and humid climate of most of India makes the use
of a deodorant socially acceptable. However Axe is positioned as a product aiding
courtship, or boys being more attractive to women. The television commercials that
convey this message also sometimes tend towards the unacceptable side.
Indian Culture is fairly conservative, however since the product is targeted towards the
younger generation which is more progressive and more westernized , the product and
the message that it conveys is accepted
Male grooming is an industry booming in India, and the concept of male grooming is
becoming more and more acceptable with products like fairness creams for men no
longer a stigma.

TECHNOLOGICAL
Considerations:
Does technology allow for products and services to be made more cheaply and to a better
standard of quality?
Do the technologies offer consumers and businesses more innovative products and services
such as Internet banking, new generation mobile telephones, etc?
How is distribution changed by new technologies e.g. books via the Internet, flight tickets,
auctions, etc?
Does technology offer companies a new way to communicate with consumers?

For AXE:

One of the most relevant aspects of technology is Communication.

Internet is one of the biggest platform via which AXE communicates to the consumers.
Social network
AXE page has over 1.5 million fans on Facebook.
The AXE angels club has around 1.8 million fans
Technology (internet) is harnessed to create virtual engagement of the product
with the consumer.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

SECTION 2
FIVE FORCES MODEL

Porters 5 forces model is one of the most recognized frameworks for the analysis of business
strategy. Porter, the guru of modern day business strategy, used theoretical frameworks derived
from Industrial Organization (IO) economics to derive five forces which determine the competitive
intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. This theoretical framework, based on 5 forces,
describes the attributes of an attractive industry and thus suggests when opportunities will be
greater, and threats less, in these of industries.

Attractiveness in this context refers to the overall industry profitability and also reflects upon the
profitability of the firm under analysis. An unattractive industry is one where the combination of
forces acts to drive down overall profitability. A very unattractive industry would be one
approaching pure competition, from the perspective of pure industrial economics theory.

Despite its limitations in the technology enabled business era, Porters 5 forces model is still the
leading framework for the analysis of industry attractiveness. The limitations of the Porters 5 forces
model induced the introduction of the 6th Force, namely the Complementors.

This model comprises of an analysis dependent on 4 entities external to the firm and the fifth force:
the Industry structure. These forces are defined as follows:

1. The threat of the entry of new competitors

2. The intensity of competitive rivalry
3. The threat of substitute products or services
4. The bargaining power of customers
5. The bargaining power of suppliers

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

The 5 forces model has been developed as a response to the SWOT analysis of
competitiveness of firms, and has continued to remain the most popular framework in
business strategy.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

2.1 FIVE FORCES MODEL APPLICATION TO AXE DEODORANT

Threat from new entrants (High)

Axe products face stiff competition from new entrants such as Zatak, Denver, Park Avenue, Old Spice
and others. The other brands have come up with strategies that exhibit mimetic isomorphism. In the
350 crore market of Deodorant industry Axe has, while Hindustan Unilever leads the pack with Axe
(25 per cent market share), other large players in the market place are Henkel (Fa 8.5 per cent) and
CavinKare (Spinz and Hi5, 7.4 per cent). Then there is the long tail: Paras Pharmaceuticals Set Wet
Zatak, Mankind Pharmas Addiction, TTK Healthcares Eva, Godrejs Cinthol, Reebok, Adidas, Nivea
and a host of others. You could call them the armpit warriors.

Threat of Substitutes (Low)

Deodorant industry is booming and is currently a 350 crore market.

AXE is creating value for itself as an aspirational product in the male grooming segment. Customers
have been signing up for wake up calls. Also contrary to popular opinion, not just the urban male,
but even in rural areas, there are takers for the same. Smelling good is totally profitable. AXE has
established itself as a youth icon, right from the packaging to the substance. Substitutes like Talcum
Powders (leave residues), perfumed soaps (dries up skin and makes bathing mandatory) have low
demand.

Bargaining power of Suppliers (low)

Unilever is a very big and strong business entity, which cannot be easily influenced or forced in its
decisions by suppliers, as it is not dependent on one supplier. As stated in the case Unilever has no
problem with supply of raw materials as is able to operate in 100 markets with a variety of products
without run short of raw materials.

Bargaining power of Buyers (High)

Indian men have increasingly become conscious about their looks and how they smell, thus there is a
continuous demand from them for different fragrance they use. Therefore Axe has been coming up
with different fragrances which are differentially prices thus catering to the demands from its
customers.

Competition (High)

Competition is strong in the deodorant segment, because of each brand establishing a sort of niche
market for itself. Research and development in each company, combined with changing customer
preferences are often influenced by external factors and provide a strong base for the industry.
Masculine fragrances, after all, account for 70 per cent of total deodorant sales in the country.

That explains the flurry of high-voltage campaigns by companies such as Godrej Consumer Products
(GCPL), Henkel, Nivea and Elder Pharma. The Rs 350crore male deodorant market is growing at over
50 per cent per annum.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

The reason for this heady growth is that they have become aspirational products, says GCPLs Chief
Operating Officer R K Sinha. GCPL, which has roped in HrithikRoshan to endorse its male deodorant
range, has cornered over 5 per cent market share in a short period. The company is now eyeing the
No 2 slot, which is currently occupied by SetWetZatak at 9.1 per cent.

There are other suitors too for that slot. Nivea Mens deodorant, which entered the market at the
end of 2007, has already overtaken Park Avenue with close to 9 per cent market share. The growth
prompted two other players to enter this segment earlier this month. While Henkel launched
FaMens Extreme with film actor BipashaBasu as its brand ambassador, Elder Health Care along with
VLCC launched Fuel for Men.

The choice of Basu as Fas most visible face is best explained by VenkatesanDeenadayalan, branch
head, Mudra Chennai, the agency behind the FaMens Extreme campaign. Apart from personal
care/protection etc, young men now use deodorants to attract the opposite sex, he says. CavinKare
is also set to join hands with Paris-based $3.5 billion fragrance products maker, Coty, to establish
Adidas brand personal care products in India.

The market for male deodorants at an average price of Rs 140 per bottle is roughly 21.4 million cans
per annum. And contrary to conventional wisdom, the target audience is not just the urban male.
Its moving beyond the metros down the pop strata rapidly, says Priya Nair, category head, oral
care and deodorants, HUL, the makers of Axe.

Smelling good, it seems, has never been so profitable.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

2.2 FINDINGS FROM OUR SURVEY

The survey that we conducted came up with some very fascinating results.

The demographics of the people who took the survey was:

26-32 32+
12% 1%

18-25
26-32
32+

18-25
87%

When questioned how often they use a deo:

Never - you Always have

prefer one on me
originality 1%
7% Always have one on me

once after a bath

Twice or thrice once after a
40% bath
52% Twice or thrice

Never - you prefer

originality

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

And if they have a favourite brand:

No
34%
Yes Yes
52%
Dont care
No

Dont care
14%

Or if advertisements had any bearing on their purchase:

Yes
35%

No
No
65% Yes

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

When quizzed about their deo preferences:

Park Avenue Other

Axe
6% 17%
Axe Garnier Men
Gilette 49%
Old Spice
6%
Zatak
Gilette
Zatak
5% Park Avenue

Old Spice Other

9% Garnier Men
8%

A whopping 49% of the respondents chose AXE over other brands.

They were also quizzed about the visibility of AXE brands.

Offers in
departmental
stores TV Advertisements
19%

Friends Bill boards

13%
TV
Advertisements Internet
61%
Friends
Internet
3%
Offers in departmental
stores
Bill boards
4%

61% were aware of AXE due to TV advertisements and most respondents feel that AXE is rightly
priced at Rs135 for 150ml.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

This naturally took us to the next query: DID THEY BELIEVE IN THE AXE EFFECT?

Yes
16%
Yes
No
49% Dont care; just a
deodorant
No
Dont care;
just a
deodorant
35%

And we saw that 49% did not believe in the AXE effect. So what motivates them to buy AXE? How
do they identify with the product?

Sincerity(down
Competence(rel
to
iable,intelligent
earth,honest,w
and successful)
holesome and
19% Sophistication
cheerful)
(upperclass and 3% Excitement(dari
charming) ng,spirited,imag
7% inative and up-
to-date)
36%

Excitement(daring,spirited,
imaginative and up-to-
date)
Ruggedness (outdoorsy
and tough)

Ruggedness
(outdoorsy and
Competence(reliable,intelli
tough) gent and successful)
35%
Sophistication (upperclass
and charming)

Sincerity(down to
earth,honest,wholesome
and cheerful)

The excitement and ruggedness, the persona of AXE attracts the customers to it.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

Also 54% of our

survey population,
considered AXE as a
cool iconic brand.
Just a
deodorant
26%

A Cool iconic A Cool iconic brand

brand
Not my type 54% Not my type
20%
Just a deodorant

And 68% of them will recommend it to a friend!!

No
32%

Yes
Yes
68% No

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

SECTION 3
POSITIONING STRATEGY

Hindustan Unilever created the deodorant market in India from scratch in 1999 when it
launched Axe. At a time when conservatives still ruled the roost, Axe was positioned as an
instant babe magnet. The brand proposition was cheeky: Dude, wear Axe and women will
begin to fall over you.
The brand is targeted at male aged 16-25. Internationally this brand targets male aged 15-
25. The brand has its brand values of Cool, Fashionable and Stylish and world over, the
brand sticks to its core values.
The biggest strength of AXE is the underlying message or the DNA , which is that the brand
users are High on Confidence. It emphasizes the fact that for all AXE users it is the Girls
Who Make the First Move.
Axes biggest competitive advantage of is its complete monopoly over its brand proposition.
All its campaigns revolve round the central theme of Seduction where Girl make the first
move.Thus AXE has effectively positioned itself as a brand that is cool and fashionable and
wearing it makes you irresistibly attractive.
The brand has always ensured that its customers are constantly engaged with new
fragrances and campaigns. In 2005, Axe had a high profile launch of its new fragrance CLICK
and before that there was Axe Land campaign and followed by Axe-Academy then Axe
Voodoo and the latest one Phenomenon.
Axe is one of the rare brands that have embraced new media to the maximum extent. The
brand has started its Internet based marketing initiative in India with Axe Land which
involved a virtual trip to the Axe world. It is effectively targeting the youth sites like
Facebook , Twitter and YouTube for its marketing and to position itself as a youth icon. Thus
AXE with the changing times is trying out new avenues to position itself as the Coolest
brand to wear

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

3.1 Should there be a change in the positioning strategy in the present context

Unfortunately for AXE there are a bevy of deodorants in the market which are challenging its
dominance. The competitors have already been discussed above. So where does this leave Axe?
Rivals say they have chipped away its dominance in the last few years. There have endless
discussions on should AXE change its position strategy. Many have positioned their brand along
similar lines the babe magnet. To add to the confusion, all deodorants are priced between Rs 100
and Rs 150. In the last two years, another flank has opened up for Axe: Antiperspirants. Discerning
buyers will, sooner or later, move towards antiperspirants.

Hindustan Unilever Category Head (deodorants & oral care) SrinandanSundaram is not too
perturbed with the bevy of deodorants in the market. The company will not reposition or
redefine what Axe represents. Axe will continue to position itself as the cool iconic youth
brand, and the young male (18-25 year olds) will remain the target for Axe.
According to Sundaram, AXE should always be talked in the same line as other young and
trendy products. When that fails then the positioning strategy might have to be changed.
The company believes that just by targeting the younger generation does not mean the
older people wont use it at all. Compare Axe to a pair of Levis jeans we have grown up
wearing it and even when we are 30 or 40 years old, we continue to use it, says Sundaram.
Thus AXE does not need to modify its positioning strategy and its loyal customer will
continue to use AXE irrespective of their age as aptly elucidated by the Levis example quoted
by Sundaram.
In the Indian family structure targeting the youth makes sense. Youth today form a source of
knowledge in large families, and the use of novel products might trickle down to other age
groups. In addition, several families often share products; so even though a young guy might
buy a deodorant, the product is often used by other members in the family.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

3.2 How to Make THE AXE EFFECT more Effective?

Presently AXE is positioned as a product which is used to attract the opposite sex. HUL
should focus on making its consumers wear AXE daily. Recent studies have shown that
in Metros the youth uses deodorants on a daily basis and deodorants are no longer
products used for special occasions. Thus AXE product for daily application is a big
opportunity to give it that competitive edge in the market and also to boost its sales
and profit margins.
For AXE its mainstay has always been advertisements but now almost all its
competitors are promoting their products on the same lines. Thus AXE needs to come
up with advertisements which are unique and radically different than its competitors.
In HUL discussions have been rampant on introducing an element of humor in AXE
advertisements to connect it with the youth of the nation. HUL has also proposed to
increase the advertisement budget for AXE products. All of these proposals should be
implemented to help AXE maintain its numero uno position.
Since the competition has now become a fight for the best and for the most innovative
fragrance, AXE should educate its customers on different and new fragrances. This will
also accelerate market penetration .This can be done by making advertisements
which make consumers connect to the fragrance to something they relate in their
daily life.
AXE should focus more on the digital media. Though AXE has already started using the
digital media like internet and mobile for their promotions, it can use these media for
creating more brand value and creating loyal customers.
AXEs competitors like Godrej Consumer Products and others have brought in
celebrities as their brand ambassadors thus making the consumers to follow the steps
of their role models. Though this is against AXEs marketing strategy (which is that AXE
does wonders to a normal average men)it should be ready to face competition from
such marketing and brand valuing. To counter such advertisements they can come up
with innovativemarketing strategies which directly involve their customers.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

3.3 Foresights In The Future of AXE

With the introduction of entire range of AXE products in India which includes men
grooming cosmetics like hair gels ,hair shower gels and others, it can get way ahead its
competitors which are presently threatening its dominance in the market.
With the growing cosmetic industry in India and especially the booming male
grooming industry AXE might innovate on its products and may introduce a total
makeover range for men.
AXE might have to do some serious price cutting as the other products in the markets
might come up with less expensive products thus turning the deodorant market
competition into a price war.
As there have been a number of controversies in relation to the AXE advertisements,
which have been labeled as too obscene and have been forced to be taken off air, AXE
might come up with an advertisement strategy catering to the Indian industries and
yet maintaining its youth icon.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

CONCLUSION

Axe has a success story that is immensely difficult to emulate. One can only marvel and enjoy at the
market strategies adopted by HUL for making a success in a conservative society like India. It has got
everything perfect for its success; it got its segments correct, with exemplary targeting and a
positioning strategy which has helped it maintain in dominance for the past 12 years.

The marketing strategies of AXE are very novel and unique. The SWOT and PEST analysis of AXE gave
us an insight into how AXE created its brand value and what are the threats it faces in the current
booming male cosmetics industry. The 5 Forces model further confirmed that the dominance of AXE
as number one is indeed threatened. Though AXE has several advantages of a strong distribution
channels of HUL, its competitors are leaving no stones unturned. The present market of male
deodorant has a penetration rate of 2-3%, and this has attracted a dozen of deodorants in the
market, compelling AXE to introduce innovative marketing strategies to fight off the competition.

Finally we studied the positioning strategy of AXE and in spite of the competition HUL has no plans
to reposition it in the market. As for now AXE does not has much to fear but how the future unfolds
is yet to be seen.

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HUL: Axe deodorant Group 4

REFERENCES

Marketing Management by Philip Kotler, Kevin Keller, Abraham Koshy, Mithileshwar Jha.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axe_%28grooming_product%29
http://www.hul.co.in/brands/personalcarebrands/Axe.aspx
http://drypen.in/case-studies/axe-deodorants-axe-call-me-campaign-and-strategic-
communication-challenges.html
http://www.slideshare.net/anafts/plan-marketing-axe
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/can-axe-retain-its-effect/415654/
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-05-28/news/27728088_1_unilever-harish-
manwani-vindi-banga
http://marketingpractice.blogspot.com/2007/07/axe-axe-effect.html

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