Final

BRAND MANAGEMENT PGDM 2010-12

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BRAND MANAGEMENT GROUP ASSIGNMENT

BY -

SAYANTANI SAHA (2010211)

SHILP JAIN (2010214)

SHIVALI (2010216)

SHIVANG MISRA (2010217)

SUNAL KAPOOR (2010235)

URMI PATEL (2010246)


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1. INTRODUCTION

Fiercely competitive but deeply penetrated, toilet soaps are part of the growing tribe

of cleansing and beautifying products available across the country. There are scores of brands

and an even greater number of variants making for a bewildering range. But that is just as

well. For the Indian market having more than 4500 towns and cities and in excess of 580,000

villages must cut through several price points and fragrances to satisfy everyone. Despite a

penetration of 88.60% (Source: soap industry of India) the per capita consumption is poor. At

460 grams per annum it compares unfavourably with analogous economies such as Brazil,

which notches up 1100 grams. Toilet soaps are marketed through 5 million retail stores of

which 3.75 million are in rural areas, reaching 70% of India‘s population but selling only

50% of its volume (Source: soap industry of India). Obviously, the market is vast and offers

exciting possibilities and thus has a huge number of players.

The name ―Lux‖ was chosen as the Latin word for ―Light‖ and because it was

suggestive of luxury. The brand connects a wide range of people like Hollywood actor Paul

Newman, Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and All India

Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J. Jayalalitha as a brand endorser. Lux was first

introduced in UK in 1899 as a flaked version of Sunlight soap. Subsequently, it was launched

in the US in 1916, and marketed as laundry soap targeted specifically at ―delicates‖. Lux

toilet soap was introduced as bathroom soap in US in 1925 & in UK in 1928. Produced and

marketed by Lever Brothers, it offers people a chance to pamper themselves for a modest

price.

From the 1930s to 1970s, Lux soap colours and packaging were altered several times

to reflect fashion trends. This allowed people to match their soap colour with their bathroom

colours. In the early 1990s, Lux responded to the growing trend away from traditional soap

bars by launching its own range of shower gels, liquid soaps and moisturising bars.

Lux brand as on date includes soaps, shower gels, body lotions and a hair care range

with shampoos, conditioners and styling product in the international market. It is sold in more

than 100 countries, and is the market leading soap brand in Brazil, Thailand, Arabia, India

and Bangladesh.


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2. LAUNCH

Lux was launched in India in 1929 and since then , has been endorsed by popular film

stars. Lux is the biggest brand in the soap category. The only major competitor during its

initial years was from Lifebuoy, a soap from the parent brand. The first Lux manufactured in

India was in the year 1934, having a price tag of 2 annas.It was positioned as a beauty soap,

and the message in the initial years was ―If it‘s good enough for a film star, then it‘s good for

you, too‖. Its tagline then was Filmy Sitaron Ka Saundarya Sabun, which continued till the

80s.

POSITIONING

Lux started off with very clear positioning, by differentiating it from rivals by stating

it as ―Filmy Sitaron ka Saundarya Sabun‖. Its differentiating factor was the beauty and the

glamour it invoked by roping in actress Leela Chitnis. It was then targeted to urban women in

the premium segment as it had a princely sum of 2 annas. Since its launch, it has been

available in various colours and fragrances. It tapped into an emotion very close to

humanity‘s basic need—social interaction

CORE VALUE, VALUE PROPOSITION & PERSONALITY

Lux stands for the promise of beauty and glamour as one of India's most trusted

personal care brands. Right from the time it was first launched in the US, Lux has stood for

beauty and the core value has been to deliver good skin care. The value it provides to its

customers is the beauty of skin Lux provides. Lux was launched as an aspirational brand for

the customer.


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PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

Lux initially did not offer many variants, but

it came out with a single colour product at first.

Later in the year in 1958, it came out with five

variants - pink, white, blue, green and yellow. The figure given to the

left shows the first Lux and one of the earliest ads portraying Leela

Chitnis.

COMPETITIVE SCENARIO

The only major competitor of Lux during its launch was Lifebuoy, a product from

HUL itself. But Lifebuoy concentrated on dirt removal and cleansing but Lux brought in the

concept of skincare, thus it completely gave itself a new category.

SOCIO ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

India was not an open economy when Lux was launched in 1929. Lifebuoy was the

prevalent soap brand from the parent company itself. The ―soap category‖ in the past was

targeted at the mass market, i.e. soap for all, but, today, the category has been segmented

creatively at different levels.

BRAND AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES

Lux is a super brand that has celebrated beauty across the world since 1925. The soap

has been endorsed by the beautiful film stars since it has come to India in 1929. The first

brand ambassador of Lux in India was the then glorious face of silver screen ‗Leela Chitnis‘.

The communication medium/platform used by the brand at the time of its launch was print

media alone in which displayed Leela Chitnis promising customers a lovelier skin.

DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS

The only competition which was present for Lux when it was launched was from the

product of its parent company itself – Lifebuoy. However, it was portrayed as soap focused

on providing dirt removing and cleansing features. Lux on the other hand positioned itself as


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a premium brand. In order to strengthen its image of the premium brand, it roped in the

gorgeous beauties of the silver screen and also priced it high.

ACHIEVEMENTS & SUCCESS

Lux was successful in creating a whole new segment of luxury soaps in India as its

rival was more focused on a cleansing aspect of a soap. The segment was ruled by the

creators itself at that time. Since it created a category of beauty soaps, it did not hold a

myopic view by limiting itself to cleansing feature of soaps as others were doing. It targeted

women customers by roping in actresses and thus catered to the appeal of its target

audience‘s desire to have a lovely skin. The very factor of skincare helped them get an edge

over others, thus allowing them to charge a premium. This strategy helped them in creating

an instant brand image in the minds of the customers and gave them a kick start.


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3. THE LUX JOURNEY

Brand Evolution

Lux is a super brand that has celebrated beauty across the world since 1925. The soap has been

endorsed by the beautiful film stars since it has come to India in 1929. With top movie stars – from

Madhubala to Madhuri, from Babita to Karisma and Kareena having endorsed the goodness of Lux

over generations, it was natural that the brand has built equity as the best beauty soap in India.

Introduction Stage

In the initial stages Lux was introduced in the major cities of India like Calcutta, Mumbai etc. The

marketing objective was to create the product awareness and to attract the customers towards the

product.In the initial stages, the funds allocated for the advertising purpose were high in order to

underpin the image which HLL created around the brand ‗Lux‘.

Growth Stage

In the growth stage, their sales rapidly started rising. Also, they expanded their market to the other

cities of India.

Maturity Stage

In this stage, few competitors entered into the market like Cinthol, Fairglow, Santoor, Chandrika,

Fiama Di Wills and Vivel etc. The company expanded their market to almost all the cities of India.

Milestones achieved throughout the journey:

1934: Lux soap manufactured in India for the first time.

1958: Lux comes up in five different colors – pink, white, blue, green and yellow.

1989: Launched the range of ‗premium soaps‘ to suit different skins.

Early 1990s: Introduced Lux shower gel, liquid soaps and moisturizing bars.

2004: Entire range was re-launched to include five new shower gels.

2005: Celebrates completion of 75 years in India. Launches ‗Har Star Lucky Star‘

offer.

2006: Lux Body Wash launched special edition Lux Body Wash packs.


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2007: Launched two new variants; All new pink in a special edition pack and Lux crystal

shine.

2008: Launched the 'Lux Provocateur', the first black bathing soap of the Country

Today: Till date nearly 50 Bollywood heroines have featured in Lux ads.

Changes in Product Portfolio

• From 1930s right through the 1970s – soap colors & packaging altered several times.

• In 1958, 5 colors made up the range – pink, white, blue, green and yellow.

• In the early 1990s, Lux responded to the growing trend away from traditional soap bars by

launching its own range of shower gels, liquid soaps and moisturizing bars.

• In 2004, the entire Lux range was relaunched, to include five shower gels, three bath products

and two new soap bars.

• 2005 saw the launch of three exciting new variants with dreamy names such as ―Wine &

Roses‖ bath cream, ―Glowing Touch‖ and ―Sparkling Morning‖ shower gels.

• Four variants of Lux are also being introduced: Golden Glow, Almond Delight, Orchid Touch

and Energising Honey.

• 2006: Lux Body Wash launched special edition Lux Body Wash packs.

Changes in communication strategy

Lux was being projected as an aspirational brand and the endorsements by stars further reinforced the

positioning. However, the communication was slowly seen to be losing relevance, as consumers were

beginning to question if the film star actually used the brand. To answer this, Lux came up with the

strategy ‗brought out the star in you’ for the first time and moved the brand away from the long-

running film star route.

Breaking away from tradition, HLL also resorted to a male and metro sexual Shah Rukh Khan to

revive Lux. The target audience for Lux is women and Shah Rukh is a great favourite with women of

all ages. So the strategy for Lux did not really change.


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Breaking away from tradition, HLL resorted to a male and metro sexual Shah Rukh to revive

Lux

Developing New Variants

Lux is always a step ahead of trends rather than following the trend. It would rather orient and direct

the change rather than follow it. This flag-bearing programme according to the company, helped in

timing the relaunch.

Also by using brand-oriented research, the company identified two sets of consumers. One was the

loyal base of existing Lux Beauty Bar consumers. The other was the target segment which would be

the source of growth for Lux.

This segment comprised of those customers who were buying soaps in the sub-popular segment, but

could shift upwards if a better product was offered in the popular segment. A company executive

says, ―The entire relaunch exercise was aimed at delivering a superior mix, which would tap into this

source of growth.‖

The consumer needs and triggers which were identified included: fragrance, quality of lather, long-

lasting, value for money product, familiarity and belief were factors that translated into a sense of

reliability and quality. This helped in the delivery of the new product.

Several options were considered for the Lux relaunch. These included mood-enhancing perfume

positioning. Skin-care based ingredients like glycerin, sandal and saffron were considered.

According to company after scanning 60 or 70 options across both national and international markets

almond oil, honey and milk cream were the chosen ones.

Performance vis-a-vis competition


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The personal wash is a highly penetrated market. Consumption lags even in South Asian countries

like Indonesia. The market has been stagnant over the last four years and the low entry barriers have

led to intense competition between national and local brands.

The last three years have seen Lux continue to grow far ahead of the market. A key initiative has been

the launch of Mini Lux – strategically priced to bring it within the reach of 300 million rural

consumers. The introduction of new perfume and in gradient variants addressing the new benefit

segment has been the growth driver.


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4. LUX AS IT STANDS TODAY

POSITIONING

With icons of beauty endorsing the brand, the offerings made by Lux have always

been superior and have always led the market, setting benchmarks for competition. The

positioning of Lux as remained same throughout the time horizon that is of catering to

women aspiring for soft, beautiful and lovely skin. Thus, it symbolizes the essence of

smooth and lovely skin. Lux has also carried out the its legend by roping in silver screen

gorgeous faces as a brand ambassador for its products.

CORE VALUES, VALUE PROPOSITION & PERSONALITY

Lux stands for the promise of beauty and glamour as one of India's most trusted

personal care brands. Lux‘s secret of longevity has been its consistent evolution—be it the

soap colour, packaging or new variants, the brand has banked on innovation to keep its

youthful image intact. The personality has reduced from being an aspirational brand to just

another beauty soap, as the use of celebrities as brand ambassadors is also very common

among its competitors. Lux has lost the emotional appeal it had till the 80‘s as it is seems to

be another me-too product in the cluttered market of beauty soaps.

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

Lux has beauty offerings in two of the four market segments popular and premium,

spanning the needs of varied consumers. At the upper end of the market is the premium

range which continues to offer specialised skincare to its consumers in the form of

International Lux a range of moisturising, deep cleansing and sunscreen soaps. Keeping in

tune with the changing times it has also launched Lux Body Wash which offers superior

bathing benefits. To establish the presence of nourishing ingredients in the new Lux, a unique

concept, ingredients you can see in the soap, was born. A novel metallic substrate packaging

beautifully showcased the ingredients and its globally accepted ingredient-linked perfumes

heightened the sensorial experience. Figure below shows various Lux products available

now.


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BRAND AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES

USP or the common thread through all the advertisements is the Presence of Movie

Stars through the ages. The product has been positioned on the basis of REFERANCE

GROUP by using a celebrity popular at that point in time. Some amount of attribute

positioning by mentioning the various ingredients has also been done .Lux campaigns have

wooed millions of people over the decades. Popularly known as the beauty soap of film

stars, Lux has been an intimate partner of the brightest stars on the silver screen for decades.

An ode to their beauty, an announcer of their stardom, advertising campaigns on Lux have

featured film stars across the nation, promising their beauty and complexion to ordinary

women. With top movie stars from Madhubala to Madhuri, from Babita to Karishma and

Kareena having endorsed the goodness of Lux over generations, it was natural that the brand

has built equity as the best beauty soap in India. From the beginning Lux, by using a leading

film star of the time, has fulfilled the consumers aspirations of using beauty soaps via the

rationale µif it‘s good enough for a film star, it‘s good for me. This later moved into a

transformation role of having a bath with Lux, which transports the user into a fantasy world

of icons, film stars and fairy lands.

COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS

During this present digital age, there are various platforms on which are being used by

the brand.

TVC – caters to a wide audience

Print Media – mass marketing


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Event Sponsorship – It sponsors various

reality shows on the small screen to attract

audience.

Contests – It conducts various

sweepstakes and contests foe sales

promotion. One of the major successful

contests was during its 75th

anniversary in

2005 of ―Har star Lucky star‖

Facebook page – Appeals to a younger audience.

Promotion

Sales promotion, a key ingredient in marketing campaigns, consists of a collection of

incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of

particular products or services by consumers or the trade. Whereas advertising offers a reason

to buy, sales promotion offers an incentive to buy.


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Prominent Sales Promotion Schemes Used By LUX

Lux presented 30 gm gold each to the first three winners of the Lux Gold Star

offer from Delhi. According to the promotional offer that Lux unveiled in October

2000, a consumer finding a 22-carat gold coin in his or her soap bar got an

opportunity to win an additional 30 gm gold. The first 10 callers every week got a 30

gm gold each. The offer could be availed only on 100 gm and 150 gm packs of Lux

soap.

Lux Star Bano, Aish Karo contest: All one needed to do was buy a special

promotional pack of Lux soap. The pack comes with a special scratch card. The 50

lucky winners and their spouses were flown down to Mumbai to live a day like

Aishwarya Rai would. They could also be given gift vouchers worth Rs 50,000 from

Shoppers' Stop along with an exclusively designed Neeta Lulla sari and a beauty

makeover by Michelle Tung, Aishwarya's preferred designer and stylist. The pièce de

résistance was a dinner date with Aishwarya Rai herself.

Lux celebrated 75 years of stardom with the Her Star Lucky Star activity.

All wrappers of Lux had a star printed inside them. If the consumer found written

inside the star, any number from 1 to 5 she would get an equivalent discount on her

purchase

If the consumer found 75 years written inside the star, she will get a year‘s

supply of Lux free.

Public Relations

Not only must the company relate constructively to customers, suppliers and dealers,

it must also relate to a large number of interested publics. A public is any group that has an

actual or potential interest in or impact on a company‗s ability to achieve its objectives. PR

involves a variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company‗s image or its

individual products.

LUX PR Activities

Press relations:

Lux has been maintaining constant communicating with its customers and potential

Customers, of the various developments taking place in the brand by using press relations.


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Events:

Lux celebrated 75 years of existence in a grand way by unveiling Shahrukh Khan as their latest

brand ambassador. Kareena Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Sridevi and Hema Malini graced the event

and made it special. All the stars have endorsed Lux in the past. The event was held at the

grand Intercontinental in Mumbai.

Limited edition:

Coming up with limited edition of the brand is also a way of attracting attention towards the

brand. It creates a buzz and a feeling of urgency to try out the product and helps in promotion

of the brand. This strategy was also implemented by Lux by bringing out limited editions like

Chocolate Seduction, Aromatic Glow, Festive Glow and Haute Pink.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC SCENARIO

Since India is an open economy now, a lot of competition is available in the market.

Toilet soap category has become more of a commodity now with the advent of wide network

of distribution channel. Price wars are very much prevalent in this market.

LUX vis- a-vis COMPETITION

No such difference exists between its rivals as there is no clear differentiating strategy offered

by Lux. Pears & Dove are premium category soaps from the parent brand. But positioning of

Lux is no different from Fiama di wills or Breeze or Dyna as they all have silverscreen faces.

Internal competitors External competitors

Breeze Santoor

Rexona Fiama di Wills

Lifebuoy Vivel

Hamam Fairglow

Chandrika

Godrej No. 1

Nirma


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FAILURE STRATEGIES

Lux has not been able to sustain its differentiating position as it had started off. It has

now become a just another me- too brand in the toilet soap category. It did not evolve as the

times changed and new entrants cluttered the market space completely.

Choclate Seduction variant of Lux was also a failure as it failed to encompass the

value of Lux, even in its ads. Certain high end Lux International products, though available in

India, but do not have a good amount of visibility and availability in retail outlets.


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5. THE ROAD AHEAD

STRATEGY EVALUATION & SUGGESTIONS

Do’s

1. Positioning

Lux was initially a premium brand. Lux was being projected as a desirable brand for

the female audiences and the endorsements by stars further reinforced the positioning.

When Lux started in India in 1929, the original proposition of the brand was that Lux

was 'The beauty soap of film stars'. For about 80 years now, the proposition and the

advertising idea of the brand has not changed much. The proposition has always been

glamorous beauty and the advertising idea is that if one uses Lux, one will look like a

film star. The increasing competition in the soap category forced Lux to rethink on its

targeting strategy.

The brand had a choice either to compromise on market share and uphold the

premium positioning or to retain the market share and dilute the positioning. Lux

wanted to ensure that the brand be positioned as premium but also did not wanted to

compromise on the share. Thus born International Lux which is the premium variant

and the affordable segment was catered by Lux beauty soap.

2. Continue celebrity endorsements

For the past 8 decades Lux has been endorsed by the celebrities only. It should stick

to this mantra and continue doing so in the future.

3. Maintain it as luxury product

We would continue to position Lux as a premium brand luxury product only. We

would stress on the part that it‘s a luxury product by communicating it to the masses.

Our ads would be designed so as to continue positioning Lux as a luxury product. We

would also continue the production and positioning of Lux international as a brand

only for the elite classes.


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Dont’s

1. Lux as men’s brand

Lux is seen as beauty soap for women. Deviating from its core value and offering this

soap to men won‘t work. Rather a new variant of lux i.e. Luxzz for men should be

introduced

2. Diluted brand positioning

Lux has always been a beauty product used & endorsed by celebrities. Even though

LUX did not change its positioning over years the competition changed, almost all the

beauty soaps had started using celebrities in their advertisements. This diluted the

positioning of LUX as a brand that was used by celebrities. Common people the

actual target audience found it hard to believe that the celebrities actually used LUX.

The entire product offered by the competitors also provides beauty so there is no point

of differentiation for LUX. Lux can position itself as a brand that not only provides

the user good skin but also an exotic experience. Its can position itself as a soap that is

so luxurious that you feel even the most simplest of bath as being treated royally.


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6. OUR VIEW

After analyzing the present and past strategies of the brand we came up with a few

suggestions for the brand in the future.

1. Lux Spa Kit

Lux has been a product for elite class. Apart from Lux beauty soaps, it should bring

in a lux Spa Kit. It can include a loofah, aromatic body wash, brushes, spa oils etc.

This could appeal to the customer by giving them a luxurious and exotic experience.

The customer can feel special and relaxed after using the kit.

The ads of this kit can focus on how different celebrities engage in relaxation after a

hard day of work and how that gives them the boost to move on as they feel refreshed

after using the product. The product will be for the customers to feel like a star, to feel

special.

2. Luxzzz for Men

Sharukh Khan endorsing a Lux soap which is been perceived as a beauty soap for

women didn‘t go well with the masses. Instead of a male celebrity promoting Women

oriented soap, Lux should rather bring in a Men centric soap.

To differentiate it from the female category, HUL can name this product as Luxzz.

This ―Luxzzz‖ could have the tag line of lux for men, to bring out the superstar in

you. Endorsing Sharukh khan again for this product would work well as he is already

a superstar.

3. Wide range of body wash

Currently lux is operating in the body wash segment with 4 variants of fragrances. To

capture this segment and create a strong hold in the market, Lux should introduce

body wash with other fragrances and exotic aromas .These can include various

aromas like Rose, lavender, jasmine, lemon, orange, clove ,vanilla etc. The fragrances

should be such that they give and relaxing and refreshing element to the user when

she bathes. It should come with these fragrances after conducting a thorough market

research to know what appeals to the masses.


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4. 7 day enchanted

This can be a new addition wherein a combination of 7 body wash can be used on 7

days of a week. This could be a compact bottle with a nozzle that can be turned in

seven different angles for seven different days. This would be a very exciting brand

extension and customer would at the least be excited about the same and out of

curiosity buy the product.

Once the word of mouth spreads that such a product is available the consumers would

want to try out the product. This could help the brand rope in customers of other

brands also thus increasing their market.

5. Face washes in India

Beauty oriented Lux can easily capture with a brand extension in the face wash arena.

This could help the brand increase its offerings as well as increase its brand value.

6. Lux deodorant

If Lux plans to differentiate itself as a luxury brand then it would have outer product

support in its basket just to enhance the existing product. If body washes of different

fragrances can be supported by deodorants of the same fragrance it would be an added

value product to the consumer. Initially it can be sold as a package along with the

body wash and later it can be introduced a different product category.


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7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

‗Lux: Celebrating Beauty‘, January 17th

, 2007

http://marketingpractice.blogspot.com/2007/01/lux-celebrating-beauty.html

Srivastava Pallavi, 2011, ‗The Soap Opera: Cover Story, Vivel, May 2011

http://www.itcportal.mobi/newsroom/Media-Reports/2011/pr-may-2011.pdf

‗Case Study of Lux‘, April 2nd

, 2011

http://www.citeman.com/14827-case-study-of-lux/

‗Brand Identity of Lux‘,

http://www.projectfever.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&product

s_id=98

www.luxindia.in

http://www.hul.co.in/brands/personalcarebrands/Lux.aspx

http://www.superbrandsindia.com/images/brand_pdf/consumer_1st_edition_2004/lux/

index.htm

http://paprikacanvas.blogspot.com/2011/04/lux-legacy.html

http://www.citeman.com/14827-case-study-of-lux/

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