Introduction

Lifebuoy is a brand of soap containing phenol marketed originally by Lever Brothers in England
beginning in 1895. Its one of the most successful brands in the FMCG segments. Since 2004,
Lifebuoy was improved from a hard carbolic soap to a bathing bar, repositioned for the whole
family. The range includes variants such as Active, Herbal, Gold White and Gold Pink.
In addition to its soap offering, Lifebuoy is now available in Shampoo (Lifebuoy Protein Health
Shampoo, Lifebuoy Herbal Health Shampoo and Lifebuoy Anti-Dandruff shampoo), Liquid
Hand Wash and body wash.
Ill be analyzing the success story of repositioning lifebuoy carbolic soap to above mentioned
brands as below,
The History of lifebuoy
Lever was actively seeking the perfect formula for a soap product that could fight with germs
and still be affordable to everyone. In what could be termed as a major scientific breakthrough of
the era, he found just that in carbolic acid.
In 1894, William Hesketh Lever launched Lifebuoy in the UK as the Royal Disinfectant
Soap.After launching it as a new product in the UK, for better personal hygiene. Soon after,
Lifebuoy travelled across the world in high speed, reaching countries such as Sri lanka, where
even today it is still the market leading for the similar brand.
Key facts regarding brand lifebuoy

Today Lifebuoy is sold in Asia and parts of Africa. It is market leader in every Asian
market where it is sold

Lifebuoy soap has been proven in laboratories to provide 100% more effective germ
protection than ordinary soaps

In 2005, Lifebuoy was awarded a 'Citizen Brand' accolade in Indonesia in recognition of

the work the brand has undertaken in hand wash education

Lifebuoy is Manufactured & distributed by Unilever-Sri Lanka.

About Unilever -Sri Lanka
Unilever Sri Lanka is one of the biggest FMCG companies in Sri Lanka which has a diverse
portfolio in the categories of home care, personal care and foods. Unilever Sri Lanka produces
95% of its products locally with a 75 year long manufacturing presence with Sunlight, Lux and
Pears Rose. Unilever Sri Lanka was incorporated in 1938 and now it owns 29 strong brands in

their portfolio respective categories. Furthermore, Unilever Sri Lanka was ranked as the fourth
most respected entity in Sri Lanka by LMD in 2011, and was rated the number one employer of
choice in a survey conducted by TNS.
Type of business- Fast moving consumer goods company with local manufacturing facilities
Operations - Home Care, Personal Care and Foods
Product categories - Household care, fabric cleaning, skin cleansing, skin care, oral care, hair
care, tea, spreads, toilet cleaning, personal grooming, water
Brands - Astra, Axe, Bru, Ceylonta, Clear, Close Up, Comfort, Domex, Dove, Fair & Lovely,
Flora, Knorr, Laojee, Lipton, Lifebuoy, Lux, Marmite, Pears, Ponds, Pureit, Rexona, Rin,
Signal, Sunsilk, Sunlight, Surf Excel, Vaseline, Vim and Wonderlight.

Lifebuoys marketing strategy

Market Segmentation
We can discuss lifebuoys marketing segmentation from below basis,

Target Market
Unilever uses differentiated marketing for lifebuoy soap, as they target market segments and
design separate product (variety of soaps, hand wash, shampoos).

Geographic
World region: Asia
Countries : Sri
Lanka/Pakistan/Indi
a
Cities :Mostly all
cities in the country
Areas: Urban &
rural /Hospitals

Demographic
Age : 6 to 50
plus

Psychographic
Life style: Outdoor/
Working personal

Behavioral
Benefits : Total protection
from germs

Gender :
Everyone
Income : Low
to medium high
Family size : 2
to 5 plus

Class: Middle to low

class
sporting personals &
children

Usage levels : Before meals

& hygiene required places
User status: Regular

Mother the health doctor:

The idea of the mother as a protector of family health evolved into timeless that is a part of
Lifebuoy advertising even today.
Children
Children are the most targeted segment of lifebuoy because they are the ones who mostly
affected from germs.
Lifebuoy mission is to create awareness about How to prevent from germs especially among
children age 8 to 18 year
In order encourage childrens germ protection the brand encourages/proposed following actions
in several occasions

After coughing or sneezing

After going to the toilet
After handing animals
When preparing, serving or eating food
Before and after being with someone who is ill
When you've been out in public or crowded places
After you come home from work or school

Positioning
Lifebuoy is always positioned as hygienically soap product of the consumer minds,
Major changes have been made to the carbolic Lifebuoy soap bar since 2000 to ensure that it
provides improved hygiene protection as well as more enjoyable healthy washing experience for
its consumers. The major changers are listed below,
1. Lifebuoy soap's classic hard red brick shape has been replaced with a new
developed Lifebuoy shape.
This new shape makes the bar easier to grip and use.
2. The Lifebuoy Brand team has developed a new formulation providing even better
germ protection which creates a rich lather on the skin.
3. Lifebuoy soap's characteristic medicated, carbolic smell has been replaced with a
more enjoyable and contemporary 'health' fragrance

Lifebuoy has always played a role in times of crisis, helping to prevent the spread of germs and
disease that also cemented on the consumer heads that it has the power to elimination of germs,
below are some incidents that the lifebuoy brand itself helped to the community so that the image
positioned in the minds of consumer.

During the Blitz of London in 1940, Lifebuoy soap provided free emergency mobile
washing facilities to Londoners. Lifebuoy vans were equipped with hot showers, soap
and towel

In the aftermath of the Tsunami in Asia in December 2004, Lifebuoy bars were a key
element in the relief packages distributed in Southern India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia to
help prevent the spread of infectious diseases so endemic in the aftermath of such
disasters

In 2005 over 200 000 bars of Lifebuoy soap were donated to UNICEF and the
International Committee of the Red Cross to support their earthquake relief operations in
Northern India and Pakistan

Instead of all above they carry out social activities such as Global hand washing day ,In safe
hands and local interventions to educate the children the importance of the germ protection,

Repositioning strategy of lifebuoy

What is Brand repositioning?
Developing and operationalizing a new strategy to move a brand to a new market position by
influencing new consumers to consider, prefer and ultimately purchase the brand offering, or by
influencing existing consumers to assign greater value to the brand.
Rational for repositioning
Since 1894, Lifebuoy was the hygiene brand for the world; it was the consumers trusted germ
killing brand ensures the 100% protection for everyone. But it was a huge competition with the
brand Dettol.
Dettol, the leading brand of Reckitt Benckiser and a global leader in the health and hygiene
category celebrates 52 years of trusted protection in Sri Lanka. Under the Dettol Protects
initiative, Dettol is launching a series of school and public awareness programs across the
country. The brand will continue its efforts to educate new mothers on germ protection.

Repositioning
Unilever decides to reposition the lifebuoy brand to get the competitive advantage, so theyve
repositioned this brand in two occasions,
(1) Repositioned as Improved offering for the family
Since 2004, Lifebuoy was improved from a hard carbolic soap to a bathing bar
repositioned for the whole family. This new change offers a winning mix that simply
delights consumers and provides them with a wider choice. The range includes variants
such as Active, Herbal, Gold White, Gold Pink, Total, care, etc.

The re-launch strengthens this equity by repositioning the brand. Lifebuoy was
previously targeted at the male user with an individual-oriented success through health
positioning. The new Lifebuoy is targeted at todays discerning housewife with a more
inclusive family health protection for my family and me positioning.
In this scenario, Lifebuoy used the same product to a different segment of the market, so
they have used the Market repositioning approach.

Product
Same
Same

Changed

Target Market

Lifebuoy Active offers the consumer a differentiated health perfume while offering the
health benefit of Lifebuoy.
At the upper end of the market, Lifebuoy offers specific health benefits through Lifebuoy
International (Plus and Gold). Lifebuoy International Plus offers protection against germs
which cause body odor, while Lifebuoy International Gold helps protect against germs
which cause skin blemishes.

Changed

Image RepositioningProduct Repositioning

Market Repositioning Total Repositioning

(2) Repositioned as Different products

In 2008/2009 this champion brand converted to other products in addition to its soap
offering, also target market was also changed from original position,
Lifebuoy is now available in Shampoo, Liquid Hand Wash and body wash,etc.

Lifebuoy Protein Health Shampoo contains a unique formulation with milk

protein, which nourishes hair in 5 ways.
Lifebuoy Herbal Health Shampoo contains 5 unique herbal ingredients that
protect hair in a natural way.
Lifebuoy Anti-Dandruff shampoo offers 100% better protection in fighting
dandruff causing bacteria.

Lifebuoy Hand Wash is the most convenient way to protect hands against
infectious causing germs and available in three great offerings-- Active Care/
Gentle Care and Herbal Care.

Everyday, dirt and pollution blocks pores, providing a fertile breeding ground for
harmful germs, ultimately resulting in various skin problems. Lifebuoy Body
Wash provides deep cleansing of pores, protecting against the three root causes of
skin health problems clogged pores, over-drying, and germs.

Target Market

In this scenario, both the product & target market has been changed so this is
Total repositioning

Same
Same

Changed

Product
Changed

Image Repositioning Product Repositioning

Market Repositioning Total Repositioning

Success of Repositioning
The success of the repositioning journey is that the lifebuoy image wasnt changed of the
consumer minds although it had been repositioned in the market for several occasions.
Consumers who still feels the lifebuoy image as its more hygienically product and it gives
protection from germs and the repositioned products promotes with that core concept.
Also lifebuoy able to grab huge competitive advantage with the repositioning while other similar
brands that dont have that kind of variety their portfolio around mother brand, therefore other
brands have to follow the brand lifebuoy.
These successful factors reflects the achievements & awards such as,
Lifebuoy (Unilever Sri Lanka's flagship germ-protection brand) won all three key awards
that it was nominated for at the recently concluded SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards in
2012.
Lifebuoy Germ Fighter Ad was voted TV Commercial of the Year at the Slim Neilson
People's Awards 2010.

Key leanings

(1) Capturing high market share of a particular brand through continuous innovation with
keeping mother brand and build products around it, because the mother brand so strongly
positioned in the minds of the consumer.
(2) Understating competitor influence towards to current brand
This is so vital to get the huge competitive advantage against the brands in similar
category. So research on competitor brands like Dettol so important.
(3) Understanding the current market condition to adopt accurate repositioning approach
In this repositioning, Unilever repositioned lifebuoy in two occasions depending on the
market condition, although after positioning as a market repositioning theyve moved
another step to do total repositioning. So understanding the environment of the market
so vital as marketers.
(4) Importance of CSR activities when brands are repositioning
The brand lifebuoy continually done CSR activates such as world hand washing day,
in safe hands and so much of school related activates to promote the brands so when they
try to reposition this brand those CSR activities played a major role.
(5) Promotion champagnes after repositioning
Promotion champagnes are done after repositioning of the brand to convey the massage
to end consumer, so promotion & advertising is also plays a major part of a repositioning
approach.

Conclusion
We can conclude that the repositioning is success with the above findings.
References & Bibliography
Ive referred below documents:
WWW.unilever.com.lk
WWW.google.com
EMBA notes: Market segmentation, targeting & positioning