PROMOT

ION OF
LIFEBUO
Y

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INTRODUCTION:

Unilever is one of the world’s largest and leading multinational companies; Unilever
commenced their business activities on a larger scale by setting up their first factory in
Netherlands, in the year of 1872. Operating in Bangladesh for over the last four decades
the company is trying to significantly contribute towards the augmentation of the standard of
living by bringing world class high quality products at the door step of their customers. The
usage of Unilever products by over 90% of the people in Bangladesh stands a testimony to
their successful operation.

Lifebuoy is a famous and distinctive brand of soap that was created by the Lever Brothers
soap factory in 1894. It was the first soap to use carbolic acid, which gave it a red colour and
strong, medicinal scent. Lifebuoy is still manufactured today and is the leading brand of soap
in many developing countries including India. Today Lifebuoy is sold in all over the World.
It is market leader in every market where it is sold.

The desire to be clean, active and healthy is intrinsic to every one – irrespective of age or
economic status. Lifebuoy understands this need and champions the cause for hygiene and
health around the world.

An inspiring vision for more hygienic, healthier and ultimately more vital communities is the
driving force behind the Lifebuoy brand. To realise this vision, Lifebuoy has looked to
consistently innovate and provide accessible hygiene and health products to a wide variety of
consumers.

This vision also commits the Lifebuoy brand team to visible action, inspiring projects that
motivate consumers to improve their hygiene behaviour.

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS:

Toilet soaps, despite their divergent brands, are not well differentiated by the consumers. It
is, therefore, not clear if it is the brand loyalty or experimentation lured by high volume
media campaign, which sustain them. A consequence is that the market is fragmented. It is
obvious that this must lead to a highly competitive market. Toilet soap, once only an urban
phenomenon, has now penetrated practically all areas including remote rural areas. The
incremental demand flows from population increase and rise in usage norm impacted as it is
by a greater concern for hygiene. Increased sales revenues would also expand from up
gradation of quality or per unit value.

To fight competition, major players Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Godrej Consumer
Products Ltd (GCPL) and Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting are now drawing up fresh
game plans. And the accent is clearly on innovation to gain mind share as well as market
share in this overcrowded category.

HISTORY:

In 1894, William Hesketh Lever launched Lifebuoy in the UK as the Royal Disinfectant
Soap. Lever grew up in industrialised Bolton, Lancashire, which was a typical English city of
the Industrial Revolution era, with thousands of people living in slums where disease ran
rampant. Epidemics of typhoid, dysentery and yellow fever were common and infant
mortality was exceptionally high.

Lever was actively seeking the perfect formula for a soap product that could combat 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. The brand went global in 1911
and began distributing to countries such as the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Canada,
India, etc.
EVOLUTION AND CHANGES:

Lifebuoy went through several changes and incarnations throughout the brand's history. A
white version of the soap was introduced in 1962 and contained a light perfume scent. Pink
and aqua versions were released soon after.

The original Lifebuoy soap was manufactured in the UK until 1987 when the production and
distribution was halted. The brand was shortly taken over by Unilever and is still in
production today. Due to regulations put forth by the European Union, the soap can no
longer contain carbolic because it is potentially toxic and linked to skin irritation and
respiratory tract problems with prolonged exposure. The substance is also considered a
possible carcinogen. Lifebuoy soap is still the leading brand of soap in several countries
worldwide, specifically in India and parts of Southern Asia. Unilever produces a wide
range of products under the Lifebuoy umbrella such as body wash, liquid soaps and acne-
fighting solutions.

LIFEBUOY PORTFOLIO:

Today, the Lifebuoy brand is more than the quintessential bar of red soap, and provides
hygiene and health for the entire family through a range of products like liquid hand wash
and specially designed body wash. Beyond ensuring daily hygiene and freshness, Lifebuoy
products also address special needs like anti-acne and skin fortification for an all around
cleansing experience.

Hand Sanitizer
Lifebuoy Hand Sanitizer effectively disrupts bacteria’s cell membrane & virus’s
outer coat thereby kills germs & viruses on your hands. Proven to kill H1N1 virus
Dries quickly, is non- sticky and has soothing fragrance.Has Moisturizer and
Vitamin E to keep your hands soft and smooth.

Bar Soap
Lifebuoy bar soaps support children’s health and growth by providing
extended germ protection for up to 12 hours after a bath thanks to
enhanced ingredients. Lifebuoy Body Wash provides deep cleansing of
pores, protecting against the three root causes of skin health problems –
clogged pores, over-drying, and infection- causing germs.

Hand Soap
Clean, germ-free hands are the key to good health, as ingestion of germs
from unhygienic hands at mealtimes is the most likely cause for diseases.
Lifebuoy Hand Soaps offer hospital-strength germ protection, with a
unique formulation that generates a rich lather. This provides an effective
and hygienic wash in every corner of the hands and nails, at the same
time leaving your hands pleasantly fragrant.

Lifebuoy Men's Bodywash

Male skin is more oily and sweaty, making it more prone to attacks from
germs that cause skin problems and body odour. Lifebuoy Men's Body
Washes are specially formulated to wash away excess oil and sweat,
protecting against body odour and other problems caused by germs. Two
variants provide the most important benefits to men's skin.

Clear Skin
Lifebuoy Clear Skin provides specialist protection from acne, which
results from oil and dirt coming together. Mineral clay or "multani mitti"
absorbs the oil from your skin, while washing away germs and dirt to
greatly reduce the incidence of acne. In fact, Lifebuoy Clear Skin has
been shown to reduce acne up to70 per cent in six weeks, guaranteeing
visibly clearer skin.
Price List of LIFEBUOY Products

Name of the Product Package Size Price(in Rs)

1 Lifebuoy CARE BATH 120gms 15

Lifebuoy CARE BATH 90gms 12

2 Lifebuoy DEO FRESH SOAP 90gms 10

3 Lifebuoy MILKED CARE SOAP 90gms 12

4 Lifebuoy NATURE BATH 120gms 15

Lifebuoy NATURE BATH 90gms 13

5 Lifebuoy SKIN GUARD 75gms 15

6 Lifebuoy TOTAL 120gms 15

Lifebuoy TOTAL 80gms 12

8 Lifebuoy Clear Skin 120gms 20

9 Lifebuoy Hand Sanitizer 100ml 60

10 Lifebuoy Hand Soap 200ml 45

 Lifebuoy Hand Soap 180ml 28
(refill pack)

11 Lifebuoy Men’s Bodywash 200ml 98

MARKET STRATEGIES

INTRODUCTION:
Lifebuoy has always been marketed as ‘a tough cleaning soap for a tough man’. Of course,
the 2002 re-launch targeted Lifebuoy as a soap that brought good health to the entire family.
Lifebuoy has been seen as a value for- money product, a soap that is long-lasting. In a very
smart TV ad campaign, children are shown cleaning a street. The message put across is that
since these children are secure from ailments that are caused by a lack of proper sanitation
and hygiene, thanks to the fact that they use Lifebuoy, they are in a position to ensure
cleanliness and hygiene for the entire community. Thus, Lifebuoy not only ensures good
health and cleanliness for individuals, but healthy and productive communities as well.

LIFEBUOY’S MARKET SEGMENTATION AND TARGETING:

The targeting market for lifebuoy is all households who can afford buying soap and who
want to fulfil everyday need that provides them and their family with a 100 anti bacterial
solution and complete protection from all germs bacteria and cleanliness from dirt

Lifebuoy belief that children are the potential agent for change and imparting education on
the importance of hand washing with soap will enable them to adopt early habit in life

LIFEBUOY’S REPOSITIONING STRATEGY:

Lifebuoy soap is a very old brand of bath soap in India, Life Buoy is an anti bacterial soap
and in the beginning it positioned itself on its antibacterial qualities, lifebuoy gained a
number of customers with this positioning, but then there comes the competition with the
Dettol soap..

All this put Lifebuoy out of lime light and to survive in market, Lifebuoy positioned
itself on price it became low price antibacterial soap. This strategy may have boosted short
term sales of Lifebuoy but it lost its brand value and credibility in the minds of customers.
Lifebuoy needed to reposition itself on quality rather than price.
REPOSITIONING CAMPAIGN:
The repositioning campaign of Lifebuoy was started at 2008, but it became more prominent
and became effective in 2009, Lifebuoy along with the advertisement has improved its
quality and fragrance, most of the people had shifted from lifebuoy because it was low
quality and it smelled terribly, as Lifebuoy has improve d its quality all it needed to run an
effective advertisement campaign to get the customers attention. The advertisement team of
Lifebuoy came up with excellent theme “Healthy Hoga Hindustan” and it is targeting
parents which is their target market, Lifebuoy made very effective ad and it also used fear
strategy (which is effective in case of antibacterial soap). This has enabled Lifebuoy to
get more and more customers. Now a days, Lifebuoy is everywhere in Television, Radio,
Newspapers and Billboards, Lifebuoy is running a huge campaign to promote itself which
is very necessary in case of repositioning the brand.

With the help of marketing department and advertisement, Lifebuoy has successfully
repositioned itself as a quality antibacterial soap with better fragrance and more durability.
Many companies try to reposition themselves when they see market trend shifting but most
fail to do so. In case of Lifebuoy it has been successful. The interesting thing about this
campaign is that Lifebuoy is running the same campaign in Pakistan and in India as is
done by Unilever, this suggest that Lifebuoy is considering India and Pakistan as the similar
market segment.
MARKET SCOPE STRATEGY:
Although Unilever itself is a part of a Multi market, but since we are talking about the
product Lifebuoy we can say that it is using a multi market strategy as well because it has
both soap and shampoo, not these two only but they have others antibacterial liquid baths as
well opening a way for Lifebuoy to be a multiple product.

MARKET GEOGRAPHIC STRATEGY:

Geography has long been used as a strategic variable in shaping market strategy. History
provides many examples of how businesses started locally and gradually expanded nationally
and internationally. Unilever is having an international market strategy for Lifebuoy being
available in almost every continent of the world. It is a worldwide brand of Unilever available
in India, China, Indonesia, Cyprus, UK, and USA along with Pakistan.

Lifebuoy has more than a life of 100 years, providing Unilever a key support in all of its
brand buckets. Unilever knows the significance of its brand therefore it has globalized this
product by making it an international brand. It has made it available in Asia and Africa where
it is used by those people who have a daily income of less than 1 $. So Lifebuoy is well in
line with its goals and objectives providing hygiene and health solutions that enable people to
lead a life without fear of hygiene anxieties and health consequences.

MARKET ENTRY STRATEGY:

Lifebuoy is one of the old products of Unilever which has more than 100 years of
successful journey, we can simply say that Lifebuoy is the early entrants internationally and
in India it is the first-in in its kind of soaps.

By adopting the first-in strategy, Lifebuoy has captured the maximum share of the market.
Over 60 years in India we guess there is not a single home that didn’t use it. Lifebuoy has
taken the risk of the first-in and consequently got one of the biggest markets in Asian
countries by providing its quality and sustained priced product to both rural and urban
areas of India.
MARKET COMMITMENT STRATEGY:
Being the first-in the market Unilever has shown strong commitment with its brand of life
time i.e. Lifebuoy and that commitment to its brand has really foster the growth of Unilever
as well as its brand of Lifebuoy. But from the recent decade Unilever is no more showing the
strong commitment to Lifebuoy because over the period of time many of the competitors
came in the market with new innovative product, better market strategies and stronger
commitment. In the present scenario, Unilever is just showing an average commitment to
its brand of Lifebuoy which has
really put its brand on the back
foot.

PRICING STRATEGIES:
Market penetration:
Market penetration is the name
given to a growth strategy
where the business focuses on
selling existing products into
existing markets. Market
penetration seeks to achieve
four main objectives:

Maintain or increase the market

share of current products, this
can be achieved by a
combination of competitive
pricing strategies, advertising,
sales promotion
and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling Secure dominance of growth
markets. Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors; this would require a much
more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make
the market unattractive for competitors Increase usage by existing customers – for example
by introducing loyalty schemes.

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES:
Successful promotion campaigns don't happen by chance. To realize goals, promotional
products programs must be carefully planned, taking into consideration the audience, budget
and, of course, the ultimate result to be gained.

1. Define a specific objective.

2. Determine a workable distribution plan to a targeted audience.

3. Create a central theme.

4. Develop a message to support the theme.

5. Select a promotional product that bears a natural relationship to your profession or

communications theme.
6. Don't pick an item based solely on uniqueness, price or perceived value.

Don't fall prey to the latest trends or fads. The most effective promotional products are used
in a cohesive, well-planned campaign.

Sales promotions are non-personal promotional efforts that are designed to have an
immediate impact on sales. Media and non-media marketing communications are employed
for a pre-determined limited time to increase consumer demand, stimulate market demand or
improve product availability. Lifebuoy is promoting its product using these kinds of
promotional techniques

Consumer sales promotion techniques:

The different consumer sales promotion techniques used by Lifebuoy are Price deal: A
temporary reduction in the price, such as happy hour. Cents-off deal: Offers a brand at a
lower price. Price reduction may be a percentage marked on the package.

Price-pack deal: The packaging offers a consumer a certain percentage more of the product
for the same price. Coupons: coupons have become a standard mechanism for sales
promotions. Free- standing insert (FSI): A coupon booklet is inserted into the local
newspaper for delivery. Rebates: Consumers are offered money back if the receipt and
barcode are mailed to the producer. Contests/sweepstakes/games: The consumer is
automatically entered into the event by purchasing the product.

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES:
Movement of goods and services from the source through the distribution channel, right up
to the final consumer, or user and the movement of payment in the opposite direction, right
up to the original producer or supplier.

Existing strategy:
Unilever uses a lot of distributors and retailers to supply its products in each market where
the final customer might reasonably look for it. While appointing a distributor for a
particular area, management uses its own judgment to select such a person that has a
potential to operate effectively. Unilever uses an intensive distribution strategy for lifebuoy
soap while at the same brand but in shampoos category it introduces only extensive strategy.
Unilever did not fight for the better shelf space for lifebuoy soap. Lifebuoy is targeting
middle and low income consumers so shelf space is not important our main focus is on
intensive distribution and ideal price with some innovation.
Suggestions As A Marketing Manager
As a Marketing Manager the adjustments that I would like to make in the present strategies to
improve the product performance and overall image of the product in the customer’s mind
and to have a new and improved version of Lifebuoy.

 Lifebuoy is lacking in its market Geography strategy as it is more common in rural areas of
the country, whereas more of the urban citizens keep it as a low level brand.

 The major challenge Unilever has to face is its commitment to its old brand of Lifebuoy.
Unilever got a major setback when Reckitt Benckiser introduced Dettol t h r o u g h a heavy
media campaign. Unilever has tried to compensate that through promotional program of
“Healthy Hoga India” but still it needs a strong and continuous commitment to this product.

 Lifebuoy has well repositioned itself but still there is need to change the image that it is a
low quality low price product.

 In penetrating the market through price, Lifebuoy has to compete with brands of P&G,
Reckitt Benckiser and Colgate-Palmolive which are a good name of quality, so accordingly
Lifebuoy has to adjust its prices at that level where it creates dominance among the existing
brands.

 In promoting the worth of the Lifebuoy, it has to modify its promotional campaigns base on
traditional heroism and fantasy; one is to come up with new realistic approaches
highlighting the need of an antibacterial soap in most hygienic environment.

 A general distribution pattern with distributors and retailers are the agents in the urban
areas to remove lag time in delivery of the product. Since in rural areas the places are
diversified, so a s to improve the distribution there is an inclusion of the whole seller to make
the distribution extensive.
 Suppliers

Lifebuoy Distribution Strategy

Distributo

Wholesalers Wholesalers

Retailers Retailers Retailers

(Urban/Rural) (Urban/Rural) (Urban)

Consumers
New Distribution Strategy:

Unilever for Lifebuoy should introduce a new kind of distribution strategy that will be
a strategic fit between its productions to consumptions. Unilever should identify its
larger, medium and small consumption areas and design the channel accordingly. According
to my sense Lifebuoy must go for intensive distribution with wholesaler and retailers in the
areas where rate of consumption is usually very greater than that of the other areas where
comparatively rate of consumption is not so attractive.