Read the caselet carefully and answer the following questions:
What was the initial positioning strategy adopted by Lifebuoy? Was it successful? If ‘yes’ then why it had to relaunch and reposition its product again?
What do you think were the strengths and weaknesses of the Brand? What steps do you suggest and why do you suggest those steps for the brand in future? (to be taken by the company).
BRAND BUILDING - THE EXAMPLE OF LIFEBUOY, THE 100 YEAR OLD BRAND
Nurturing a brand into a strong, profitable brand is a challenging task. It is worth examining the case of Lifebuoy which provides an instance of successful brand building. Lifebuoy is probably the oldest toilet soap available today. From its small beginnings in England in 1894, Lifebuoy has come a long way to become one of the most popular and largest selling soaps in the world. In the Indian market, Lifebuoy has been enjoying a place of prominence ever since it was introduced in its red tablet form in 1895. From a sale of 200 tonnes, Hindustan Lever now sells 1.25 lakh tonnes of Lifebuoy which accounts for 39 percent of the total 3.20 lakh tonne toilet soap market of India.
When Lifebuoy was introduced in the Indian market 100 years ago, its positioning was clear. Lifebuoy was the soap that would destroy germs and keep the body healthy. To quote Hindustan Lever "It was the clean, honest hardworking brand with no frills". Though the properties were clear, the brand found the going tough especially in rural markets where the concept of using toilet soap was alien. Most rural people were accustomed to bathing with plain water. Therefore, HLL decided to launch Lifebuoy as soap for hand wash. After initial resistance, the brand began to look up. By 1900, it had established itself as a good medium for hand wash. At this stage the brand's inherent properties were expanded and Lifebuoy was repositioned as bath soap. 'Where there is Lifebuoy, there is health" became a very popular jingle. In 1964, the brand was relaunched with a slight change in its shape and wrapper design. The relaunch was also backed by advertising the health aspect. Rural promotions were intensified with mobile display-cum-sales vans. And during this period Lifebuoy started associating itself with sports events. This kind of sales promotion helped Lifebuoy to gain a more 'macho image' and it was getting accepted as a champion's soap.
By the seventies, competitors also entered the market; Lifebuoy's supremacy was being challenged, especially in the
rural markets. Those were anxious years for HLL as the rural markets were the brand’s mainstay. The USPs in the soap market was also fast changing from health care to deodorant-based products. HLL defended Lifebuoy from the challengers by reinforcing the brand. HLL now launched Lifebuoy Personal - perfumed, pink-coloured, 75 gm soap. But the brand suffered because it did not carry the USPs of health and value for money. HLL subsequently mended these drawbacks. In the eighties HLL made special attempts to make Lifebuoy more acceptable to urban consumers. To quote HLL, "Lifebuoy was considered down-market especially in the urban areas. So, we had to instil a sense of pride in the user and not be ashamed of using Lifebuoy". This thinking resulted in the launch of Lifebuoy Plus, which basically was the old Lifebuoy with a new perfume. Backed by high-powered advertising, HLL managed to popularise Lifebuoy Plus. 'With Lifebuoy Plus, we could widen the appeal to new urban consumers. By this time Liquid Lifebuoy also staged its entry to strengthen the brand's presence in the urban market. In the rural markets Lifebuoy continued its dominance; there was the old, stubborn user in the rural areas who continued to patronise Lifebuoy. Even today 60 percent of lifebuoy sales are from rural areas. The brand remains the largest selling brand and a Cash Cow for HLL.
Marketing case study 