TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPICS PAGE NO

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………………2

Executive Summary………………………………………………...3

Introduction………………………………………………… ……...4

Company Information……………………………………… ……...5

Product Information………………………………………………...5

Unilever’s Message…………………………………………………5

Brand Philosophy…………………………………………………...5

Product……………………………………………………………...6

Packaging…………………………………………………………...6

Price………………………………………………………………...6

Distribution Price Strategy………………………………….7

Promotions………………………………………………………….8

Place………………………………………………………………...9

SWOT Analysis…………………………………………………….10

Target Market……………………………………………………….10

Segmentation………………………………………………………..10

Competition………………………………………………………..11

Product Lifecycle…………………………………………………...11

Evaluation…………………………………………………………..11

Conclusion………………………………………………………….12

Recommendation…………………………………………………..12

Sources……………………………………………………………...12
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

“The hardest steel goes through the hottest furnace.”

The same was the case with me. I faced many problems when I started the workon report but I
am greatly thankful to Almighty Allah for enabling me to get successfullythrough my
responsibilities.

Very warm and special thanks to my respected teacher Prof. Mumtaz AhmedKhan, whose real
dedication and devotion kindled in me hope and light. Sir I thank yourability of extracting the
very best out of me, for your patience and perseverance, and alsofor acknowledging the efforts
made by me during the whole semester.

Thank you. God Bless you

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Surf excel has been following the Unilever’s message i.e. add vitality to life.
Similar is with surf excel. In the beginning Surf Excel was facing competition from Ariel,
the product of P&G. but very soon with the tagline “Dirt is Good”, Surf Excel was
successful in regaining it’s market leadership. It soon emerged back as the dominant
detergent of the country.

The product is decided by matching the marketing insights with the local insights.
The marketing report of the brand should match the region’s attitude so that the product
can fulfill and satisfy the customer’s need and expectation.

The packaging is designed in such a manner that it should it is able to create a

Recall value among the prospective customers. It should stand out among its competitors
because majority of the purchases are impulsive buying’s.

Price is decided as per the economic situation and spending pattern of the target
market. Distribution pricing strategy is determined in such a way so as to suit all forms of
trade (GT, LMT, IMT) along with customer’s purchasing power.

Promotion was the most important ingredient in the revival of Surf Excel. The
event Paint Masti created a name of the brand. Relaunch of the Surf with the tagline “Dirt
is Good” helps in differentiating the product, because all other brands are still focusing
on the fact that dirt is bad.

The selection of place to communicate the brand’s message is a crucial process.The team of Surf
Excel chooses the most effective media, be it print or electronic, at themost economic and
effective time.
The target market of Surf Excel is mainly Housewives as deciders, whereaschildren as
influencers. Surf Excel is available in 4 different packages so that everyincome bracket can
purchase it.

The product this year showed a robust growth and increased profit. This reflectsthe strong brand
equity of Surf Excel and market acceptance. Surf Excel’s repenetrationin the market is a model
of exemplary marketing strategie

INTRODUCTION:

Change is inevitable and a leader must be willing to embrace change rather thanresist it. When
new technology opens the possibility of a new market that may threatenthe existing one, a
successful firm should consider entering the new market so that it willhave the first-mover
advantage in it. For example, Surf lost its leadership as Ariel camewith a better technology
powder safe for hands and tough on dirt. Surf did a re-entry witha marvelous campaign of “Dirt
is Good”. The company has been able to maintain itsleadership position because it used its
resources to form make a move into thecompetitive arena.

In this short report different marketing strategies of Surf Excel along with 4ps ofmarketing mix
has been discussed. In this report we will be looking at the differentmarketing philosophies of the
success behind the brand Surf Excel.

COMPANY PROFILE:

Unilever Pakistan Limited manufactures and markets home and personal care
products,beverages, ice cream, and spreads in the United Kingdom. The company provides food
products, such as soups, bouillons, sauces and dressings, noodles, complete meals,margarine and
spreads, olive oil, and tea, as well as frozen foods; cleansing and hygieneproducts for the home
care market; and skin cleansing, deodorants, and antiperspirantsfor personal care market. It
offers its products under Close Up, Axe, Dove, Rexona, Sunsilk, Wheel, Rafhan, Surf Excel,
Comfort, Lux, Pond’s, Lifebuoy, Lipton, BrookeBond, Energile, Knorr, Pearl Dust, and Supreme
brands. The company was founded in1872 and is based in Karachi, Pakistan. Unilever Pakistan
Limited operates as asubsidiary of Unilever Overseas Holdings Limited.

KEY TO SUCCESS:

To build customer value, satisfaction and hardcore loyalty with the brand

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Surf Excel is the oldest detergent brand to be present in Pakistan since 1960.It might sound
strange for a leading laundry brand like Surf Excel to say that dirt is good,but healthy activities
involving dirt are essential to development. It's how kids learn express their creativity and it
bolsters their immune systems.
UNILIVER’S MESSAGE:

We have always believed that dirt is a valuable way to enrich our lives, bothyoung and old. To
ensure that everyone, anywhere in the country, can share in thisinitiative, we're investing heavily
in developing a range that suits the pockets of allincome groups. This has included launching
affordable skus that not only offer the top-clean advantages of Surf Excel, but also reduce the
time, physical effort and amount ofwater needed to wash clothes by hand.

BRAND PHILOSOPHY:

Surf Excel believes that stains are good. This is because when children go out and

play and get dirty, they don't just collect stains. They experience life, make friends, sharewith
each other and learn from each other. This helps them get stronger and get ready forthe world
outside.Along with dirt being an obstacle towards play = experience = learning,what are the
other reasons for kids not playing enough in today’s world?

In 2005 & 2006 Surf launched Paint and Games Masti where children were

invited to participate in various activities designed to communicate that “Dirt is Good”.

This year however, Surf has taken the concept of “Dirt Is good because Dirt =Play & Play Is
Good” to a deeper level and addresses the issues surrounding children’splay: the idea of learning
through play, the obstacles towards play, the impact of notenough play for our children. As a
socially responsible company and brand, it believesthat they can create a platform on which they
can take this message forward to showcasehow playing helps children mentally and physically.

PRODUCT:

Regional Brand Teams at Bangkok meets and decides where to launch whichproduct. The
feasibility report is prepared and market insights are discovered. Marketinsights should
matchLocal Insights. In the report even the people’s actions whilewashing are also observed and
presented in the report. This enables to present a fullfledge information about a the attributes,
cultural values, and motions of a particularcommunity, region, or a nation, may it be washing
pattern, economic condition, orspending pattern.

PACKAGING:

Surf Excel, mainly Unilever has a new Phenomena. It consults all 3 trade models(General trade,
Local modern trade, and International modern trade) while designingpackaging for Surf Excel.
Packaging should be to create impulsive desires, and it shouldstand out among its competitors. It
is where Product development team and marketerscome into action in furnishing packaging
standards for all its product ranges.
PRICE:

Surf Excel is available in different sizes and quantities in the market for different prices. Its
competitors in its upper-class segments are Ariel which is a product of P&Gand Brite Total
which is a product of Colgate-Palmolive (Laksons group). Its market

oriented statement is “Daagh NHI to seekhna NHI”. The company has offered 1kg ofSurf excel
in the market for 120 rupees. Besides that it is also available in the market insachets pricing from
5-10 rupees and in ½ kg for about 70 rupees. It is a quality orientedproduct providing value to
their customers. It is priced for every consumer according tohis or her financial status.

In 2005 Unilever adopted one of the price-adjustment strategies which wasdiscount & allowance
pricing as they offered 1kg of Surf Excel for 105 rupees. Throughthis strategy promotional
pricing strategy also came in progress as their product waspromoted through it and the sales
increased rapidly. But as its competitors also reactedfor this change through customizing their
offerings and price cuts Surf Excel was finallyfocused towards price increases. Besides that Surf
Excel pricing strategy have also beento provide value and recently the company improvised their
strategy as they focusedtoward more promotion through campaigns. Beside that the company has
alsoimplemented product line pricing strategy as their offerings are in different quantitiesalong
with different prices in the market for Surf Excel.

Several offers have also been introduced by Ariel and Brite in the market usingPromotional,
discount, and psychological pricing strategies and for that Surf Excel havealso responded
efficiently through its strategies.

DISTRIBUTION PRICING STRATEGY:

Unilever distributor GT / LMT

Unilever IMT through annual pricing plan

Where,
GT= General Trade (general stores, Kiryana stores, Medical and Genaral stores)
LMT= Local Modern Trade (Super stores such as Aghaz, Naheed, D-Mart)

IMT= International Modern Trade (departmental stores/Hyper Market such as

Makro)

FOR CASE 1:

List price Rs. 100

Add:Distributor price (5%) Rs. 105

Add:Trade price (5%) Rs. 110.25

FinalRetail price (10%) Rs. 121

FOR CASE 2:

List price Rs. 100

Trade price (add 10.25%) Rs. 110.25

Surf Excel also launches Temporary price reductions (TPR) such as 0.25/unit for a week or for a
month. They also gives Bonus. Such as Bonus 25 cartons---0.5/case.

While setting prices or changing prices the team of Surf also looks at the Equity LevelWhich
isdetermined by the Price Index. It measures the relative SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). For
example,

Product price %

Ariel 1 kg 230 115%

Surf excel 1 kg 200 100%

Brite 1 kg 190 95%

PROMOTIONS:

Sales Force in Surf Excel is divided into 3 types: General Trade (general stores,Kiryana stores,
Medical and Genaral stores), Local modern trade (super stores such asAghaz, Naheed, D-Mart),
and International Modern trade (Large houses such as Makro).

Merchandising Drives: It depends on the Channel the team is choosing to communicateit’s

product (surf excel). They may ask the retailer to have at least 50 pieces of surf intheir shelves
along with POS Materials (posters, banners, shelves, etc)

Outdoor Media Agency is appointed for the advertising campaigns via billboardand signboards.
These OMA classify different regions under Strata, ranging from 1 to 6.Strata 1 includes cities
like Karachi and Lahore, Strata 2 includes cities withcomparatively less density and so on. They
may select sites as per the following example:

Strata 1 would have 60% advertising sites.

Strata 2 would have 20%advertising sites.
Strata 3 would have 20% advertising sites.
Strata 4 nil
Strata 5 nil
Strata 6 nil
They may book the site either for 30, 60or 90 days depending upon the nature ofthe product,
budget of the campaign, and rent of the site selected. The most effectiveadvertising site in
Pakistan is Shahrah-e-Faisal. The effective billboard which isdisplayed on the left of the driver
and is at a height of 40 to 50 feet, with an exception offlyovers, bridges, and high altitudes road.

Buy 1 get 1 free offer is not a issue for the company, because no product is sold at aprofit less
then 60%. Moreover in the Income Statement nets sales increases as thevolume increases. So
does the profit. Before launching such types of offers Break even isanalysed

The plus point of the marketing strategy of Surf Excel is that when all other (detergent)brands
were campaigning against stains and how dirt is bad for clothes, Surf Excel cameup with the
tagline- Dirt is Good.

PLACE:

Mind Share is the Media Buying House for Unilever in Pakistan. The airtime ispurchased
depending on the relative price and numbers of spots the brand is getting.These spots must be
enough so that Recall value is created within the customer’s mind.Frequency of target market is
also analyzed. In Electronic media, especially TelevisionPTV and Atv has the biggest
countrywide viewership. Whereas in Private Sector Hum tvcurrently is the biggest Tv production
and broadcasting house. The selection of Print andElectronic Media depends again on the nature
of product and the marketing strategies.The Ratio is divided for print and electronic Media in the
beginning of the campaign. Moreover retailing consumer products is Unilever’s bread and butter.
Thecompany has the biggest retail reach in the country with the company servicing
500,000outlets, of which 50 per cent are covered direct by the company’s distributors and
thebalance through wholesalers. For company the main business is done by General Trade
ascompared to IMT or LMT, therefore different incentives and preferences are given togeneral
retailers, wholesalers and distributors.

TARGET MARKET:

Mainly housewives but the things have to be seen in context. Pakistan’s middleincome group
comprises about35million consumers. They have a combined spendingpower of Poland. But Surf
Excel is not just targeting the middle income category. Withthe broadest socio-economic
footprint amongst consumer goods competitors, Surf Excelis also looking at lower income
market as well as the higher income bracket withdifferent sets of products.

That was the income bracket but if we analyse the commercials aired on TV orRadio or via print
media we will notice that most of the communication is done by thehelp of children through
tagline dirt is good. The philosophy behind this is the childrenare the best influencers for the
deciders. The children with this eye catching phrase try toinfluence the decision of their parents
(mainly mother) who are the deciders.
SEGMENTATION:

Segmentation is done on the basis of Living standard measure (LSM), whichranges from 1 to 15.
1 denotes those people who are living from hand to mouth, whereas15 denotes extremely rich
and elite class. LSM is measure by a number of variables such as no of mobile phones in a
house, no of cars, income bracket, etc. Surf Excel starts from 6 who can afford washing machine
for washing.

COMPETITION:

 Ariel Enzymax (P&G),

 Brite Total (Colgate Palmolive),
 Bonus Active,
 Bonus Tristar,
 Express Power,
 Express Ultra,
 Tide Super plus,
 Wheel lemon power
 and most of all WASHING SOAPS.

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE:

Surf Excel is at growth stage unlike Lux which is at Maturity. The Surf is stillshowing an
increase in profits (approximately 25% this year). At growth if the sales arestagnant or not
increasing company can relaunch or reposition it’s product to give a boostas it was previously
donewith Lifebuoy.

EVALUATION:

Surf excel is a major player in the Pakistani detergent market. today the market isnot declining
but shifting towards more perceived value and added brands. So everybrand has to update itself
with changes to retain it’s position in the market.

Unilever, Pakistan’s largest consumer products company, has a problem. It cannotkeep up with
demand for some of its products. These include laundry powder also.Demand is so strong that, in
the case of foods, despite doubling production capacity,Pakistanis can’t seem to have enough of
them. But this is just the tip of the icebergbecause one can easily ascertain how much demand is
there for Surf Excel as it has 41%market Share.

One of the areas where consumer product companies are increasingly focusing iscentral and
southern Punjab where two factors are driving demand. One, a string ofsuccessful harvests has
meant rising disposable income for farmers. The second,interestingly, is 40 or so television
channels that broadcast to viewers in this area. “Theyare the driving force behind building
aspirations. This for Unilever is an opportunity forselling its products.
CONCLUSION:

A stream of innovation and successful relaunch of Surf Excel increased value ofUnilever’s
propositions for consumers. The latest campaign of Surf as “Dirt is good” hascreated a good
ground for the success of marketing strategies of Surf Excel. Moreover,surf as being the product
of Unilever has a plus point within itself, but still with anaggressive campaigning of “Dirt is
Good” has bear increased profits along with marketexpansion status of the product as well as the
company.

RECOMMENDATION:

The possibilities are endless. For example, shampoo penetration is one of thelowest in Asia.
Similarly fifty per cent of the population still uses laundry soap to washtheir clothes which
comprises mainly the low income group. Unilever has 40pc of themarket for detergent powder
(Surf Excel). A switch from laundry soap to detergentpowder will be hugely beneficial to Surf
Excel and ultimately for Unilever.

Profitable growth will be sustained through focused brand building, innovationand superior
management of the supply chain to achieve cost competitiveness. This willenable the business to
expand its share of consumer spending despite the increasing levelof competition.