DETERGENT WARS IN INDIA

BY Sukhminder Singh Lamba (100) Varun Gupta (73) Pinky Bisht (117) Rashi Sharma (137) Khushboo Srivastav (129)

ABSTRACT
Key Players :- Surf (HLL), Nirma, Tide & Ariel (P&G). Started in late 50s. HLL introduced SURF & Swastik introduced DET. SURF dominated market share with 75% compared to DETs 25%. SURF was the key player of market later on Tomcos MAGIC, TEJ & OK and Godrejs KEY and DILs SIXER also introduced. Since then incessant war between detergents manufacturer started. In mid 70s ,war became fierce when Karasanbhais NIRMA started snatching market share from the hands of HLLs SURF due to its low pricing. SURF as market leader in value & volume share both. HLL leadership position challenged by NIRMA.

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ABSTRACT Contd

HLL employed various measures to take back SURF market share like s Project Sting and marketing tagline SASTI CHEEZ OR ACCHI CHEEZ MAE FARK HOTA HAI . Subsequently HLL targeted NIRMA by introducing WHEEL with marketing strategy to attract NIRMA customers by telling them s safety aspects of SURF. In mid 80s, P&G came and launched ARIEL with enzyme based new technology which was superior than SURF & NIRMA and later upgraded as ARIEL with MICROSHINE. HLL new version of SURF EXCEL in mid 90s with tagline SURF EXCEL s HAI NA . P&G launched ARIEL POWER COMPACT portrayed as best detergent in the world with SMART EYES recognize stains and remove them. to

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 To onfli t , rk d C it new for ul tion removing stu orn ink stains accompanied y D D J B D , SURF C . later initiated TID in 2 s for maximum whiteness effect as it was necessary in INDIA to serve the premium segment since it was growing. To counter TID , unveiled country s first SURF C i uid Detergent equipped with special stain applicator. re-launched NEW SURF EXCEL with smart sensors escorted y preposition DAAG ATAYE RANG NAHIN and dissolved SURF into new identities as SURF EXCEL BLUE, QUIC WASH AUTOMATIC.

NIRMA
Need Levels
Stated needs - Cleaning & Hygiene. Real needs - Low cost detergent. Unstated needs - Whitening. elight needs - Fragrance. Secret needs - protection to clothes and their colors.

Product Levels

Core enefit- Cleaning & Hygiene asic Product - Soda Ash Expected Product - Whitening &
Cleaning

Augmented Product-Good quality

with low Price

Potential Product - Auto fills the

colors in the faded areas .

SEGMENTATION (NIRMA)
Geographical Region - IN IA
Rural & Semi Urban areas

Demographic
Age - 20 to 50 Income - Low & Lower middle income group Gender - Female Occupation - Unskilled Workers, Petty Traders, Sales persons, Self-employed

 Gender - Female Occupation - Unskilled Workers, Petty Traders, Sales persons, Self-employed

Target Audience
Rural & semi Urban Population Lower & Lower middle class

NIRMA - Consumer Motivation

Needs - Acquired Needs because washing clothes is not our biogenic need and is not needed to sustain our biological life. Goals - Generic goal because the customers are not loyal to any brand and there is a heavy competition between other brands. Motive - Rational because they consider all alternatives and select on the basis of price, weight, colors, and other features. Arousal - Cognitive arousals. It is done through comparisons with other brands on the basis of price , quality etc.

Nirma- Consumer Personality

Trait Theory - What category of product my consumers want? Consumer Innovativeness high Consumer ogmatism is low Social Character Inner directed Rational motive Optimal Stimulation Level - High OSL customers because they are not loyal and they are sensitive to any change like in price, quality etc

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Nirma- Consumer Personality

Variety or Novelty Seeking - Customers always seek for variety and there is high level of disloyalty . Exploratory purchase is very common in them. Cognitive Personality Factors Need for cognition (NC)- High. uy on Rational motive. Verbalizes

MARKET SEGMENTATION OF SURF

Geographic o Region: All Demographic Age: 20-50 yrs Family Size: young-married, older-married, single, with no children & with children Gender: female Income: Upper-middle & high

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 Psychographic: o Socio-economic classification: A1, A2 Behavioral: o Occasions: Regular o Benefits: whiteness, stain removing power o User Status: Regular user o Usage Rate: medium

Positioning Strategy of HLL

Competitor positioning:
 Launched Rin detergent bar to conquer the detergent soap market.  Launched Lalitaji ad campaign to stressing upon the fact that It makes better sense to buy surf.  In order to compete with in rural markets, it introduced a new detergent powder wheel priced to match Nirma.  HLL launched Surf Ultra to counter P& Gs premium product, Ariel Microsystems.  Then replaced Surf Ultra with International Surf Excel to counter the upgraded version of Ariel, Ariel with Microshine.

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 Launched new detergent called Surf with Excel Power priced midway between International Surf Excel and ordinary Surf - better than the ordinary.  Relaunched Surf Excel with better formulation, backed by a teaser campaign on television.  HLL retaliated Tides challenge by launching an add campaign promoting Rin Supreme.  To counter P&Gs high decibel launch of Tide, HLL unveiled the countrys first liquid detergent for daily washing needs.  It also introduced Surf Excel Automatic as anti-corrosive and clothes friendly powder for washing machines.  HLL offered three variants of Surf by the end of 2004 - Surf Excel Blue, Surf Excel Quick Wash and Surf Excel Automatic.

Positioning Map - Detergents

Cleaning Power
Concentrate s

QuickTime and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.

Popular

Price

Economy

Whiteness

SEGMENTATION OF TIDE
 Geographic o Region:All

 Demography: o Age:15-50yrs o Gender:female o Income:middle(80,001-120,000p.a) to high(above160,000p.a) o Education:literate  Psychographic: o Socioeconomic classification:E1,D,B2,A1  Behavioral: o Occasions:regular o User rate:medium

DIFFERENTIATION
 Why tide was important for the customer? Quality of whiteness in cleaning. Not harsh.  Affordable:  Upper middle-above high.  Superior:  Better than the competitors.

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