Showing posts with label Dettol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dettol. Show all posts

Saturday, May 08, 2021

Brand Update: Dettol Extends To Laundry Sanitizers

 Inspired by pandemic, Dettol, the market leader in the antiseptic category launched a liquid laundry sanitiser. The launch is the brand's sort of entry into the laundry care segment. Indian laundry care market is huge with the size of  INR 29000 crore and because of the low entry barriers is a tough market with both big brands and unorganized segment vying for a piece of the market. The market is dominated by detergents and slowly other segments are opening up. According to a report, the category of fabric-softeners is worth only INR 115 crore while stain removers are pegged at INR 400 crore. 

The Covid pandemic has literally scared the hell out of the customers and marketers were quick to offer solutions that provide relief. Sanitisers were the category that benefited the most. However, after the first wave subsided, the market for sanitisers show a sharp dip but thanks to the second wave, the sanitiser makers can breathe easy. 

Dettol has entered into a very nascent category of laundry sanitisers. The brand argues that there is a possibility of virus in the clothes ( very likely) and it's better to kill it while washing using laundry sanitisers. Most of the brands like Lifebuoy, Dabur, Lysol all have their own products in the category. 

The issue is that whether the product category is sustainable or not. The case of sanitiser is in front of us. The market went down once the scare is over. Further, this product adds one more step into the laundry process which itself is cumbersome. This one of the reasons why fabric conditioners have a very slow adoption. I have only started using fabric softeners only recently. The problem is with regard to the evidence of performance. While the brand promise that there is virus-killing, what is the evidence, the only evidence is the belief that it may have worked. The same is the case with fabric conditioners/softeners, as a consumer, the only evidence is the fragrance. Also for Covid, it is already known that soaps kill the virus, so naturally, detergents also work against the virus ( I don't know, my assumption). So why bother to buy another product? 

To add to this, brands like Comfort has already added the property to its product. It will not be long before the detergents adding this virus/germ killing property in them thus eliminating the need for another product. 

Although odds are against this, brands are not leaving anything to chance. Who may have forecasted that there will be a situation when everyone will be using sanitisers and wear masks. So it is a part of marketing agility to experiment with new products/categories and learning from failures. 

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Brand Update : Dettol Claims No.1 Spot in Indian Soap Category

In an interesting development, Dettol soap has claimed to be the number one soap in the India soap market, beating the long-reigning market leader Lifebuoy. The claim to the throne is helped largely by the Covid-19 pandemic. 
What is interesting is that both Lifebuoy and Dettol share similar positioning centred around health. Dettol is more focused on the health platform concentrating on the germ-killing benefit derived from the parent Dettol Antiseptic lotion. If the claim of Dettol is true, it is largely because of two factors. First, in this fearful era of the pandemic, consumers chose the safe option of germ-killing soap rather than a more generic promise of health. The second factor aiding the Dettol's success is the large number of soap variants launched by the brand. Dettol in the recent past launched many variants like menthol, aloe vera, Dettol with moisturisers. These variants helped attract the consumers who didn't like the original, more clinical parent version. 
To be fair to Lifebuoy, the market leader too did put a fight promoting its soap as a germ-killer but the legacy of Dettol was too strong for Lifebuoy to beat.

 

Monday, June 22, 2020

Brand Update : For Savlon, Ownership changes everything

Since the launch of Savlon in India as early as 1993, the brand has struggled to become a mainstream brand in any of the segment it aspired to enter. Launched as a fighter brand against the market leader Dettol, Savlon couldn't make a sustained fight against Dettol. Even the brand owner Johnson & Johnson's equity did not help Savlon.
Then in 2015, the brand changed hands in India. ITC took over Savlon and the landscape changed to the brand. 
ITC had serious plans for Savlon and expanded the product range by launching sanitizers, liquid handwash etc which not only increased brand visibility at stores but also gave the brand entry to emerging categories in the personal hygiene segment.
The Covid-19 pandemic has proved to be a big boost for the brand because of the huge demand for sanitizers and handwash products. Savlon leveraging ITC's strong distribution network was able to make big inroads into the consumer's choice set.

Related Post

Friday, February 15, 2013

Brand Update : Dettol is also a Dishwash ??

Economic Times reports that Reckitt Benckiser has decided to extend the popular Dettol brand to Dishwash category. This will be one of the bizarre brand extensions I have seen in the last few years. Now we can see supermarkets having Dettol bathing Soap and also Dettol Dishwash  placed near to each other.  ( ET Report)

The reason behind the extension is simple. According to ET, the dishwash category is worth Rs 2000 crore and the category is dominated by HUL with its Vim brand. Reckitt is now pitching Dettol against the Vim brand. 
While Dettol is a brand which was able to leverage the brand's germ killing proposition to various categories like soap, handwash etc, it has not moved into toilets or kitchen. Now we are going to see this brand extending its reach to kitchen. According to the report, Dettol's entry into the dishwash will be using the sub-branding strategy - Dettol Kitchen . Dettol Kitchen will share the same positioning of germ killing and will be competing with Vim and Exo. The first product will be a Dishwashing Gel ( multi-purpose cleaner).

Can a soap brand share its name with a dishwash ?? Dettol seems to think that since the positioning is the same, it may not be a concern to the consumers. My take is that Dettol's entry into Kitchen will affect the premium image of Dettol.  I don't think that a brand which has dishwash gel or a toilet cleaner can retain its premiumness for its bathing soap brand-extension. Since Dettol has a very strong equity, erosion will be felt slowly. Secondly the message for a dishwash product would also talk about strong cleaning ability . So if Dettol is going to claim that it will remove the toughest of the dirt/stains, how would a consumer of Dettol soap perceive that message ? 

If Dettol can extend to Dishwash, can Vim extend to bathing soap ?? 
How about Pril Bodywash ??? 
Harpic Beauty Soap ??

I hope HUL will not react by launching Lifebuoy Dishwash gel. 


Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Brand Update : Dettol & Lifebuoy Creating Hand Sanitizer Category

Indian market is witnessing the creation of a new category in the hand hygiene segment - hand sanitizer. Although hand sanitizer products were existing in Indian since 2002, this category is witnessing lot of marketing action only in the last couple of years.Two giants in the Indian FMCG market is fighting it out in creating this category - Dettol and Lifebuoy.

Hand Sanitizer is an alternative to soap and used for maintaining hand-hygiene . This product which is available in gel, spray, liquid or foam form can be used directly to the hand and unlike soaps need not be washed away. Just apply the hand sanitizer and leave it like that.

It is not Lifebuoy or Dettol which introduced this product in the Indian market. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd , Himalaya, Paras Pharma etc had introduced this product in the Indian market even as early as 2003. GCPL 's brand Protekt is exported to various countries while Himalaya's brand - Pure Hands is a herbal hand sanitizer. But these brands were not able to create a noise in the market so far when compared to Dettol and Lifebuoy.

Indian Hand Sanitizer market is still nascent with an estimated market size of Rs 20 crore (source) . Marketers believe that this category will grow faster owing to the new breed of infectious diseases.

Hand sanitizers are popular in markets like West and Europe because of the consumer awareness ( fear) about hand hygiene coupled with the convenience of the product. The fact that the product can be used anywhere/anytime makes it a very useful product for those who are too much worried about keeping their hands always germ-free.

The early marketers of hand sanitizers in India tried to cash in on the SARS Virus pandemic which created huge amounts of concern and fear in 2002-2003. But the marketers was not effective in converting the fear into enough sales to create a category. When the SARS fear died out, the hand sanitizer market was also dwarfed.

2009-2010 is witnessing another surge of infectious diseases like H1N1 and host of other diseases which are spread through air/water. Since most of these diseases are infectious and spread through socializing, the scope of a convenient hygiene product again surfaced. The trend shows that this surge and fear will last longer than the earlier SARS episode.

As usual, Dettol and Lifebuoy are pushing this category based on fear. The ads shows the probability of germs affecting the consumer at various public places like shopping malls, public transports etc and then advises on keeping hand sanitizer with them always so that they can protect/sanitize their hands all the time.

The ads does the job of scaring the shit out of the consumers and spreading the fear psychosis of contracting diseases everytime/anytime. But thats the job of marketers isn't it ?

The question is whether consumers will be open to the habit of keeping hand sanitizers in the bag and use it everytime they shake hands or uses a public transport, or uses any commonly uses objects like a door handle ?

To be fair to the marketers, the threat is very real. How many of us are aware of the possibility of contracting disease through a publicly used ' door handle ' of the office toilet ? How about the germs in the currency notes that we use on a daily basis ? How about the Bus ?

Oh God !

But how many of us will take the pain of buying and keeping hand sanitizer and using it again and again for fear of contracting disease ?

Many will buy and use it for sure. Like Handwash category, sanitizers will also find takers who are ultra health conscious. There will be consumers who will be attracted to the product because of the sheer convenience of it. The product will be a boon at places where you don't trust the water or the soap.
Now the brands are focusing on fear to promote the product category but as a consumer I am put off by the fear psychosis that these brands are trying to create. I am conscious of the possibilities of diseases but I chose to be little careless about the stuff rather than carrying a hand sanitizer and using it everytime I shake hands with someone.

Having said that I would have been more comfortable if the brands spent more time talking about convenience of the product . I think it will be convenience that will drive the brand and not fear.

What say ?

Monday, August 02, 2010

Marketing Q&A : Frame of Reference and Points of Parity

A Marketing Practice reader asks this very pertinent question " What is frame of reference and points of parity and their role in branding ?"

Frame of reference is the framework used by the consumers to make sense of the product in question. Humans understand and remember new things by linking it to existing (known) objects. Frame of reference is that evaluative criterion which is used by consumers to make a better understanding of the product/services. Frame of reference also explains the context in which consumers tend to evaluate /place the product. For example , the frame of reference used to evaluate Frooti is that it is a mango drink. Coca Cola = Cola, Ace = Mini Truck, Dettol = Antiseptic etc. If Frooti launches an Apple Drink, the consumers will find it difficult to accept the product since it is out of the frame of reference used to evaluate/understand Frooti

Since consumers use a frame of reference in understanding a product, the concept has a very important place in the positioning of the product. Positioning is defined as the act of designing the company's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market ( Kotler). The first task of the marketer is to identify the frame of reference used by the target market in evaluating the product/service. Once the frame of reference is identified, the marketer will position the product in line with the frame of reference. In case of products that lack a frame of reference, marketers should create a frame of reference for the consumers.

The concept of Points of Parity helps marketers to place the product in line with the consumer's frame of reference. Points of parity are those associations that are not necessarily unique to the brand but may in fact be shared with other brands. There are two forms of Points of Parity - Category POP and Competitive POP. Category POP are those associations that consumers view as being necessary to be a legitimate and credible offering with a certain product or service category.Competitive POP are those associations designed to negate competitor's Points of Parity ( Kevin Keller).

In simple terms , when a product is launched, the marketer should tell the customer about the category in which the product belongs ( category POP). This task is important for products which belong to a new category. For example , hand sanitizer is a new category and consumers are not aware of such a category. So when a brand is being launched in such a new category, brand managers should first establish a category POP. For that , the consumers should be made aware of such a category. Right now marketers are using infomercials to educate the consumers about hand sanitizer, its advantages and uses. Once the frame of reference is established ,then the brand should be placed in the category. Usually marketers use packaging, product form and labels to establish category points of parity.

Competitor POP is where marketers tell the consumers that their brand have all the properties/qualities of their competing brands. For example Lifebuoy soap will establish competitive POP with Dettol soap by claiming that it has germ killing qualities and vice versa.

These strategies will fail if the marketers did not understand the frame of reference used by consumers in evaluating the product. This lack of understanding can lead to positioning failures that eventually lead to product failure.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Marketing Strategy : The Art of Story Telling

The Art of Story Telling

Originally published here at Adclubbombay.com

Branding is the art of story telling. Successful brands are those who tell stories that catch the imagination of the consumers. More compelling the story is- the more customers will love the brand.

Lux for the past 75 years has been telling the story of Bollywood beauties. Dettol has been telling stories of fighting germs and Johnson & Johnson continue telling stories about the love between mother and child.

Story telling is a difficult task and that explain the reason why many brands fail to succeed in the market. Story telling is different from advertising. Advertising helps communicate the stories to the audience but brands have to first build a compelling story.

Take the case of Santoor. This is one of the first brands to tell a story of a beautiful mother mistakenly identified as a young girl because of her younger looking skin. The theme has been consistently reinforced by the brand through various advertisements. The story was compelling, realistic and easy to understand.

Brand stories are not a standalone complete story. The brand story does not have an ending. It is evolving and continuing.

Theme

Stories should have a compelling theme. In order for the story to be compelling, then the theme should be powerful and relevant to the consumers. In the case of Santoor, the story theme was based on the consumer insight that beauty is often associated with younger looking skin. The entire brand story was based on this premise. Axe deo brand has been telling stories of how women chase men who are using Axe. Men like the theme of getting chased by women. Axe was told a compelling story of how ordinary men got chased by beautiful women.

Relevant

Stories should be relevant to the audience (consumers). Marketing Guru Seth Godin in his book “All Marketers are Liars “, talks about the importance of understanding consumer’s world view. He argues that only those stories will be successful which are relevant to the consumers’ world view.

Brands must know their audience before telling stories. They have to understand the audience’s world view in order to create a relevant theme. It is one reason behind the huge success of “slice of life “commercials. Consumers are able to instantly link to the theme because it is something that they can relate to.

Consistent

Brand stories are continuous. Hence the stories need to be consistent with the same set of characters reinforcing the basic theme. Brand stories can be imagined as a large collection of highly related stories woven with a common thread. Hence it is important for the story teller to have the bigger picture while telling their stories. When the stories deviate from the common thread, consumers get disconnected.

Onida was telling a compelling story of envy with the central character of devil. The story was liked by the consumer and a brand was built. But later the brand deviated from the theme, characters were changed, devil was taken off and soon consumers felt disconnected with the stories.

Often we see brand stories change for no reason. When advertising agencies change, brand stories also change. Once the common thread is lost, consumers tend to forget the story.

It is also important to be fresh while consistent. Adults are easy bored by repetition. So brand managers should ensure that there is freshness in the stories that is being told. These stories should evolve from the big picture. Airtel is a classic case where the brand is able to create freshness with consistency. The brand’s core theme of Expressing Oneself is being reinforced through ads which are fresh and attractive.

Connect with the consumers

Successful stories are those which become close to the consumers. The audience should involve with the stories and should own up the theme. Successful movies are those where the audience become a part of the story. They cry and laugh with the characters and are a part of them during the movies. Successful brands are those where the consumers become the part of the story. The more involvement the consumers are, the more iconic the brand becomes. Apple and Harley Davidson are brands which told compelling stories. These brands became iconic because consumers became the part of the story theme.

Brands are trying to tell stories through different media and platforms. The powerful stories are usually told by consumers to consumers. It is very difficult to make a consumer tell a brand story to another. The story should be simple, uncomplicated and personal.

It is a True Story

Brand stories are true stories and it is not fictional. Consumers understand brand stories through experience. He uses all the sense to understand the stories told by the brand. Marketers often think that consumers will buy the story told through advertisements. Hence the focus was more on building a fantasy which is far from reality. What is often forgotten is that the consumers tend to validate the story through experience. If there is a mismatch between the story and the experience, the brand will not be trusted again.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Marketing Strategy : The Logic of Brand Extensions

The Logic of Brand Extensions

Originally Published Here at Adclubbombay.com

Brand extension is a strategy where the company uses an existing brand name to launch products in the existing or new category. This brand extension strategy is often the most used growth strategy for brands by marketers. The popularity of this strategy has given rise to a host of discussion among the academic and professional community about the efficacy of brand extensions.

Why Marketers go after brand extensions?

Exploiting existing brand’s equity

Brand extensions often are perceived to be a less risky strategy for launching new products. The logic behind using the existing brand name for new products is to exploit the brand equity of the existing brand. Recently Sundrop which is a famous sunflower oil brand launched Sundrop Peanut Butter. The use of the prominent brand in the new product is expected to trigger trial usage by the consumers of the parent brand.

Costs of launching brand extensions are low

Compared to launching new brands, brand extensions are perceived to be less costly to launch. The reason is that both the channel members and the consumers are familiar with the brand. Hence the extensions are tapping on the existing awareness of the brand. The marketers can thus use their budget to increase the trial usage rather than spend money on creating brand awareness. In one way using existing brand names helps marketers to skip one step in their brand building process.

Experiment

Brand extensions also prompt marketers to explore new categories for the brand. Since the cost of launching brand extensions are lower compared to a new one motivate the marketers to leverage the existing brand’s equity into new categories.

Expand

Brand extensions also expand the scope of the brand. Ponds, which started off as a cold cream, is now an umbrella brand that endorses a wide range of beauty products. Dettol which is a highly successful antiseptic lotion brand has now a basket of products ranging from soaps to plasters. The brand extensions increase the scope and turnover of the brand and thus give more revenue to the firm.

Brand Extensions have its own set of negatives. Brand extensions are based on some assumptions which if gone wrong can affect the parent brand’s equity.

One assumption in brand extension is that consumers like the brand hence will like all the products endorsed by the brand irrespective of the categories. The second assumption is that the parent brand’s equity can be leveraged across various categories. Hence brand extensions will have similar positive equity as the original brand.

Critics argue that brand extensions will dilute the original brand’s equity. Sometimes there is a proliferation of extensions that dilute the parent brand’s positioning. So when a soap brand extends itself into shampoo, the core identity of the brand as soap is now irrelevant. If not clearly defined, the parent brand may lose its product associations in the consumer’s mind.

Another danger in brand extensions is the positioning confusion. For brands which are extending to related-categories are better off in positioning because the brand can continue with the same positioning when extending to related categories. But when the brand is moving to unrelated categories, the same positioning may not work in the new category. A change in the positioning for brand extensions will have adverse impact on the original brand’s position.

However, brand extension is an invaluable strategic tool for marketers looking for expanding the scope of the brand. Marketers have to get their basics right before embarking on the extension strategy.

To Extend or Not to Extend

This may sound too basic a question but every marketer should ask this question about the brand.

“Whether this brand should be extended in future?”

The future of the brand lies in this question. For a new brand, the decision to extend or not to extend in future will have its implication in the selection of brand name and positioning. A brand name which is highly associated with a product feature or category will have limited scope for future extensions. The positioning strategy will also have to be crafted in a manner which will facilitate future brand extensions. For an existing brand, this question will bring about a need for a change in the current positioning strategy.

Have a Vision

The most important task for a marketer looking for brand extension is to have a vision for the brand. Brand extensions as a short-term marketing strategy will be damaging for the parent brand. The development of a long term vision starts with the critical questions as to whether the brand should be extended or not. Once the marketer has decided on the extension, he has to chart a growth path for the brand. The vision involves deciding whether the parent brand should be used as an umbrella brand or as an endorser. Should the brand be used for unrelated extensions or limited to a category?

The careful planning of the brand’s future will eliminate lot of confusion in terms of positioning, category decisions etc.

Line Logic

Marketers should be clear about the impact of a line or brand extension on the product line of the company. Authors John Quelch and David Kenny in an Harvard Business Review article – Extend Profits Not Product-lines suggest that the company sales officers should take a line logic test where they should be able to explain in one sentence, the strategic role played by each SKU (stock keeping units) in the product line .The consumer should also be able to understand the how these extensions fits his/her needs.

Focus

The biggest threat of brand extension is the possible loss of focus on the parent brand because of extensions. Brand Extensions are opportunities for growth. While extending, marketers should not forget that the extensions are based on the equity of the original brand. Any change in the marketing mix strategy of the extensions will have an effect on the parent brand. This strong relationship between the extensions and parent brand should be taken into consideration during every brand promotions.

Lost Opportunity

Every brand extension is lost opportunity to build a new brand. While extensions take away lot of pressure from the marketers, one should have a clear understanding about the potential loss of an opportunity to build a new brand.

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Marketing Strategy : After Marketing

What Will You Do After Marketing


Originally published here at adclubbombay.com

Marketing in conventional sense has been defined as the process where organizations and individuals satisfy their needs and wants by creating and exchanging offerings of value. After -Marketing is a term that denotes the activities that a firm undertakes after the sale is completed.

Usually after-marketing activities are broadly understood as after-sales service. After-Marketing is more than the service support that is given after-sales. In the case of a product that needs service support like automobiles or in the business marketing, after sales service is a relevant and forms a major component of After-Marketing.

But in the case of a product like soap, there is no scope for after-sales service but there is a scope for after-marketing activities. While traditional marketing emphasis on activities till the sale is done, after-marketing strategies starts after the sales are made. These activities will take the simple transaction of buying and selling to the next level of relationship marketing. A relationship between the buyer and seller will depend a lot on what the seller does after the order is signed.

While After-Sales Service activities are applicable to products and services that require service support, After-Marketing is applicable for all products and services.

Define the After-Marketing Activities

The first step in After-Marketing is the recognition of the fact that sale is not the end of the relationship but a beginning of a relationship. And relationship is more than repeat purchases. In the case of business to business relationship, the after-marketing activities are marked by continuous follow-up by the sales department. In the case of a consumer product which requires service support like a TV or an automobile, the after-marketing activities include the product service support given by the company. In these cases, after –marketing activities are clearly defined and obvious.

For a product like soap or a shampoo, there is no scope for after-sales support. Hence the marketer has to define the concept of after-marketing. This includes what the brand should do after the selling is done and also what it expects the consumer to do after he has bought the product.

Sunsilk expects its consumers to visit their website and participate in discussions and exchange their ideas with the company. The brand has a clear understanding about what it expects the consumers to do after they have used /interacted with the brand. Sunsilk through its website also offers much information to the consumers about hair-care and solving hair-related problems. Thus there is a continuous connection with consumers over and above the transaction of buying a shampoo. This is a planned process that includes investment of resources on the part of the brand to connect with the consumers.

Take Initiative to Connect

After-Marketing activities can be of two types – Active and Passive. Active after-marketing involves reaching out to the consumers and encouraging consumers to interact with the company. Fastrack brand has a presence across various social marketing sites like Twitter through which the brand tries to connect with its existing and potential consumers.

Recently Dettol ran a high profile advertising campaign asking their existing consumers to narrate the various purposes for which they use Dettol. Consumers use Dettol for disinfecting floor, wash the wounds, disinfect the diapers, use it during bathing etc. These insights helped Dettol to run a campaign highlighting the multiple uses of Dettol.

Passive activities are where the brand expects consumers to initiate a connection. Having a toll free number printed on the back of the pack is a passive after-marketing activity while running a contest for consumers to call the company and suggest ideas is an active effort.

After-marketing activities also is aimed at providing a complete experience to the consumers about the product. The success of a product lies in how well the consumer is able to derive maximum from the product. So the marketer should ensure that the consumer use the product completely and thus gains maximum utility from the product.

Take the example of a mobile phone. Now mobile phones are loaded with applications and features and it is often found that consumer seldom uses the many applications in their phones. Unless the consumer fully uses the features, a complete product experience cannot be guaranteed. After-Marketing activities can be planned to equip the consumer to fully use their product. Easy to read manuals, education of consumers by the sales people on the features, web based support etc can be initiated so that the consumer gains the maximum usage from the product.

After –Marketing is not trying to sell more. The frequent SMS’ that is sent to the subscribers by the cellular service providers announcing various offers and schemes often creates irritation because the intention is to sell more. The timely delivery of bills, reminders,acknowledgement of payment received act as good after-marketing activities because the intention is to help the consumer.

Create Loyalty by Sharing

Consumers want solutions not products and marketers have to rise above the products to solve the consumer’s problems. A soap marketer can be a solution provider for hygiene /skin care related problems by sharing information about hygiene and skin care. A toothpaste marketer can be a solution provider of dental related issues and problems through information sharing. Colgate through its website is offering lot of information about dental care and dental hygiene.

In this era where competitors can copy every possible product/service features, after-marketing activities provide an opportunity to create a meaningful differentiation for the marketers. Although these activities require investment of resources , in the long term ,after-marketing activities will define the extent of consumer loyalty commanded by the brand.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Brand Update : Lux

Lux got bigger. The brand has come back in style. Lux released its first commercial featuring the most famous "Star Couple " of bollywood - Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan. The brand is currently running this high profile campaign across the media space.

Watch the ad here : Lux new ad

HUL has been facing lot of heat from the competition. Most of its best sellers were losing market share and competition getting aggressive day by day. Despite having very popular brands, HUL began losing shares especially in the personal care category.
The HUL brands are facing tough competition from players like ITC , Wipro ,Godrej and the like.
Recently I checked on the HUL products purchased at my home , I was surprised to find that we have dropped many HUL products from our shopping list. In the soap category itself, we never purchased an HUL soap for the past 3 months or so. These spaces are now occupied by brands like Vivel,Dettol, Santoor etc.

In my earlier update on Lux, I mentioned that HUL is not promoting the "original " Lux and not using the equity of Aishwarya Rai. The new campaign involving the two biggest stars of bollywood gives a huge thrust to the brand.

Ordinary consumers seems to be very much impressed by the new campaign. My mother liked the ad so much that she plans to buy Lux soon.

Personally I feel that the ad could have been different. The theme is nothing new and is used by many brands before. But the Star Couple makes the theme irrelevant. The charm and the chemistry of the couple make good the flaws in the "big idea".The ad has a sticky factor and in that sense Lux benefits.

The current campaign although expensive gives the required thrust for Lux. Lux badly needed some thing new to bring back the consumers who switched to other brands and never returned. The brand had made a strong comeback and that too in style.

Related Brand
Lux

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Suthol : Soothes All

Brand : Suthol
Company : GD Pharmaceuticals


Brand Analysis Count : 410

Suthol is a brand from GD pharmaceuticals - the manufacturers of the famous Boroline brand. Suthol is a liquid antiseptic. Suthol was launched in 2006. The brand was first launched in West Bengal.

I noticed this brand through an advertisement in a leading magazine. Frankly I have never seen this brand in any of the stores. I guess that Suthol is just being launched in Kerala.

The brand is fighting in the Rs 120 crore antiseptic market which is dominated by Dettol.
Suthol brand name is derived from two words : Soothe All. The brand's positioning is also in line with the meaning of the brand.

Like Boroline, Suthol also believes in subtle promotions. Boroline has grown not because of ads but because of product efficacy. Suthol is also following Boroline's path.

Suthol is being positioned as an antiseptic lotion that help fight/prevent rashes and infections. The brand claims to have skin soothing properties as well as germ killing properties.

The brand is fighting in a very difficult market. Dettol is almost generic to this category. As a market leader, Dettol is very aggressive over competition. Cracking such a market is not very easy. There are two options for a challenger brand - to fight with the market leader or to carve out a niche. Suthol has to make a choice between these two options.

To fight a brand like Dettol, one needs to have a serious differentiation. This is a market where even J&J and HUL failed to displace Dettol.

Suthol is a liquid antiseptic which is different from Dettol. Unlike Dettol, Suthol is not a concentrated antiseptic. That means you can apply Suthol directly to the skin ( See website for more details) . And unlike Dettol, it does not have that burning sensation and claims to be soothing . Suthol even asks consumers to pour some drops on the palm and rub it on the body which is unthinkable for Dettol. That means , Suthol has an edge over Dettol when it comes to personal care application .

In a sense, Suthol has some powerful differentiators compared to Dettol . But it lacks the brand equity or the financial muscle to fight a power brand like Dettol. That may be the reason why the brand has chosen a phased soft launch.

The best way for Suthol is to carve a segment of users who look for a daily-use antiseptic which is not as strong as Dettol. The brand has the right attributes to appeal to such consumers.

The campaigns of Suthol is nothing but very basic.
Watch the tvc here : Suthol

Even the print ads are not focused on building a positioning platform. Most of the ads are just informative ads focusing on product attributes. I think the Suthol needs to focus on building its brand around its core differentiation of " a Soothing antiseptic " . A dose of celebrity endorsement will also help the brand to get consumer trials.

Suthol is slowly expanding its market from Bengal to down south Kerala. It will be interesting to see how the brand puts up against the mighty Dettol.

Related Brand
Dettol
Savlon

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Brand Update : Dettol

Dettol celebrated its 75 years of existence in 2008. This highly popular antiseptic brand has come a long way since 1933. After a plethora of extensions and experiments, this brand is still ruling the Indian market as the most preferred antiseptic lotion and also as a premium soap.

The brand celebrated its 75 years by reinforcing the germ killing positioning and the tagline " Be 100% sure ". The brand is currently running a campaign highlighting the efficiency and the multi-uses of the product.

In marketing theory , it is taught that one of the strategy for a brand which has reached the maturity stage of PLC is to find new uses for the product. The Dettol brand is currently in the process of discovering those new uses for the product. When the consumer uses the product for different purposes, the sales naturally increases.

A classic case that is used in most marketing textbook is that of the Baking Soda brand Arms & Hammer. The brand found that consumers use baking soda as a refrigerator deodorant. Arms & Hammer ran a series of promotions to encourage consumers to place an open box of Arms & Hammer in their fridge. The brand later extended itself into various products like toothpaste and antiperspirant . ( Marketing Management, Kotler, Keller 13ed)


The best way to find the new uses for the product is to ask the consumers. Dettol did just that. It ran a series of promotions asking consumers to tell the company , how they used Dettol.

Watch the commercial here : Dettol new uses
The brand asked the consumers to contact them and tell the company on the multiple uses of the product and thus gained lot of insights into the various uses of the brand.

The brand later came out with a series of campaign highlighting the various uses of this antiseptic. Dettol now taken the platform of a multi-use antiseptic which can be used during bath, to clean wounds, to sterilize clothes, floor etc.

Although homemakers has been using Dettol for all these, the company has now taken these uses as a part of the core product. The brand is trying to break the image of Dettol as an antiseptic which is used for cleaning wounds.
Along with this initiative, the brand also reinforced its commitment towards hygiene. The brand has selected hygiene as the core brand value and theme which it will fight for.

In 2008, the brand conducted a study which showed that 78% of frequently touched surfaces in a household is highly contaminated. The brand then conducted a series of awareness campaign to promote better hygiene using Dettol.

Using hygiene as the major theme, Dettol is trying to increase the usage of the product among the households. Because of the excellent brand equity, Dettol is in a position to ride this wave.

Regarding the distribution, recently I wanted to buy this brand from my nearest grocery store but was surprised to find that the product was not stocked there. He told me that Dettol is available only in medical shops. A major super market is also not stocking this brand. I am not sure whether Dettol has stopped selling through OTC . If it is so, then the brand is in for trouble.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Savlon : Heals Without Hurting

Brand : Savlon
Company : Johnson & Johnson
Agency : Lowe Lintas


Brand Analysis Count : 369

Can a brand ,which was proved by laboratory tests as better than its competitor, backed by one of the most reputed business houses in the world, having many product advantages over its competitor, have any chance of failing in the market ?

If your answer is no , then think again ....


Savlon which was clinically proven to be a better antiseptic than Dettol ,backed by Johnson & Johnson ,having advantages like better scent and non-stinging properties miserably failed in the Indian market.

Why ?

Frankly I am also clueless. That is why Marketing as a subject is so intriguing... it is full of surprises. Philip Kotler once said " Marketing is a subject that is easy to (pretend to )unders tand but difficult to practice ".


Looking at Savlon, I wonder whether the success of a brand is depended on sheer luck... Is luck the only reason why out of 100 brands launched, only 5 succeed ?

Is Savlon an unlucky brand ? or Did Johnson & Johnson failed in building this brand ?

Savlon was a brand owned by a pharmaceutical MNC ICI ltd. Later ICI's OTC brands was acquired by Johnson &Johnson . Savlon was relaunched in Indian market in 1993. The brand was expected to give the market leader Dettol, a run for its money. But even after millions of rupees spent , Dettol still rules the antiseptic lotion market.

Savlon had lot of advantages over Dettol. According to media reports, some lab tests indicated that Savlon is an effective germ killer than Dettol . Savlon is effective against both Gram Positive and Gram Negative germs.

Another advantage about Savlon was that it does not sting while being applied on wounds. Dettol used to give a stinging sensation while applied on wounds. Savlon also had a better scent compared to the more clinical smell of Dettol.

Armed with these properties, Savlon went into a direct attack on Dettol . The product was positioned as an antiseptic that does not hurt while healing. The main differentiators for the brand was its no-sting property and better smell. According to media reports, during the relaunch, J&J spent heavily on promoting the brand.
The relaunch was a success and consumers tried out the new product . But the story did not continue like that.

Dettol confronted the frontal attack from Savlon in a different manner. It tried to attack one of the most valuable brand of J&J - Band -Aid by launching Dettol plasters.

This move got J&J defensive. It never expected Dettol to attack another brand in retaliation. Dettol plasters had the potential to attract consumers because of the brand equity commanded by Dettol Antiseptic.

J&J scrambled to protect Band-Aid by launching a series of variants in the medicated plaster segment. In doing so, resources was spent on defending Band-Aid rather than in advancing Savlon.

Savlon suffered heavily because it lost the support interms of investment in brand building. Dettol had a brand equity built over more than 50 years (at that period of time) and it is not an easy task to break into that equity. It needed painful long term sustained investment.

How ever Savlon was pushed to a back burner after Dettol introduced the plaster. Savlon never re-emerged.

During 1998, a funny incident happened. I deliberately used the word funny because it is funny.
In 1998 HLL acquired the rights to launch Savlon Soaps from J&J. While the rights for antiseptic lotion remained with J&J, the marketing alliance was for soaps.

HLL was worried at the success of Dettol soaps. Armed with a strong association with antiseptic property , Dettol soap became a huge success and cornered a significant chunk of the premium medicated soap category. HLL, who wanted to rule the entire soap category ,wanted to arrest the rise of Dettol soap.

Instead of trying to develop its own brand of soap, HLL looked for an easy solution. Thus came the idea of marketing alliance with Savlon. With much fanfare, Savlon antiseptic soap was launched. J&J was happy because it got some cashflow by giving the rights of Savlon.The marketing alliance lasted only for 4 years.

According to reports, HLL put Savlon soap in dustbin in 2003 and repositioned its Lifebuoy brand to fight against Dettol.

So where did Savlon went wrong ?

There are marketing experts who say that the positioning of Savlon was not correct. No-stinging and sweet scent are not important for a consumer looking for an antiseptic lotion. What they look for is effectiveness. Hence Savlon was trying to differentiate on attributes which are not considered to be important by the consumers.

More over, consumers tend to believe that the stinging sensation is a side-effect of the effectiveness of the antiseptic.So if it does not hurt , it is not effective. Dettol has taught them that way.

I believe that Savlon did not achieve its desired success because J&J was not able to support it interms of investment. Somewhere along the way, the company disowned the brand. One reason can be that antiseptic lotion is a small market that does not warrant such heavy investment. But if that is so, the the company shouldn't have introduced a brand in such a category.

Savlon now occupies a negligible part of the market. It is a popular brand in the institutional market but in the consumer market, it is a no-brand.

Related brand
Dettol


Wednesday, June 11, 2008

India's Most Trusted Brands - 2008

Economic Times' Brand Equity has published the list of India's Most Trusted Brands Survey findings today.
The top ten brands are

  1. Nokia
  2. Colgate
  3. Tata Salt
  4. Pepsodent
  5. Ponds
  6. Lux
  7. Britannia
  8. Dettol
  9. Lifebuoy
  10. Vicks
This year, Nokia displaced Colgate to gain the top slot. Nokia is riding on the explosive telecom growth that India is now witnessing. The focus on quality and features has made Nokia a brand that Indian consumers love. The brand was able to bring in successful models regularly. Currently the N series has been the poster boy in its portfolio. Along with the models, the brand also has been investing in building the brand equity. The result of the survey also throws an interesting lesson. Recently Nokia faced the issue of " overheating of battery". Around 46 mn BL-5C series batteries was recalled by Nokia worldwide . Marketers feared that this recall will have a negative impact on Nokia's brand equity. But this survey proved that Indian consumers have been impressed by the commitment of Nokia in the Indian market.

The current results has been a disappointment for Colgate which topped the list for the past 4 years. But I feel that the brand lost the position not because of any loss of trust but because the mobile telecom category have seen a huge growth and was the top- of -the- mind category for consumers. Colgate still leads the toothpaste category but will have a reason to worry because Pepsodent has moved to the No.4 slot from the No.8 slot.

The top ten service brands are
  1. LIC
  2. Airtel
  3. State Bank of India
  4. Reliance Mobile
  5. BSNL
  6. Tata Indicom
  7. Indian Oil
  8. Hutch/Vodafone
  9. ICICI Bank
  10. Bank of India

Related Posts

India's trusted brands 2007

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Marketing Funda : India's Most Trusted Brands 2007


Economic Times has published Brand Equity's Most Trusted Brands. Colgate for the fourth year in a row topped the list. The first ten positions in the list looks like this

1.Colgate
2.Vicks
3.Lux
4.Nokia
5.Britannia
6.Dettol
7.Lifebuoy
8.Pepsodent
9.Pond's
10.Tata Tea

The top ten service brands are
1.LIC
2.Airtel
3.State Bank of India
4.Reliance India Mobile
5.BSNL
6.Tata Indicom
7.Indian oil
8.ICICI Bank
9.Bank of India
10.Reliance Petroleum

Colgate has every qualification to be in the number one league because of its ability to understand Indian consumer and innovate interms of the product and marketing mix. The brands that feature in teh list is a testimony of successful marketing.
Cheers

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Doy : Clear Skin, Healthy Skin

Brand : Doy
Company: VVF Ltd
Agency:Orchard Advertising

Brand Count:231

Doy is an interesting brand because of two reasons , first is that its an example of a contract manufacturer going in for forward integration ,second it was a brand that tapped a new segment in the highly competitive Rs 5000 crore soap market.

VVF is a company that was established in 1939 metamorphosed into a largest player in the Oleo resins and personal care manufacturer. The portfolio of VVF includes the Who is Who of the personal care industry ranging from J&J to Dettol.
Doy was launched in 1998 as a soap targeted at the segment of kids aged 3-11 years. At that time , there was virtually no competition in the category with only a single brand "Kids" from J&J. Interestingly VVF was manufacturing KIDS for J&J.
VVF launched Doy in 1998. The brand was a premium soap positioned as kid's soap. The brand differentiated beautifully from other soaps using Form as its point of differentiation. In Marketing texts we have learned about differentiating based on Form and Doy is a classic example for that. The brand came in shape and form that catch the attention of Kids. According to the brand website, Doy has Five basic variants
Pink Princess
Green Pixie
Samba Lion
Purple Mermaid
Mambo Elephant. Later the brand included more variants like
Lucky Duck
Bathman
Patch Eye
etc.
The unique shape of this soap made the brand very popular among the kids. Although the market share figures are not available, I feel that the brand had a reasonable run.
The brand's success is very much attributable to the right segmentation. When we look at the soap segment, J&J's soap is primarily targeted at infants and kids aged till 3. After that in most households, the kids use the same soap as the elders .Here is the gap that the brand has identified.
Not only that the brand used its form as a differentiator, it had its positioning based on its product qualities. Doy uses Olive oil as a major ingredient. Olive oil has many properties that suits skin care. Doy is positioned as a soap that makes the skin healthy. The brand has a tagline " Clear Skin, Healthy Skin. Initially the brand was promoted using TVC's

Watch the TVC here: Princess

Then the brand did some unthinkable act. It extended itself to an adult brand with the brand name Doy Care. The company launched Doy Care Creme : a cream based premium soap targeted at young women. The brand was aiming at the premium segment of the soap market. The brand also had a unique shape like the kids variants. Later came another variant aimed at the young girl's segment Doy Care Aloevera.
Watch the TVC here : Aloevera
In my experience as a consumer, the aloevera variant was a horrible soap ( I know its not meant for me...) because of its fragrance or lack of it....
As an academic , I feel that extending a Kids brand into adults was somekind of a suicide mission on the part of the brand manager. It is going to confuse both the consumers: Kids and young girls.
Regarding the parent brand Doy, the company is not at all aggressive in the market. Except for some sporadic ad campaigns, the brand is adopting a laid back attitude. There are news reports of many below the line promotions for this brand, but compared to its peers , the share of voice is very low.
With lot of competitors viewing this segment seriously, Doy better start getting more active. One comforting fact for Doy was that J&J 's venture into the Kid's segment with the brand KIDS was a failure despite its heavy campaigning and the backing of the equity of J&J.Now we can see that Johnson & Johnson is now communicating to the mothers that its baby soap can be used for Kids also. Pears is another strong brand eying this segment. The brand had a reasonable success in the TG also.
I personally feel that Doy failed to take advantage of the opportunity it had to create and own the kid segment. Primarily because of the lack of heavy investment in brand building.

source:agencyfaqs,financialexpress,doycare website

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Fem : Beauty With Care

Brand : Fem
Company: Femcare
Brand count :175

Fem is a small player in the FMCG market. This 50 crore pharmaceutical company has a significant share in some of the niche segments in the FMCG market in India. The company has followed the principle of concentrating on niche products rather than fighting a bloody war with the heavy weights .
Fem came into existence in 1982. The brand is famous for its range of liquid hand wash soap segment. In this Rs 20 crore market, Fem occupies a major market share of over 60%. Fem is positioned on the platform of beauty with health. The tagline of the Mother brand is “Beauty with Care”. The liquid soap segment of late has been witnessing intense competition from the likes of Dettol and Lifebuoy. Fem comes with fragrances like Lemon,Blossom,Peach,Bouquet etc.
Another niche product from FEM is the new brand Oxybleach. Oxybleach is the facial bleach from Fem boast of having the world’s first pre bleach cream. The brand is positioned on the unique attribute of “ Oxygenation”. The ad speaks about the problem faced by skin when exposed to sun, dust etc. The brand when used gives more oxygen to the skin making it refreshing and healthy.

Fem is a brand that also has significant presence in the female hair removing market. The brand has launched a new hair removing cream in a squeeze pack which acts as a differentiator.
Fem has introduced another brand in the cloth conditioner segment (entirely new category) named Bambi, which is a fabric softener.

Fem has been successful in finding niche areas in Feminine care and with good products and distribution network, the brand has created positive word of mouth for its products. The brands like Oxybleach and hair removers are being promoted aggressively by the company. But the company faces competition from established brands, which try to enter into these niches. Most of the personal care brands are trying to give all solutions to the customer rather than focusing on any one product. That has been the strategy of mega brands like Ponds, Lakme and Loreal. These brands, which have significant brand equity, will always post a threat to the niche brands like Fem. For Example, brands like Lifebuoy venturing seriously into liquid soap business will threaten the position of the cash cow of Fem.

The major issue with niche brands is the lack of resources to sustain the growth and fight competition. The lack of resources often forces the niche brands to either sell off or die in the face of competition from large brands. This problem becomes too dangerous when the company try to have too many brands . Too many brands sometimes creates resource allocation for brand building.

source: femcareindia.com,businessline

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Band-Aid :Continuous Care

Brand : Band-Aid
Company: Johnson&Johnson
Agency: McCann Ericson

Brand count: 167

Band-Aid can be considered as an classic case of branding success. The brand which is almost 86 year old has become generic to the category. Band-Aid is an Adhesive Bandage used to cover minor cuts and bruises. The brand has come a long way to become one of the classic marketing case study.

The brand came into existence in 1920. The person behind this innovation was Ms Josphene Dickson, a homemaker and wife of Mr Eric Dickson who was cotton buyer at Johnson & Johnson. Josphene during her daily chores inevitably encounters numerous minor cuts and bruises, wanted an easy solution to cover the cuts to prevent it from worsening while continuing her work. Eric prepared a readymade bandage using cotton and adhesive tape so that Josphene can cut from the readymade bandage and use it when in need. Eric told his boss about the invention and thus the concept took shape of Band-Aid ( source:superbrand.com).In 1924 the world's first machine cut band-aid was marketed and it was a huge success.

In India, Band-Aid was launched in the year 1978. Band-Aid was successful because it identified the need in the households for wound care. But to reach the dominant position in India was not easy. Band-Aid had to fight the tradition rather than the competitors to succeed. Traditionally, Indians prefer not to cover the cuts and bruises because there is a feeling that wounds should be kept open inorder to heal faster. Further, Indian consumers typically used traditional methods to heal wounds. In earlier days most of the households had the bottle of tincture iodine which was considered as the best solution for cuts and bruises. Kids used to hate this because the pain will be excruciating when tincture iodine is applied to cuts. Band-Aid comes with red coloured medicine inside ( I think it is Benzalkonium) which resembled Iodine. This had enabled early adoption of this brand and Band-Aid was called " Lal Dhawa Wali Patti" which became the USP . Had the medicine color was not red, Band-Aid would have tough time convincing mothers. The Kids also loved the brand since they were relieved of the pain of Tincture iodine.

Band-Aid also tried to educate mothers about the possible problems in keeping the wounds open because of dust infections caused by it. This also boosted the brand acceptability. One of the major factors that aided the success of this brand was the distribution strength of J&J. Band-Aid was a mass market product and hence it has to be there at every shop in the market.

Band-Aid was a brand that changed with time and it keenly watched the consumers and tried to identify their needs. The company had valuable consumer insights that created the first water proof band-aid in India. The main weakness for bandages was that it used to come off easily when wet. This prevented the category usage to certain extent. The waterproof band aid made the brand usable in any condition. This innovation catapulted the brand popularity to newer heights. Band Aid focused on the area of application and was clever enough to come out with various size and shapes. This come from the insight that different wounds in different parts of the body needs different shapes. For example, a small cut in the forehead needs a round band-aid .These insights made the brand a market leader in the category with a market share of over 60%.

Johnson& Johnson also saw an opportunity for the brand in the traditional cure for cuts. In India, turmeric is used as a medicine for cuts and blemishes. Band-Aid launched a turmeric variant of the plaster much to the delight of the Indian consumers. The brand was also promoted heavily. Band-Aid was the first in the category to advertise in electronic media. According to Superbrands.org, Band-Aid was the first product endorsement of Sachin Tendulkar.
Initially positioned as a wound care brand, Band-Aid was repositioned as a product that encourages kids to be active. Kids have the innate desire to be active and Band-Aid makes sure that cuts and bruises will not be hinder that desire. The brand also roped in Virendra Sewag as its ambassador during the cricket season.
Band-Aid has been lying low in the media for a while. The brand has already become generic to the category. Being generic has its share of problems also. When the customer uses the brand as a generic name for the category , the retailer can offer him any brand in the category. There are many local players in the market who gain by a brand major becoming generic. Competition is also from players like Handyplast and Dettol. Although the Indian wound care market is estimated to be around Rs 512 crore, the domestic adhesive bandage category is small at Rs 25 crore. The brand equity of Band-Aid still going strong is a an entry barrier for any one looking to enter this category.
The brand is currently being positioned on " Continuous Care". The positioning is pitting this brand against the ointments and other external applications. The concept is to educate the customers that use of plasters will heal wounds better than the use of ointments.

source: superbrands.com,jandjindia.com,agencyfaqs

Monday, January 02, 2006

Pears : Pure and Gentle


Brand : Pears
Company : HLL
Agency : Mcann Erickson


Pears is one of the oldest soap brand in the world. Launched in India in 1902, the brand commands a unique position in the mind of the people. There is still virtually no competition for the brand in its segment.
Pears is unique from other ordinary soaps in that the glycerin is retained in the soap. Pears is famous for the transparency and company shows it as the sign of purity. The soap is mellowed under controlled condition and is individually polished and packed in cartons. The traditional Pears is amber coloured and there are two variants.

Pears originally was born in London in 1789. The makers of the soap were A&F Pears London owned by Andrew Pears and Thomas J Barratt( who is considered by some as a pioneer of advertising). They developed the 3 point strategy in promoting pears 1. Spot the gap in the market 2.Develop the product to fill the gap 3. Convince as many to buy the product. These three points are still valid in contemporary marketing. Even during that period, the product was promoted by smart advertising. The makers, co-opting with John Everett 's painting "Bubbles", blurred lines between ads and Art. They even came out with controversial ads at that time to promote the brand.


In 1917 Levers acquired the brand. In India Pears targets the premium segment of the market. Although the brand has a legacy, it is lagging behind Dettol in the category with a market share of around 4-5% in the segment and less than 1% in the overall soap market.
HLL has tried to strengthen the brand with two variants : Blue for Germ fighting and Green for Oil Control.
Of late , the brand is facing competition from Doy Aloe vera which offers similar quality at a reasonable price.
Hll has always supported the brand with careful advertising. The brand is promoted with the positoning as a Pure and Gentle soap. The transparency of the soap acts as the visual cue for purity and the glycerin content as the sign for gentleness. Pears commercials highlight the virtue of the soap using Mother and Child as the central theme . "Pears Mother" is used as the central character to appeal to the emotions of the target market.
Although this brand has been carefully nurtured, the brand remains a niche player in the soap segment.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Dettol : 100% protection, Is the brand protected?


Brand :Dettol
Company :Reckitt and Benckiser
Agency: JWT

The brand has been well known for years. Dettol is Rs 300 crore brand of Reckitt and Benckiser formerly Reckitt and Coleman. Dettol is a 70 year old brand . Launched in 1936 as an antiseptic lotion, the brand became a generic name for antiseptic lotion similar to Xerox in Photocopiers.From its launch to 1980's the brand had a dream run with virtually no competitors. Having no competition is a problem, the growth will be stagnant.
During 1980's Dettol found that the sales are remaining stagnant, the reason being that the brand has its presence in most of the households but are seldom used . Hence the repeat purchases are not there.
Dettol had to expand the usage beyond cuts and bruises. Hence Reckitt and Coleman unleashed a campaign aiming to expand the usage of the brand to an all purpose antiseptic that can be used for shaving,rinsing, and as a general disinfectant.
Dettol have always been positioned as a 100% germ fighter with germ fighting and protection as the core value.
Since the antiseptic lotion market was stagnant Reckitt wanted to leverage the brand to other categories . Dettol saw over these years plenty of brand extentions. The first launch was the soap in 1990's. The initial launch was unsuccessful because the brand moved from core value of protection to love and care. Since the brand faltered in its positioning, failure was imminent.
The soap was again relaunched with positioning as " 100 % protection" and now have a reasonable market share of 12% in the premium category.

The next extention was in the form of liquid soap.The liquid soap category is only 12 crore worth but the hand wash category is expected to grow to 100 crore.
The brand also tried to extend to talc, band aid, and shaving gel but failed miserably in those categories.
Even as the brand is extending, Reckitt failed to strengthen the mother brand and faced competition in that category from Savlon.

Now Dettol is trying to make a foothold in the soap market with the launch of Dettol with moisturizer and glycerin variants. It has also launched a body wash recently.

This brand is a classic case for brand extention failures.We can see a brand struggling to find its place in the market. Some time success can be very disturbing. Xerox wanted to extend to computers but failed miserably. Similarly Dettol wants to do some thing with the brand because it was successful . Now after all these failures, still Dettol is trying with variants forgetting the core brand. I am not saying that you should not extend the brand, But don't do it at the expense of the mother brand . When an antiseptic brand tries to extend to a segment which is essentially cosmetic, it cannot compete with the major players on the cosmetic platform , what at best can happen is that the brand can exist as a niche brand extending its core value and creating a niche .