Hindustan Unilever Limited

The stages through which individual products develop over time is called commonly known

as the "Product Life Cycle".

Introduction Stage

Growth Stage

Maturity Stage

Decline and Revival Stage

Sales and Profits ($)

Sales

Profits Time Product Development Losses/ Investments ($) Introduction Growth Maturity Decline

HIGH P R I C E LOW HIGH

LOW

Rapid Skimming Slow Skimming Ponds Age Eg:-Public AirlinesMiracle

Rapid Penetration

Slow Penetration Eg:-Local Staple goodsPROMOTION

Introduction Stage

Growth Stage

Maturity

Decline

Revival

Advertising & Promotional expenditures are at their highest ratio to sales- to rapidly increase customer awareness of the product and to target the early adopters. Higher costs coupled with a low sales volume usually make the introduction stage a period of negative profits.

Decision has to be taken on being a pioneer or not Pioneer advantage. Brand Recall - brand synonymous with the new category. Eg:-Dettol(=Antiseptic)

Product - one or few products, relatively undifferentiated Price High -Skim price strategy- High profit margins to recoup development costs quickly Low- Penetration Pricing strategy to gain market share rapidly. Distribution - Distribution is selective and scattered as the firm commences implementation of the distribution plan. Promotion - Promotion is aimed at building brand awareness

Lifebuoy was sold in India as early as 1895 It was officially launched and marketed from 1935. It was the largest selling soap brand in the world with sales of Rs 5 bn and sold approximately 2 million soaps a day (as on 2002).

Initial Positioning- in the Health and Value platform. Initial Segmentation-Carbolic Soap Its ads reiterated the message that Lifebuoy washed away germs and kept one protected and healthy.

Its target segment was Males-A Masculine brand. The soap was brick red and carbolic ingredient with a unique smell (chryselic perfume) This distinguished itself from other feminine brands.

The campaigns showed footballer players and athletes using the soap and the jingle followed jingle followed "

thandurusti ki raksha kartha hai lifebuoy, lifebuoy hai jahan thandurusti hai vahan". -Male

soap in health care

Product- undifferentiated red brick with cryselic smell Segmentation:- Carbolic soap segment Positioning:-Masculine brand in health and value platform Market Strategy:-High Penetration Initial Price & Market share- had a 21% market share in the overall soap market

"It is the biggest and comprehensive relaunch of any of our brands. Lifebuoy which has remained unchanged for the last 107 years is a

completely new product since January 2002,"said Mr Sanjay Dube, Category Head - Mass

Market Soaps and Detergents, HLL.

Introduction Stage

Growth Stage

Maturity

Decline

Revival

The growth stage is a period of rapid revenue growth.Sales increase as more customers become aware of theproduct and its benefits and additional market segments are targeted.

Product - New product features and packaging options; improvement of product quality. Price - Maintained at a high level if demand is high, or reduced to capture additional customers. Distribution - Distribution becomes more intensive. Promotion - Increased advertising to build brand preference.

Intro:Launched in 1975, this brand is the first gel toothpaste aiming at the youth segment.

HLL through CloseUp have created and owned a segment for itself.

CloseUp was a disruptive brand that changed the structure of toothpaste market in India.

With the red colour and smart advertising , itforced the market leader to change its strategy and launch a gel variant.

The customer insight was that people are conscious about their breath and want to get close with each other with confidence.

Based on this insight the brand was positioned on the Fresh Breath platform

The campaign was executed showing "Happy couples having fun together".

Positioning- Youth brand on fresh breath platform Segmentation- Gel variant Promotional Campaign- Get Closer with Confidence Market Share- 13% alone and along with Pepsodent it accounted for 36% market share, giving tough competition to Colgate

Intro

Growth

MATURITY Stage Decline Revival

Sales continue to increase at a slower pace. Advertising expenditures will be reduced. Competition may result in decreased market share and/or prices.

The competing products may be very similar at this point, increasing the difficulty of differentiating the product.The firm places effort into encouraging : competitors' customers to switch, increasing usage per customer, and converting non-users into customers.

Sales promotions may be offered to encourage retailers to give the product more shelf space over competing products.

Product - Modifications are made and features are added in order to differentiate the product from competitors. Price - Possible price reductions in response to a price war. Distribution - New distribution channels to avoid losing shelf space. Promotion - Emphasis on building of brand loyalty.

Close Up found that its mono-attribute focus is losing the sheen Many market players Crest-by P&G Colgate & Pepsodent wars Cliden and a brand by Ajanta group

Crest, by P&G- 135gm pack for Rs21-25 LG Care-Cliden toothpaste Toothpaste by Ajanta-200gm pack for Rs20/Combipack of Anchor white toothpaste & toothbrush- Rs 25/Pepsodent & Close up-200gm pack-40Rs/-

In Maturity phase as per ORG-Marg, Close-Up has a 17.5 per cent value share in the Rs 1,400-

crore toothpaste market.

New focus on 3 attributes : Fresh breath, White Teeth and Strong Teeth. CloseUp With Vitamin and Flouride offer oral care 3 Variants- Oxy fresh, Eucalyptus Blue, Lemon variant

Smile Ad & Kya aap Close up karte hainto promote brand loyalty & emphasize brand identification in heightened competition.

The 'Smile King' commercial reflected the confidence of today's youth. Launch of www.closeupuniverse.com- A website for youth, again reinforcing that it is a youth brand.

Intro

Growth

Maturity

Decline& Revival

Eventually sales begin to decline as the market becomes saturated, the product becomes

technologically obsolete, or customer tasteschange.

Maintain the product in hopes that competitors will exit. Reduce costs and find new uses for the product. Harvest it, reducing marketing support and coasting along until no more profit can be made. Discontinue the product when no more profit can be made or there is a successor product.

Product - The number of products in the product line may be reduced. Rejuvenate surviving products to make them look new again. Price - Prices may be lowered to liquidate inventory of discontinued products. Prices may be maintained for continued products serving a niche market. Distribution - Distribution becomes more selective. Channels that no longer are profitable are phased out. Promotion - Expenditures are lower and aimed at reinforcing the brand image for continued products.

However, most of the companies go for BRAND REVIVAL . On a positive note, the whole new version of the product with new marketing strategy is used. Thus, under the initial name, a completely new formulation is developed. Hence, very few products may or may not be wiped off.

The soap market in India was fairly sluggish in 2001, declining by 9-10 per cent. Lifebuoy's decline exceeded that of the overall market

Lifebuoy has been declining by 15-20 per cent in volume terms. The decline was partly on account of the sluggish growth in the rural market, which accounts for 50 per cent of soap demand.

HLL launched Lifebuoy Active , Lifebuoy Extra Strong in during the second half of 2001.

OLD LOOK

NEW LOOK

Swasthya Chetna- In India-2002

The campaign, called Swasthya Chetna, or health awakening, is the largest rural health and hygiene education program ever undertaken in India. It is to educate 200 million Indians 20% of the population - to wash their hands with soap after defecating and achieve this goal within five years.

Products do not have such a predictable life and the specific life cycle curves followed by different products vary substantially. Consequently, the life cycle concept is not wellsuited for the forecasting of product sales. If sales peak and then decline, managers may conclude that the product is in the decline phase and therefore cut the advertising budget, thus precipitating a further decline.