case study lux symbolizing beauty-2

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~~~~ .,,- "'.", --~" -",' CASESTUDY ...~'-'- "", -,,~ - LUX-SymbolizingBeauty* Luxisanestablished brandofHindustanUnilever Limited (HUL),renowned to be oneof the giantplayersin the fastmovingconsumer goods(FMCG) segment. Overthe courseoftime,HUL hasdiversified itsportfolioandhas markedits presenceacrosstwentydifferentcategories, suchas food brands(Annapurna, Knorr,Taaza,etc.), homecarebrands(Vim,SurfExcel,ActiveWheel,etc.), personal carebrands(Axe,Ponds,Sunsilk,etc.),qnd Pure-it waterpurifier toreachthpninn""I... "f ~..-:.-- Luxcontinues tobeastarperformer inUnilever's brand portfolioandthiscaseexploreshowLuxhassuccessfully overcome thechallengeof appealing to all consumers, youngandold,fromSeeAtoSeeEacross thelengthand breadthofahugecountry likeIndia. - Thl!productglitteratiof the soaps Luxwaslaunchedas a toiletsoaD bv Iinilo"o.'"I -. ._-

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Page 1: Case study lux symbolizing beauty-2

~~~~ .,,- "'.", --~" -",'

CASESTUDY...~'-'- "", -,,~-

LUX-SymbolizingBeauty*

LuxisanestablishedbrandofHindustanUnileverLimited

(HUL),renownedto beoneof the giantplayersin thefastmovingconsumergoods(FMCG)segment.Overthecourseof time,HULhasdiversifiedits portfolioandhasmarkedits presenceacrosstwentydifferentcategories,suchas food brands(Annapurna,Knorr,Taaza,etc.),homecarebrands(Vim,SurfExcel,ActiveWheel,etc.),personalcarebrands(Axe,Ponds,Sunsilk,etc.),qndPure-itwaterpurifierto reachthpninn""I..."f ~..-:.--

LuxcontinuestobeastarperformerinUnilever'sbrandportfolioandthiscaseexploreshowLuxhassuccessfullyovercomethe challengeof appealingto all consumers,youngandold,fromSeeAtoSeeEacrossthelengthandbreadthofa hugecountrylikeIndia.

- Thl!productglitteratiof the soaps

Luxwas launchedas a toiletsoaDbv Iinilo"o.'"I -. ._-

Page 2: Case study lux symbolizing beauty-2

itwasintroducedintheUKmarketasa product'offeringpeoplea chanceto pamperthemselvesfor a modestprice'.In theyear1929,Luxexpandedits internationalcustomerbaseby introducingitselfin India.Thebrandname,'Lux',hasbeenderivedfromtheword'luxury',butthewordinLatinsymbolizes'light'.UnileverblendedboththeseelementsandportrayedLuxinsyncwithstardomandtheluxuriouslifestyleof Bollywoodcelebrities,well-knownamongtheIndianaudiences.Itsjourneycontinuedtoenlightenwomenaboutthepowerof beautybestowedthem.Thevariousvariantsin its portfolio,lendLux acertaincharm(seeTable2.3).

Table2.3 Luxvariants

SoftKiss Madefromstrawberriesandmoisturizingwhippedcreamforsoftandkissableskin.

Madewithpeachandmoisturizingwhippedcreamforvelvetyandkissableskin.Madewithrichmacadamiaandmoisturizingwhippedcreamfornourishedandkissableskin.

Forfairandadmiredskinwithvitamin83,Roseoil,andwhiteteaoxidant.

Forrechargedandfreshskinwithrefreshingmineralsaltsandseaweed.

Forsoftandfragrancedskinwithfinearomaticoilsandlotusessence.

VelvetTouch

SilkCaress

WhiteGlamour

WakeMeUp

MagicSpell

Source:HUL-Reveal Your Star Appeal, 2010.

Apartfromthese,in its eightyyearsof experiencein themarket,Lux has also launchedothervariants,whichincludeLux Strawberryand Cream,Lux PeachandCream,LuxFestiveGlowwith Honey,LuxCreamWhite,ChocolateSeduction,Sandalwood+Honey,PurpleAromaticGlow,etc.All thesevariationshavemadeit asensuousbrand,whichfocusesoncaressinga woman'sbodywithgentlenesstogiveita glowandalsodevelopafragrancetomesmerizeherpartner.

Brandstrategy

Sollywoodbeautiesthroughtheages

Rightfromits launchin 1929,Luxhasropedin reigningbeautiesof the silverscreento endorsethe brand.The

foremostbeautybrandambassadorbeingLeeiaChitnis;

(Srinivasanand Shashidhar2007),and followingthistraditionwasMadhubalain theeraof the50s;WaheedaRehman,SairaBanu,ParveenBabi,and SimiGrewalduringthe60sand70s;andHemaMalini,ZeenatAman,PoonamDhillon,RatiAgnihotriheadingthegenerationofthe80s(Mitra2010).Markingthechangeingenerationsandto maintainthe marketdynamics,Srideviendorsedit in the 80s,andthe 90swereruledby JuhiChawla(Chatterjee2005),KarismaKapoor,RaniMukherji,andMadhuriDixit (Mitra2010).The other leadingladiesassociatedwiththe brandhavebeenKareenaKapoor,PriyankaChopra,andAishwaryaRai,thelatestadditionsto thisbandwagonbeingKatrinaKaif(Chatterjee2010)andAsin.(Image2.4showsKatrinaKaifendorsingLux.)

All these beautiesfrom Bollywoodjoinedthe Luxfraternityat theverypeakof theircareers,whichresultedin the beliefthat by joiningthe Luxfraternity,a starisborn.Jayalalithawhoendorsedthebrandduringthe70s,hasdistinguishedherselfinthefieldofpoliticsalongwithmasteringthekeyto successincinema(Mitra2010).Allthishashelpedthebrandinmountingstrongrelationshipswithcustomersfromall sections,rangingfromSECAtoE(Chatte~ee2005).Luxcashedinontheconsumer'ssecretdesireofbeing a Bollywoodcelebritysomedayandtheaspirationto be at the top spotin whicheverfieldtheychooseto enter.Thishelpedin establishinganassuredlinkagebetweentheconsumersandthebrand.Thebeautysoapmanufacturerhascontinuedtoestablishitsrelationshipwith every generation,and continuesto innovateitsproductandpackagingbyusingyoungandvibrantcoloursandcelebritieswhoareinsyncwiththelateststyles.

Onthe eveof its 75thplatinumjubilee,therewasacompletetransformationin its brandingstrategywhenreigningsuperstarShahRukhKhanwasseenpromotingthe brandalongwith the Bollywoodbeautieswhohadendorsedthebrandinthepast.He'portrayedthemetro-sexualmalewitha softtouch'and'a softguywhois intouch with his emotions'.This uniquetransitionwasadoptedas hehasbeen.a greatfavouritewithwomenofall ages(Chatterjee2005)and'the usageof the brandactuallyshowedagendersplit'(Mitra2010).

Promotionaloffers

A promotionalofferof Luxthat has enjoyedimmensepopularityistheLuxGoldStaroffer,'inwhichconsumers

Page 3: Case study lux symbolizing beauty-2

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Source: http://www.lux.com.pklbrandjnfo.html. accessed22August2010.

Image2.4 LuxandKatrinaKaif;alsoseePlate3

hadthe chanceof findinga goldcoin insidetheirLuxsoap'.Thiswasinitiallyofferedintheyear2000andinthesucceedingyearit wasthemed'ChanceHai',wherethewinnerof the goldcoinhadanadditionalopportunitytowinanextrathirtygramsofgoldbycallingtheadvertisedtelephonenumber.Thefirsttencallerseachweekweregiventheadditional30gramsofgold.'Theofferwasvalidon100grams(pink,white,andblack)and150grams(pinkandblack)Luxtoiletsoaps,bearingthespeciallydesignedgoldstarlogoonthewrapper.The100gramssoapbarcontaineda3gramsgoldcoinandthe150gramssoapbarcontaineda 5 gramsgoldcoin.'ActressRaveenaTandonwhowas ropedin for the 2001endorsementtravelled'acrossselectcitiesandmadesurprisevisitsto severalhomes,rewardingthosehavingLuxgoldstarwrapperswithmoregoldstars'.

Theyear2009sawa declinein salesof the brand,especiallyin small towns wherethe housewifewasfallingoutof lovewithLux.'Postresearch,a keyinsightemerged-thesmalltownhousewifewantstolookbeautifulforherhusbandandwishesto recapturethemagicofherearlydaysof marriage,but withoutbeingtoo obvious

abouther 'seducing'efforts,as societalpressuresdidnolpermitherto betoo bold.'Tomeetthisneed,'Bollywood's

real-lifestar couple,AbhishekBachchanandAishwaryaRai Bachchan'were roped in. (Image2.5showsastiH

fromtheAbhi-Aishad campaignforLux.)'Aishwarya,hadbeena longstandingbrandendorserforLux(formorethan

a decade)and ropingin her husbandseemedtobethelogicalthingto do', to portraycoupleplay.Thiswashelpedby the fact that there was a lot of curiositysUITOunding

Bollywood'sideal romanticcoupleposttheirmarriage,'The commercialshowedAishwaryaenjoyinga luxuriousbath usingthe new Lux with beautyoils,anddeciding10

springa surpriseon her husband.WhenAbhishekcomeshomefromwork,sheblindfoldshimandhehastofindher

by her new-foundscent.A play(ulsensualgameof'catchme if you can' ensues,withAbhishekunabletocatchhiswife as his handsglideoff hersmoothskin.Finally,whenhethinkshehasher,heremoveshisblindfold,onlytosee

that he is hugginghiscleaningladyinstead,asAishwaryalaughs on. A music track composedby trio Shankar.

Ehsaan-Loylent a rustic, Sufi-esquefeel to thefilm.The ad was unveiledon a realityshowaboutmarriage,

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Source:httpllwww.luxindia.in/. accessed 23 August 2010.

Image2.5 Luxpromotion;alsoseePlate3

calledLuxPerfectBride(onStarPlus),withan in-serialplacementforthebrand'sskinsofteningelements,aswellasa blindfoldgameakinto the onein the commercialbeingplayedoutbythecontestants.Thecampaignwasextendedtoanotherquickpromotionalonefeaturingthecoupletalkingabout'goodnews'-a doublemeaningquip-abouttheLuxgoldcoinoffer.TheSufi-esquetrack,Sanesebhisonalagey,becamea populardownloaditem(asringtonesandothers)withthousandsof downloadsovertheInternet'(Joshi2010).

Thecoupleendorsedthe 'Luxsoaprichwithbeautyoilsforsoftskin like neverbefore'.The newvariant,alongwithofferinga lavishbathingexperienceoffers'softers~inanda newyou' (Lad2009).Abhishek'sadwasmuchappreciated,as it had a woman'sbeautybeingcherished.Further,Lux capitalizedby portrayingAishwaryaRai's'noticeablysofterskintodisarmeventhemostunflappableof men'(Lad2009).ThisreflectsLux'soldtraditionof remaininga beautifyingsymbolfor Indianwomen(Kashyup2009).

Eventsandcontestssuchas '22caratgoldstaroffer'werehostedto relatetocustomers'feelingsofbecomingastar.Inanothercampaign,Luxalsopromisedcustomersachancetomeetbrandendorsers-Abhi-Ash-inLondon

(Chatterjee2010).Thisactivityhelpedthebrandgelwiththeconsumer.

Theconsumergot an opportunityto rubshoulderswithreal-lifestarsin London,andthecompanymanagedtoshowcasethefactthatwhenitsaysLuxis a soapforthestars,itmeansit!

AllthatglittersdidturnouttobegoldforLux

In morethaneightdecadesof its existence,Luxhasconsistentlyproveditselftobethebeautysoapforthestars.

Lux during its existencehas remainedpersistentin grabbingthe numberone slot in the personalcaresegment(2010).Followingits line of success,it wonthetitleof the 'mosttrustedbrand'by grabbingthethirdposition(2010a).Lux has gainedimmensepopularityamongstdifferentstratamofcustomersduringitsjourney,

Page 5: Case study lux symbolizing beauty-2

beit thehousewife,theyoungmale,or theadultfemale(BrandEquity,2010b).ThestarendorsersovertheyearshavefeltthatendorsingLuxhasaddedtotheirstatureaswell.AccordingtoHemaMalini,'OneoftheturningpointsofmycareerwaswhenIwassignedupbyLux.ItwasthenthatI knewthat I hadmademymarkin Indiancinema.Tobea Luxstar is a muchsought-afterhonouramongleadingladiesandit trulymeansa lottome.'JuhiChawlahadoncesaid,'I dobelievethata significantrecognitionI receivedotherthanwinningthe MissIndiacrownwasbeingnameda Luxstar.'Thus,it is notonlyLuxthathasgainedfromtheendorsers,butbeinganendorserforthebrandisa matterofhonouranda stampofachievement.

Conclusion

Luxhassuccessfullyforgeda linkbetweentheusageofthebrandandconsumersbecomingstarsandfollowing

in thefootstepsof theleadingladiesof thesilverscreenof theirtimes.Luxhascontinuedits romancewiththe

consumersovertheyears(Shukla2008).Theperspectiveof havingcustomersrelateto theirfavouriteBollywoodstarfromgenerationtogenerationisa toughnuttocrack.This reflectsthe brand'scompetitiveedge,evenas itcontinuesto link itselfto the 'beauty','style','fashion',and 'glamour'of the Bollywoodbeautiesendorsingtheproduct.Thebrandhasgrownfromstrengthto strengthandwith the helpof a longstar-studdedheritagehassustainedcustomers'interestand its reputationin themarket.

DiscussionQuestions

1. UsingtheKapferermodel,elaboratethelongandstar-studdedjourneyofLux.

2. Discussthestrategyofusingfilmstarsto promotetheproduct.

f'~~ft Dftl.................