case study lux symbolizing beauty-2
TRANSCRIPT
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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 -. ._-
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
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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,
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,
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.
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