CASE STUDY

–Vanish Challenge of Removing Stains and Banishing Detergents

(Case developed by Prof. Harsh V. Verma, FMS, University of Delhi for Reckitt Benckiser IndiaLimited)

The still in the room was palpable. The fluttering of papers on the table created noise, which usuallywent unheard but could now be heard loud and clear. The meeting last evening with the marketingdirector had some unsettling effect on the brand manager of Vanish which sent him in a deepthinking mode. How can the penetration level of the brand, which enjoys leadership positionworldwide in stain remover market, be increased? Even after four years of its launch it continues tostruggle with abysmal house hold penetration level of 1.1%.

Working with a company like Reckitt Benckiser (RB) in India was a great thing for here was anorganization which led the categories it operated in. Name a category in which RB operated, trynaming its leader and it would be an RB brand. This is what people in Reckitt’s office at Gurgaontook pride in. But then this pride and pleasure also put a strong burden on the managers. Theimplicit norm here was that each brand must become a top seller. The meeting last evening wasabout the brand which had underperformed compared to other brands in the company’s portfolio,like Dettol, Harpic and Veet.

The brand manager reclined the seat to have a more comfortable posture, simultaneously turning ittowards the large window which allowed a peek outside. This probably was much more than asimple gesture to get some physiological comfort, rather an inner urge to get some out of box ideasto turn the performance of his baby Vanish around.

The Pride

RB is not an ordinary company. It is an extraordinary business organization with worldwideleadership position in household cleaning. The Indian arm Reckitt Benckiser India Limited is a fullyowned subsidiary of RB. Prior to 1999 the Indian firm was known as Reckitt Colman, which wasrechristened as Reckitt Benckiser after Reckitt’s merger with Benckiser NV The company is trulyglobal with its operations and sales spread in sixty countries and revenue in excess of $6.5 billionlast year. The last couple of years have not been favorable to the businesses worldwide, especiallyin Europe and US. The economic slowdown affected one and all, irrespective of the nature ofbusiness. All this notwithstanding, RB exhibited very strong financial performance. The net revenuesgrew by a decent 13 per cent to € 6563m in 2008. The brilliant showing was a testimony to theability of the managers of the company to navigate the company successfully even during turbulenttimes. This demonstrated that ultimately it is the strategy and its execution that matters and theleadership and employees are the driving force behind any system.

Indian Operations

The Indian counterpart, Reckitt Benckiser India Limited (RBIL), is a multi-product company whichoperates in several markets. These include personal care, pest control, shoe care, antiseptics,surface care and fabric care. Some of the well known brands in the company’s portfolio includeDettol, Mortein, Harpic, Clearasil, Brasso, Cherry Blossom, Lizol, Disprin and Colin. And most ofthese brands enjoy top positions in their respective markets. These are either number one or two in

their categories. One of the reasons behind the success of these brands is product innovation andquality which allow customers to get superior product benefits compared to other competingproducts. Marketing equally plays an equally important role in brand-building efforts.

Reckitt is one of the fast growing companies in India. Its growth is fueled by hugely successful starbrands. For instance, Dettol, once known to be ‘the’ antiseptic liquid product in India to be appliedfor minor nicks and cuts, has evolved into a powerful brand concept. Now Dettol brand stands formuch more than antiseptic liquid and supports products in other categories like soap, hand washsanitizers and shaving cream. Cherry Blossom, the shoe polish brand, is leader in its category whichhas managed to keep the competition at bay by careful maneuvering of the marketing space.Accordingly, Cherry Blossom enjoys strong brand equity both with its business partners and theultimate end customers. Harpic toilet cleaner, like other brands, has a long history. It was firstlaunched in England in 1920. This brand enjoys a strong position in the toilet bowl cleaner market asa strong powerful cleaner.

The company’s products need wide distribution set up in order to reach to its target customersSome of the products typically fall in the fast moving consumer categories which require servicing awide market area. RBIL uses its common distribution channels for distribution of its products whichenjoy wide and deep reach in Indian market. This is one of the important strengths of the company.The channel system of the company is managed by its well structured sales force which isaccountable for ensuring supply and sales of company’s entire product portfolio of more than onehundred and fifty stock keeping units.

The Product

Technically, a product is nothing more than the sum of its parts or components or ingredients. Andthis sum of parts may be the creation of an extraordinary genius, but is of little worth if it does notsolve a customer problem. Stain remover, like others, is a product which embodies a great usefulfunctionality of getting rid of stains from clothes. The idea behind the stain remover is that as longas people wear clothes and use fabrics they can not escape stains. People struggle to avoid stains,but this avoidance is never hundred percent successful. And this is where an opportunity for a stainremover is germinated. Thanks to mud, oil, grease, coffee, dust and food that soil clothes!

Vanish is a product meant to remove stains. This is to be used as an additive to detergent. Theproduct’s superiority is vouched by the fact that this is the number one in fabric treatment categoryworldwide. Vanish was the first brand of stain removers to have been launched in India, in 2005,and thereby creating the category of stain removers. Although the market for stain remover s is stillsmall but Vanish enjoys the leadership position with a close to 50% market share. Brands whichcreate categories often walk away with first mover advantage unless some lapses happen inmarketing. Like other Reckitt brands, Vanish lives up to the reputation of being the top brand in itscategory.

Globally Vanish is perceived to be a trusted stain removal expert. As a brand, the source of its trustis the expertise in stain removing from fabrics as well as carpets. Thanks to its unique productformulation, with Vanish consumers can get rid of stains from their fabrics and carpets right in frontof their eyes. The product comes in two application formats – in wash and pre-treat.

Stains, detergents and washing bars

Detergents and washing soaps is a big market in India. For washing, housewives use detergents indifferent forms like powders, liquid and bars. The detergent category is apparently divided verticallyinto three categories: the compact or premium, mid value and economy segments. The top end ofthe market, the compact category, is dominated by brands like Surf and Ariel. In the middlesegment brand like Rin and Tide wrestle with each other and in the economy category wheel,Nirma, Ghari, Sasa, Hippolin, 555 and a host of other local brands fight for a slice of the market.

Apparently, detergents and stain removers are two different products. Chemically these are twodifferent formulations. And in terms of their functionality, these also perform different functionsand utilities. One gets the dirt out and cleans the clothes while the other removes the stains. Andfrom a pure technical perspective, these belong to two different categories. But what is inner realityis not the perceived reality. Both of these products intersect in marketing and brand building.Typically detergent brands are marketed with propositions including stain removal. And often thecore value proposition of detergent brands tends towards the stain removal feature. HUL-brandSurf once ran a campaign with the statement ‘daag dhoonte reh jaoge’(you will keep searching

‘daag acche hain’stains) and its current (stains are good) campaign also focuses on stains. Thus,direct or indirect referencing of stains is very common in detergent brand building effort.

The detergent market can be viewed to be consisting of three dominant benefit segments:

Tough stain removal (dominant brands include Ariel, Surf and Henko and other high-enddetergents)Dirt grim and regular stain removal and whiteness (Wheel, Nirma and other populardetergents)Brightness and dirt removal (Tide, Rin and other mid-price detergents)

Detergent market is not only competitive but also a home for many big players including HUL, P&Gand Henkel. Accordingly detergent market is intensely competitive space. This necessitatescompanies to invest substantial amount of resources on both product development and marketing.Consequently, detergent brands attempt to add value to their core utility of cleaning with things likestain removal, fragrance and water saving. With the most common among these strategies beingthe stain removal. This marketing approach of detergent marketers acts to preempt the market fora product like Vanish. If detergents offer a complete solution for their need (sought at the time ofwashing) then what is the need for an additional product given solely to stain removal. It is adifficult situation for a brand like Vanish. The competitive intensity in the detergent market isforcing detergent brands to expand the value to fight with each other. The promised detergentfunctionality and benefits is spilling into the category of stain removers, which Vanish has createdand seeks to dominate. The following are the samples of different detergent brands’communication:

Henko2009: Key claim: Removes tough difficult stainsBenefit: Complete stain removalKey stains: Coffee, Grease, Pickle, Mango2010: Key claim: No stains, no germsBenefit: Oxygen power and anti-bacterial neem

Key stains: No stain story

Surf Excel2009: Key claim: Tough stain removalBenefit: Complete assurance of stain removalKey stains: Ink, Mud/Grime, Orange juice, mustard, ketchup, curry, grease, pickle2010: Key claim: Tough stain removalBenefit: Removes stains in 1 minuteKey stains: Ink/water colour

Ariel2009: Key claim: Removes set in stains, No need to rub barsBenefit: Stain removal, clothes shine like diamondsKey stains: Oil, Food, Pickle, Fresh curry, mustard, ketchup2010: Key claim Doesn’t let stains set -in, so they go easilyBenefit: Stain removalKey stains: Rust

RinKey claim: Double whitenessBenefit: Whiteness with proofKey stains: Dirt, Cuff/Collar grime

TideKey claim: Whiteness only with TideBenefit: Whiteness that gives shineKey stains: Dirt, Mud, Grime

WheelKey claim: Removes dirt, stains without sweatingBenefit: Value, less effortKey stains: DirtAs long as customers see detergents offering the benefit of stain removals, the market for Vanishwill be adv ersely affected. The challenge is how to get consumers to believ e that Vanish gives themsomething that detergents do not.

The Launch

RBIL launched Vanish in India in 2005 in a powder format under the brand name Vanish Shakti 02.Within two years, in June 2007, the company re-launched the brand with new improved formulaadding the word ‘Max’ to the existing brand name (Vanish Shakti 02 Max) The product wasreformulated to give it more power so that even dried in stains could be easily removed. Theproduct is an effective remedy for tackling the toughest of stains.

Till the end of 2009, after the four years of its launch, the brand has not been able to achieve higherlevels of market penetration. It current penetration level is a mere 1.1% of all-India HH. Confrontedwith this reality, the brand team of Vanish has been putting all efforts they could to achiev e higher

penetration of the product in Indian households. One of the recent outcomes of this endeavor hasbeen to get into consumer homes by inducing trials.

Context of Washing and Research Findings

‘Marketing a product like stain remover requires deeper understanding of the context in which it isused by the consumers,’ feels one of the members of the marketing team. Therefore, the target ofachieving greater penetration levels to build volumes must begin with understanding the totalbackdrop in which stain remover is placed. The strategy must be built on consumer insights ‘consumer would walk down the store and ask for Vanish only when first the product and then thebrand is perceived to be relevant and meaningful in their life context,’ asserted the member of themarketing team. Driven by the motivation of gaining deeper understanding of the fabric carephenomenon, a research was commissioned which threw up several interesting facts:

Method of washing : on the question how clothes are actually washed by people the researchrevealed that it is done by hand. The following figure shows methods used by people in washing.

Reasons: Washing by hands is a common phenomenon in India. People do is for several reasons.The following table lists the reasons for washing by hands.

Types of stains and consumer annoyance : Stains are the obvious targets to removal for Vanish. Thepresence of stains in consumer life is the reason for the existence of a product like Vanish. Andconsumers do not want stains in their lives. How do stains on the clothes or fabrics arrive? Whattypes of stains are frequently occurring and how much annoying are these? The research mappedthe stains on the dimensions of incidence and annoyance. The mapping is given as under:

–

Stain remover product usage: stains being a common problem with different levels of annoyancehouseholds do use specialized products for this job. Stains are removed by consumers using bothhome remedy and specialized products. The use of some specialist stain remover treatment inhouseholds was found to be 42% in Delhi, 23% in Chennai, 28% in Kolkata and 20% in Mumbai.

Reasons behind non-usage of specialist stain remover products : the brand Vanish can move up onthe sales ladder only when the idea of using a specialized stain remover product is perceivednecessary. Although the incidence of stains is a pervasive phenomenon yet the product usage islower. This suggests the presence of some kind of barriers which prevent people from using theproduct. Accordingly the reasons for not using the specialist stain removers were probed. Thefollowing responses were found on the question ‘why do you never use specialist stain removalproducts?’

Reasons % of total marketToo expensive 28I don’t believe they work 21

Spoils the clothes 21

Rinsing/brushing straight away is the most effective way 18Didn’t know products existed to treat stains 17Haven’t felt the need for one 16

Laundry detergents are sufficient 15Affects color of the clothes 15Harsh on skin 13I rarely have stains on clothes 12

Reasons for not using brand : the customers were further probed on the issue as to why they do notuse Vanish. The following data was generated in response to the question ‘Why do you not useVanish?’

Reasons % of total marketToo expensive 42I don’t know what they do 16

Harsh on the skin 14I don’t believe they work well 14I don’t have a use for their products 13

I don’t’ know/ when to use them 11Not environmentally friendly 10It is too aggressive/ harsh on my clothes 9Not safe for children’s clothes 8Damages color of the clothes 8Not available where I usually shop 6Contains too many chemicals 5Spoils the clothes 5No particular reason 26

Customer treatment of stains and its effectiveness: on the issue of how effective is the consumer’scurrent method of stain removal two questions were asked to discover the reality. First do stainsstill remain even after consumer has treated them and second if the stains still remain even aftertheir removal treatment what steps to do they take to get rid of them.

44% of women find stains cease to exist after their treatment but 56% find the stains to be stillpresent even after they are treated.

If the stains still remain after they have been treated what do women do to get rid of them? Theyresort to the following:

Steps taken % of respondentsWash items again by hand 54Use laundry blue 42Scrubbed/soaked them 29Use laundry bleach 27Do nothing- live with stains 24Wash item again by machine 20Tried a different pre-treatment product 19Nothing- decided not to use/ throw away 19Used fabric whitner 16General household chlorine bleach 13Treatment carried out after washing 11Tried different in-wash product 9Items taken to a professional cleaners 3

Market penetration of stain removers

The brand manager while looking out of his window and staring into wintry haze was struck by theobservations made by various marketing team members in the last meeting.

‘Low penetration of products specially formulated to remove stains is a major obstacle to Vanishgarnering more volumes. It is further compounded by the low per capita consumption’, opines onemember of the marketing team .The data on the stain remover category penetration are given inthe exhibits.

‘These bar diagrams under different headings/ titles are provided to us by the research companybut these require serious interpretation then only meaningful inference can be drawn,’ says anothermember of the team ‘There are strategies which most managers employ and then there areeffective strategies which only a few managers use. This is what marks crucial difference betweenhigh and low performance. Great strategies are based on insights which require out of box thinking,’he added.

He remembered a new management trainee who happened to be part of the meeting havingreluctantly observed, ‘The research inputs provided to us by the marketing research companyapparently look complete but simply questioning the users or non users as to why they use aproduct or why they don’t often does not reveal the true consumer reality It may require moreindirect probe to fully appreciate the psycho-social context in which consumption occurs’

The Way forward

In March 2010, a complete re-launch of the brand was done again. This time the marketing of thebrand was revamped. Specific and concrete changes were executed in marketing mix elements:

Product: new formula was created that ensured better stain removal benefit in order to reinforce itssuperiority over detergents

Packaging: packaging was redesigned to convey superior stain removal efficacy and use instructionsin simplified manner

Price points: lower price packs to induce trails (120 gms @ Rs 35 was replaced with 90 gms @ Rs 29)

Brand Building : celebrity endorsement route was adopted and actress Sridevi was used in brandcommunication

Advertising idea: the brand’s advertising focused on establishing the functionality (superior stainremoval) and its relevance for the consumer (housewife’s victory over her battle with stains)

The lower penetration level of Vanish continued to bother the brand and marketing team of Vanish.A case was built with in the company which suggested that if the brand needed to achieve higherhousehold penetration levels it must strategically address some of the critical issues. Many opinionsand observations flashed in the mind of brand manager:

‘The brand must be strongly differentiated from detergents otherwise consumer would continue touse stain removal from detergents’.

‘There is a need to establish brand’s equity as stain removal expert- expertise positioning.’

‘C onsumers must perceive value for money in the product. The higher price point discourages trial.”

‘The brand must forge emotional hooks and create relevance not only in terms of stain removal(functionality) but also emotionally ’

Consumers must see a need for a specialist stain remover in their laundry.

But the challenge still confronted him

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Exhibits

Market Size and Vanish share trends –Value

Figures at the top of the rows, in black & bold –absolute value (Rs Mn)Figures in blue –value share

–Any Stain Remover Penetration & Consumption 2009 Metros

–Any Pre-Post Penetration & Consumption 2009 Metros

Bleach Penetration

–Vanish Penetration & Consumption Trend 6 Metroscombined

–Vanish Penetration & Consumption 2009 Metros