REPORT ON COMPARITIVE

ANALYSIS ON DETTOL VS LIFEBUOY

Done by,
Dinesh Kumar.J
Upendra singh Tomar
Nishtha Aggarwal
Amber Yadav
Pritam Kumar

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Index:
S.No Content

Page number

Company profile- Dettol

Company profile- Lifebuoy

The 4Ps of marketing for Dettol

3.1

Product

3.2

Price

3.3

Place

3.4

Promotion

The 4Ps of marketing for lifebuoy

4.1

Product

4.2

Price

4.3

Place

4.4

Promotion

Table 1- year wise comparison of market shares of Dettol 7

and Lifebuoy

Comparative analysis of Dettol and Lifebuoy

Suggestions for Dettol

Suggestions for Lifebuoy

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

COMPANY PROFILE : DETTOL

Dettol Antiseptic Liquid Disinfectant is the name of
commercial liquid and solid antiseptic products belonging to a household product line
manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser.
Reckitt Benckiser was introduced in India in 1933 with the
brand Dettol. Dettol was introduced only as the antiseptic liquid. Around the end of
1940s, Dettol became a legacy brand with 85% of market share in the antiseptic liquid
market. The brand today is present in various segments such as soaps, hand wash,
shaving creams and plasters.
Despite its first mover advantage, it did not become a
household name from the word go. To break into the consumer space, the company
launched an aggressive advertising campaign in 1960.
By 1970, 4.7 million Dettol bottles were sold and, over the next one decade, the brand
had penetrated into 40% of urban households in India, says Chander Mohan Sethi,
chairman and managing director, Reckitt Benckiser India.
Dettols reign in the market, though, has not been unchallenged. When UK-based
consumer products company ICI Plc. brought its flagship brand Savlon to India, recalls
Sethi, Reckitt Benckiser realized how serious the competition wasand Dettol went to
consumers with even more forceful campaigns.
In the 2000s, the companys long-standing slogan, Strong enough to protect the ones we
love, changed to Dettol, be 100% sure. As a brand, Dettol has always retained its
standing on the anti-germ platform, although its portfolio has expanded to suit the
lifestyle demands of consumers, says Suman Srivastava, chief executive, Euro RSCG,
the advertising agency for Dettol.
It was voted as the third most-trusted brand in an AC Nielsen
ORG Marg survey last year. Reckitt Benckiser's flagship brand Dettol, still contributes
to almost 40% of the revenue for Reckitt Benckiser.
Dettol is the leader in the antiseptic market with 85 per cent
market share. Liquid hand wash created a new market and lords over 60 per cent of the
market in the category, while the various Dettol soaps account for 18 per cent of the
health soap division.
The legacy that the company looks to carry forward is, Dettol
is believed in by everybody, even doctors. That is the core deliverable that we wanted to
emphasize."
Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

COMPANY PROFILE : LIFEBUOY

Lifebuoy is a product of Hindustan Unilever Ltd., India, which
was earlier called the Unilever ltd. Lifebuoy is actually a brand which was invented
globally before the term 'global branding' itself was invented. It was invented in 1894 in
UK as the royal disinfectant soap by William Hesketh Lever.
In India Lever brothers introduced Lifebuoy in 1895 with the
set up of offices for sales and marketing in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Karachi.
Consistent in Lifebuoy's 110+ year history has been its
championing of health through hygiene. The brand's core promise of protection and a
commitment to support life through unbeatable protection is at the heart of the brand
name itself Lifebuoy, the guarantee of protection when you are threatened.
While brands have managed to upgrade their image and evolve
together with their consumers Lifebuoy is a great example, having moved from a
carbolic, sweaty association to desirable health imagery there has been no example of
a brand that has moved to the top of the pole after residing at the bottom. The relaunch
of the soap in 2002, 2004 & again in 2006 have been turning points in its history.
In 2004, Lifebuoys product offering was revamped with
contemporary packaging and an upmarket look. While that went down well with
existing users, new users were still elusive; they continued to perceive the product as a
cheap soap for poor people. That perception had to be changed without alienating the
Lifebuoy loyalists. The objective for HUL was to launch a campaign that helped the
soap shed its old-fashioned image and gain an entry into two million urban households.
Lifebuoy before the end of the first quarter of 2011 was the
leader in soap market in India after which they lost the competition to Reckitt
Benckiser's Dettol. Dettol is now the market leader with 42% of the market share
whereas lifebuoy has 41% of the market share in the same market.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

The 4Ps of marketing for Dettol :

Product:
When we start talking about the products of Dettol, the first thing that
strikes a chord in our mind is that Dettol means secure and we are 100% sure about
that. Dettol, earlier they entered the soap market only with one soap and that is the
Dettol Original. And in due course they have come up with a series of products range
which includes the diversification of Dettol into 4 different soaps namely- Dettol
original, Dettol skin care, Dettol cool and Dettol Fresh. Among these 4 brands Dettol
cool is found to be the most sold soap in the market. And as usual and a sign of trust,
Dettol soaps always come with a recommendation from IMA- Indian Medical
Association. This sign of the recommendation of IMA makes Dettol more secure and
safer. And the diversification of dettol's products into the four categories, original, skin
care, cool and fresh have in-fact, increased the customer base of the company because
each one of its product is quality-wise different and caters the needs of different people
in a much diversified country like India where preferences differs vividly. As far as the
diversification and quality of products is concerned Dettol have really done a good job
so far in the market. And when brand image is concerned, as we all know, Dettol is a
very old brand in India and is always considered as one of the most trusted brands. They
are the 3rd most trusted brand in India.

Price:
Pricing is one area where Dettol has been consistent. All their brand
products had a very good premium pricing strategy, which led them into fierce price
wars with other able competitors like lifebuoy and savlon and others. Actually the heavy
competition in the sector forced Dettol to reduce their prices. Now almost they are on
the same page with the other competitors' pricing. And if the market share in this
industry should be studied, it 'll be impossible to miss out the influence of pricing in
market capitalization. FMCG market is generally a very price sensitive market and the
effects of increase or decrease in pricing will directly affect the presence of a firm in the
market.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Place:
Place in marketing refers to the market and the market conditions. As far
as Dettol is considered, it has a very strong influence in the market. In the initial days
the target customers of Dettol were only the people who require antiseptic soap as a
necessity. Later on they developed themselves into a company who is ready to deliver
products to almost all range of customers in the industry itself. The diversification of
products helped them in increasing their customer base heavily. And it has been
observed that the sale of Dettol is kind of dependent on market conditions. Say, when
there is a change in weather, in rainy and winter seasons, people start buying more of
Dettol products starting from the antiseptic liquid to the soaps like Dettol original, and in
summers the sale of Dettol products like Dettol cool and fresh has been observed
increasing. The fact is that Dettol has diversified in such a way that there is a need for
their products in different varying market conditions. When speaking about the market
conditions, the influence of economics has to be taken into consideration. Since Dettol is
safely into FMCG sector, the effect of economy on the product is comparatively less.

Promotion:
Promotion is a marketing term which refers to advertising and
endorsement of the product. Dettol's advertisements have been always emphasizing only
on cleanliness and safety. And the tag line of Dettol is something which every person
who has seen TV will recognize- Be 100% sure. And all the Dettol ads released so far
have never been caught in slandering which steps on other brands to endorse their own
brand. And morover, the Dettol initiatives like Mother's day(skincare), Each day is a
global handwash day have captured the attention of viewers and customers and have
also ensured the customers that Dettol is something which everybody can trust at any
time. And these promotions also held up to the CSR activities of the firm which
increased the trust level. As far as we have studied the case, Dettol has never been
caught for maulicious or inexplicit content in promotion and advertisements.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

The 4Ps of marketing for Lifebuoy:

Product:
The products of lifebuoy have not been much varied. Generally when
the product is to be studied in terms of marketing, we will be considering a few
parameters like, variety(diversification), quality and design. As already stated
lifebuoy has never intended itself towards diversification of products. But, yes, they
have changed themselves from being just a producer of carbolic soaps to producer of
disinfectant soaps and normal bath soaps. The success story of lifebuoy is in having
moved from a carbolic, sweaty association to desirable health imagery. And when we
discuss about the quality of lifebuoy, it stands as the soap with most durability in India.
Sometimes this quality of lifebuoy has also led to funny comments, yet it continues to be
the same. Long lasting life of the soap itself is USP for the brand. And coming to the
next parameter in product category for lifebuoy, design, the design of the earlier bars of
the royal disinfectant soap had been carried over for years by the company. The red
color that really marked the brand name went under changes in years. The lifebuoy
which is present in today's market is sleek, sexy, compact, precise and most importantly
doesnt have that traditional 'macho' kind of look. And generally lifebouy still remains as
one of the most popular soap brand in India.

Price:
Regarding pricing, lifebuoy has been in the market for long coz of its
pricing strategy one can say. When all others had their own pricing strategy, it was
lifebuoy's strategy that controlled the price of similar products in the market. And more
over, only because of their pricing(durability) they established themselves as a king of
soaps in rural markets. Lifebuoy has been the price setter for lower end products
targetted towards the rural market. And this low pricing have also decreased the
customer base in urban areas, just because people in urban areas are getting a perception
that lifebuoy is only for poor people and those who belong to the lower middle class.
And this is also the reason why they have lost the market to Dettol.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Place:
Place in marketing refers to the market and the market conditions.
As far as lifebuoy is considered, it doesnt have a very strong influence in the market. In
the initial days the target customers of lifebuoy were only the people who require costefficiency soap as a necessity. Later on they developed themselves into a company who
is ready to deliver products to almost all range of customers in the industry itself. The
diversification of products helped them in increasing their customer base heavily even
though they have not diversified much. The market is the deciding factor and lifebuoy
has complied with it and has set pricing its strategy. The fact is that Dettol has
diversified in such a way that there is a need for their products in different varying
market conditions but lifebuoy is not that much adoptable to market conditions but
lifebuoy has been constantly performing even in changing market conditons. When
speaking about the market conditions, the influence of economics has to be taken into
consideration. Since Dettol is safely into FMCG sector, the effect of economy on the
product is comparatively less.

Promotion:
lifebuoy as a company, in early stages when they had a very huge
market share were not concentrating in advertisements and promotions even though
there were a few. And later on when they started feeling the heat of the competition, they
started creating innovative ads and TV commercials. But if u follow the ads of lifebuoy
u can easily say that they are little bit bullish. And because of this once in 2008 they
were fined for telecasting an ad which directly critisized the use of their most potential
competitor- Dettol. And they ended up paying some amount to the court as well as
Dettol as a compensation. And one more important thing about lifebuoy is that they were
the 1st to start this- global handwash day ad campaign but however they finally lost the
game to Dettol in this as Dettol launched each day is a handwash day concept. And
lifebuoy has been in CSR activities such as supplying bathing bars in time of natural
crises and calamities and they are also doing some good educational trust activities
which has increased the trust value of the brand and lifebuoy has been very inconsistent
in maintaining a tag line or punch line for their brand.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Year
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-Q1

Dettol
32.00%
31.00%
34.00%
34.00%
35.31%
33.74%
35.98%
38.44%
39.99%
38.71%
42.00%

Lifebuoy
30.65%
29.00%
36.00%
36.70%
39.00%
35.00%
39..61%
40.00%
40.10%
40.09%
39.00%

Note : The above table shows the percentage of market shares held by both Dettol and
Lifebuoy in the respective years. It is given only up to the first quarter results released
on april 5th. (source- www.livemint.com)

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Comparative analysis of Dettol on lifebuoy:

Dettol

Lifebuoy

1) Reckitt Benckiser product

1)HUL product

2) Has been a prominent brand in the

market for more than 50 years

2) Has been a prominent brand in the

market for more than 110 years

3)introduced as a antiseptic soap

3) introduced as a disinfectant soap

4) high brand value and brand

recognition

4) high brand value and recognition

5) has a wide variety of products

5) not that much diversified as that of

Dettol

6) started with premium pricing and

came down

6) price setter in FMCG market for

soaps

7) has a very big market share in urban

markets

7) king of rural market

8) recommended by IMA

8) no such recognitions

9)design is sleek and nice

9)modified design to fit in the

competition

10) sales of different products depend

upon market conditions.

10) not that much market sensitive

11) less durable

11) more durable

12) less aggression in advertisements

12) aggressive advertisements and

promotions

13)clean ad strategies

13) fined for delivering slander.

14)good in CSR activities

14) good in CSR activities

15) india's 3rd most trusted brand

15) no such claims but has a huge trust

in rural areas

16) be 100% sure- is the tagline

16) has been using many tag lines.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.

Suggestions for Dettol :

1) Should concentrate and increase advertising.
2) Can consider price reduction
3) Can consider the introduction of smaller size packs
4) Should focus more on rural markets
5) Packaging can be changed and made more attractive..
6) can consider giving free articles along with the products
7) Still can increase CSR activities since it is the one of the most trusted
brands in India.

Suggestions for lifebuoy:

1) should strongly consider diversification of products.
2) Can create some more products for high-end customers
3) should focus on the design of the soap and color
4) packaging can be improved.
5) Should instill a thought among customers that it is not only a brand for
rural markets
6) should invest a lot more in advertising and targeting the youth
7) advertisements should not be the 'bully' kind of advertisements.
8) Can increase and maintain its CSR activities.

Report on comparative analysis of Dettol and lifebuoy in soap market.