The Times Of India (27th July, 09)

THE CLEAN-UP ACT

Soap adspends in Q1 zoom 55%

Namrata Singh | TNN

Mumbai: Soap advertising spends are generating enough lather. According to latest industry
estimates, marketers like Hindustan Unilever (HUL), ITC, Reckitt Benckiser, Godrej
Consumer Products (GCPL), among others, have spent over Rs 200 crore on toilet soap
advertising alone in the June quarter. This marks a 55% jump over the corresponding
period in 2008.
In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009, companies had spent over Rs 500 crore on toilet
soap advertising, said an industry official, quoting figures from AdEx India, a division of TAM
Media Research.
According to industry sources, the advertising expenditure has gone up after HUL
intensified its promotional activities to perk up its toilet soaps portfolio. HUL had suffered a
loss of market share in toilet soaps in the March quarter due to pricing actions and
grammage reductions undertaken in the previous quarters. The market leader is keen on
clawing back on market share gains and protecting them from further erosion from rivals
like Reckitt Benckiser, Wipro Consumer Care and GCPL.
So as not to lose out on their share of voice (SoV) in the soap category, other FMCG
companies have heightened their respective advertising spends. “Adspends on toilet soaps
have never witnessed such a jump year-onyear. An expenditure of Rs 200 crore in a single
quarter is extraordinary,’’ said Dalip Sehgal, managing director, GCPL.
According to Nandini Dias, COO, Lodestar Universal, soap category adspends grew by
almost 50% in the year 2008-09 to over Rs 700 crore. As per Lodestar Universal’s data,
adspends on Lux and Lifebuoy increased by around 45-50% in 2008-09 over the previous
year, while spends on Dettol increased by 100%.
A benign commodity price environment further assisted companies in deploying cost
savings to brand promotions through advertising.
The Rs 7,500-crore toilet soap category, which is said to be growing at 10%, is one of the
most competitive and cluttered categories, which explains the skirmish among brands to
gain SoV.