De La Salle University

Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business

Management and Organization Department

Freshman Masculine Wash

Case Analysis

Submitted
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in
MKT535M Marketing Management

To:
Ms. Regina Dy
By:
Lim, Rapunzel
Mercado, Melchor
Siao, Limuel
10 March 2015

INDUSTRY BACKGROUND
The research will focus on Freshman Masculine Wash and the actions they can
take in order to retain or improve (depending on the situation) their product. In doing so,
the researchers will first scan the industry trend, competitive landscape and prospects
that the company is in order to find out the threats and opportunities that the company
will be facing.
According to Euromonitor-International (2015), the following will be the trends,
landscape and prospect for the whole Mens grooming in the Philippines.
Trends

The market for mens grooming continued to expand moderately driven by more
male consumers becoming more interested in grooming products.
Only a small proportion of the local male population use products other than
razors and blades and deodorants.
Mens grooming products are slowly gaining acceptance among consumers in
the target market and manufacturers are gaining success in convincing men to
expand the range of beauty and personal care products they use daily.
Manufacturers continued to boost their sales in this category through the entry of
more brands and engaging buyers through marketing campaigns.
Mens grooming products gain better acceptance in urban areas where there is
an increasing number of metrosexuals

Competitive Landscape
Unilever Philippines Inc remained the largest player in mens grooming in 2013.
Local players make only a small portion to mens grooming.
Price is among the most important considerations in mens grooming purchase
decisions.
Filipino consumers tend to favour competitively priced products while sticking to
more popular brands.
Companies launched events and websites to engage more buyers.
Prospect
Mens grooming is expected to register a retail value CAGR of 3% in constant
terms in 2013.

The market for mens grooming product is projected to reach Ps4.5 billion in
2018.

More Filipinos are expected to use a wider range of products for their daily
hygiene needs.

The success of newly launched mens grooming products will likely be more
limited.

In the analysis of the Mens grooming industry in the Philippines, the researchers
further examined the data from Euromonitor and found out that the industry is
subdivided into 2 major categories namely Mens shaving and Mens toiletries. The
product being discussed in this researched can be categorized on the latter since this
can be considered a specialized soap and thus included in the bath and shower sub
category of the Mens toiletries category and based on the forecast data below (Table 1)
this category will grow slowly for the next 3 years. Table 2 below discusses the brand
market share of the companies in the industry; freshman masculine wash is included in
the 9.7% total of the market that is labelled as others since they are not enumerated
separately signalling they have a very low following on the market.

Table 1: Forecast sales of Mens grooming

Table 1: Brand Shares on Mens Grooming

COMPANY AND PRODUCT BACKGROUND

Elev8 Trading and Marketing Corporation is a company established in 2009 that

is headquartered in Makati city, Metro Manila Philippines. They are involved in
manufacturing personal care products for men such as deodorants and soaps.
Freshman Masculine Wash is a Masculine wash (soap) intended for the intimate
areas of men to keep it fresh, clean and cool. The company claims that the product
cleans thoroughly unlike regular soap and helps in protecting mens ability to reproduce
by cooling the intimate area of men.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
How can Elev8 Trading and Marketing Corporation increase the sales of
Freshman Masculine wash to gain 1% of the Philippine market in 2015?
OBJECTIVES
Propose a viable solution to the company in order to achieve to gain the target
1% share of the market.

AREAS OF CONSIDERATION/ASSUMPTIONS
In this case study, the group would assume the role of the marketing manager of
the company and will also consider the company background, the facts and other
materials retrieved for this research in solving the problem.
SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING
Freshman Masculine Wash was introduced by Elev8 Trading and Marketing
Corporation way back in 2010. Elev8 is an existing player in mens personal care
industry in the Philippines. However, it was only recently when it launched the very first
and only masculine wash in the country. It easier for Elev8 to formulate its
segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) strategy with regard to its Freshman
Masculine wash product. The company has only one target market and position.
Market Segmentation
Market segmentation is the process of dividing the market into several groups
based on factors such as demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural
factors.1 This strategy will assist Elev8 to have a better understanding of its target
market and to be able to serve them effectively.
Elev8 market for its Freshman Masculine Wash is divided into: demographic and
benefit. Demographic variables are so popular with marketers is that theyre often
associated with consumer needs and wants. 2 Demographic segmentation is broad it
comprises several sub-segments such as age, gender, family size, income, occupation,
religion, social class, nationality, race and more.
In the case of Elev8s Freshman Masculine Wash, its demographic sub-segment
focuses on gender, income and social class. Freshman targets Filipino men. This is the
first and only masculine wash, aside from PENI which is a soap. Freshman emphasizes
the importance of men hygiene which should not be limited only to oral hygiene, using
deodorant, facial and body cleansing. Body cleansing, like women, includes a thorough
cleansing on the private parts. Freshman received a lot of whats and huhs. The
product seem to deviate from the norms that masculine wash is not manly.
With regard to the income and social class sub-segment, Freshman is directed to
men who are in the middle to upper class market. A bottle costs about P100+ to P70
which is considered affordable for the middle and upper class, but expensive for most
1 Larse, N. (2010). Market Segment: A framework for determining the right target consumers. BA-thesis.
Aarhus School of Business. University in Aarhus, Denmark.

2 Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2012). Marketing Management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Filipino men. Some consumers testified that it is unnecessary to buy a masculine wash
because a soap can cater to the overall bath regimen of men. And for some, it some a
taboo to use masculine wash as it depicts metrosexuality or it lessens ones manliness.
In conclusion, men who are very meticulous with their hygiene, those who have enough
cash to spare or those who are just curious are off to try Freshman Masculine Wash
despite the social cynicism.
Market Targeting
Elev8 applies two types of marketing for its Freshman product: product
differentiation marketing and gender-specific marketing. Obviously, Freshman was
differentiation among all other products because it stood as the only hygiene wash
which caters to men as opposed to the mass-produced and readily available feminine
wash. There are only a few, or none, of the products which catered to men hygiene
down under since who knows when. It was only recently that a product considered
shocking, debatable and taboo was launched. Freshman was able to differentiate itself
as the only masculine wash. Men do not need to use soaps on their private parts
anymore.
Market Positioning
Fresh and confident ka from day til night. Nag Freshman ka na ba? Elev8
promotes freshman as a masculine wash that thoroughly cleans unlike ordinary soap.
Its main ingredient is Tea Tree Oil which moisturises the skin and gives a ph balance of
7. It claims to give mens intimate parts a cool, clean and fresh feeling.
Its benefits are not only limited to those mentioned above. Elev8 claims that freshman
does not only eliminate unwanted odor but also aids in healing in case of minor wounds.
Moreover, Freshman promises to be beneficial to the mens reproductive system as
well.
Marketing Mix
Products
Freshman Masculine Wash comes in two variants, Original and Freeze, the only
difference of the two products is that the freeze variant contains menthol for more
cooling effects on the product while original is more of the no frills product. Both variants
contain Tea tree oil that contains anti bacterial disinfectant qualities and are available in
the following sizes:
FRESHMAN Masculine Wash Sachet 5ml
FRESHMAN Masculine Wash Bottle 75ml
FRESHMAN Masculine Wash Bottle 150ml
Price

Freshman Masculine Wash price range costs around P100+ to P70, depending on the
size of the bottle.

Place
According to the company website, the product is available in personal care
stores, drugstores, groceries and supermarkets nationwide. In addition to this the
product can also be readily ordered through online platforms such as Lazada and OLX.
Promotion
The company has 2,170 likes in Facebook

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
As most men consumers claim, they do not need a masculine wash. Probably
because it is indeed unnecessary or they are embarrassed to be recognize
gay or metrosexual for being so meticulous with their hygiene. What came
into the minds of Elev8 creative minds and manufacturers when they

decided to create a masculine wash?

Figure 1: Application of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs to Freshman
Masculine Wash

All consumers are aware of their basic needsfood, shelter and clothing.
People do not contemplate whether they should buy food or not. They just do
because it is a necessity to live. But how about the other needs of a person?
Those needs that are not for the sake of survival. Are they worth the money?

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs is shown through a pyramid which consists the

different types of needs of a human being to make him or her whole. The
bottom of the ladder presents the physiological and safety needs. These two
are the most basic ones. It is a no-brainer. People will spend money to fulfil
these basics. The next two on the upper part of the pyramid are
belongingness and love, as well as, esteem needs. It seems that Elev8
targeted these needs when it produced Freshman Masculine Wash.
Hygiene, although not the most basic need, is necessary to maintain ones
health and image. Elev8 wants to emphasize the importance of keeping
oneself clean at all times, not just on the appearance but also within. People
want to avoid the humiliation of being branded as the unclean outcast.
Freshman Masculine Wash targets esteem and belongingness needs by
promoting the necessity of penal hygiene which will make a big impact on
their relationships and private life. Men, just like women, are also particular
as to whether they look presentable and smell good. These characteristics
will not only influence their self-esteem but also every aspect of their life
work, social, intimate relationships.
Elev8s promises a cool, clean and fresh feeling after use that would level up
their self esteem in all situations, as shown in their promos and commercials.
The company wants their consumers to realize that they need Freshman
Masculine Wash and not just settle for a bar of soap. Freshman promotes that
men deserve more and are indeed capable of taking care of themselves.

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strength

Priced cheaply

Available in major groceries and stores

Weakness

Product and company is relatively

unknown in the market

Weak Marketing and Promotion

Threats

The success of newly launched mens

grooming products will likely be more
limited. [Socio-Cultural]

Only a small proportion of the local male

population use products other than
razors and blades and deodorants.
[Socio-Cultural]

Opportunities

More Filipinos are expected to use a

wider range of products for their daily
hygiene needs.
[Socio-Cultural]

Increasing demand for mens hygiene

products.
[Socio Cultural]

Manufacturers are gaining success in

convincing men to expand the range of

beauty and personal care products they
use daily.
[Socio-Cultural]

Increasing disposable
Filipinos [Economic]

income

of

REFERENCES
Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2012). Marketing Management. New Jersey: Prentice
Hall.
Larse, N. (2010). Market Segment: A framework for determining the right
target consumers. BA-thesis. Aarhus School of Business. University in Aarhus,
Denmark.
Euromonitor-International (2015). Mens grooming in the Philippines. Retrieved on 9
March 2015 from: http://0portal.euromonitor.com.lib1000.dlsu.edu.ph/portal/analysis/tab
Elev8 Trading and Marketing Corporation (2015). Freshman Masculine Wash. Retrieved
on 9 March 2015 from: http://www.elev8trading.com/index.php?
option=com_k2&view=item&id=23:freshman-masculine-wash&Itemid=103
Elev8 Trading and Marketing Corporation (2015). About us. Retrieved on 9 March 2015
from: http://www.elev8trading.com/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=104
Facebook (2015). Freshman Masculine Wash. Retrieved on 9 March 2015 from:
https://www.facebook.com/FreshmanMasculineWash