“Sun silk Gang of Girls”

ASHA PRIYA GOUD

GITAM INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
GITAM UNIVERSITY
• Unilever 1930 , British soap maker
• Hindustan Vanaspati manufacturing company
• Former name: HLL
• Merged to form HUL
Hindustan Unilever

Industry - Consumer goods

Founded 1932
Headquarter-Mumbai
Key people- Harish Manwani (Chairman),
Nitin Paranjpe (CEO and MD)
• Sunsilk India launched a social networking
site called Gang of Girls
• offered its users to access to a variety of local
and global experts
• various hair care needs through its content,
blogs and live chat room.

Launch-17th June 2006

 What’s unique about this initiative

• Topics of interest
• Presence in college festivals
• Hair problems solutions from popular hair
experts
• 1st company to take such a initiative of taking
the brand name in social networking.
Meant for: girls
1.Various feature including blogs
2.Advice on hair care and fashion from experts
3.Job sites
4.Upload photograph and get an online
makeover on fashion
5.Engage in a group activities

Popularity: registered crossed the half million

mark ,with about 30,000 gangs
Sunsilk - Gang of Girls
Sunsilk - Gang of Girls
 HIGH POINTS of Sunsilk - Gang of Girls

• Interactive Micro site

• Updated very regularly

• ‘Girls’ hang out as the topics are relevant to their lives

• Contest and Games/Chatting/ Blogging

• Celebration section
 GOG
Large portion of youth have moved from
traditional channels due to reasons like…
1. Increase in disposable income
2. Double income families
3. Booming in BPO sector
 ‘Catch them young’
 More time on internet, mobile phone, hanging
in malls.
 Youth make up 2/3 of 37millions surfers in
India.
 Surveys in 2006…

BW Hansa Youth survey

53.25% of youth buy products by reference
IAMAI(Internet and Mobile Association of India) report
12mill women logged on to the internet
2.5 of 30 mill members in Orkut are from India.
 Shampoo market in India…
Life style product
Misconceptions(harsh chemicals)
Later …
Aggressive marketing
Decrease in excise duty( 120-16%)
 Statistics
• 85 mill(2001)
• Urban and rural market(36 & 12%)
• Market share HUL(68%)
• 2005 HUL(52%) & P&G (22%) of 120 mill
market.
• 2006(142.5 mill market)
• 2007(180 mill market)
 HUL vs P&G
 HUL(Sun silk, clinicplus, all clear)
 P&G(pantene, Head & shoulders)
 70% of market on sachets
 HUL(1+1 clinic plus)
 Pantene(16% price cut)
 Clinic plus( 23% price cut)
 HUL dove
 P&G Rejoice( competitive price)
 50 p sachet
 Cavin care ltd(chik and Nyle)
 Dabur(Ayur and Vatika)
 Segmentation…

• Beauty( Sun silk)

• Health ( Clinic plus, Pantene)
• Anti-dandruff( Head & shoulder, Clinic All
Clear)
• Natural Shampoo( Ayur, Vatika)
 SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths: Weaknesses:

1.Creative and innovative • 1.competitor has strong

promotional activities.
2.Big brand name
• 2.customers are offered
3.User friendly site.
better alternatives by
4.Strong R&D department. competition.
5.360 degree • 3.absences of cult appeal.
communication.
Opportunities: Threats:
1.Penetration level of 1.competitors-
shampoos in India was In house :clinicplus &
38%. Allclear
2.Rural areas still a large Other:P&G,Cavin Care,
prospective market. Dabur
3.Growing importance of 2.Price war
print media and internet to 3.Frequent changes in
show explosive growth. consumer behaviours.
 Case findings

• Sunsilk, renowned for its product development initiatives, saw

stiff competition from new players in the shampoo market.
• Therefore the Sunsilk planned to adopt new strategy for
promoting its Brand.
• On June 17, 2006, HLL launchedSunsilkgangofgirls.com which it
claimed was India's first "online all-girl community". The site was
a branded space promoting Sunsilk while at the same time
providing a social networking space for girls.
• Social networking sites had become very popular with young
adults. Sites such as Orkut, hi5,Facebook, and MySpace etc., were
all dominated by this age group.
• Gang of Girls is a sucessful online girls‘ community created by
Sunsilk in India.
 Criticism
• It could not attract most of the girls in India.
• It was unable to reach the girls in rural area
where the consumer of Sunsilk shampoo were
more.
• It targeted only girls between 16-24 age
&neglected the other group.
• Every girl may not have the facility of Internet.
 GOG outlook…
Brand awareness
Youth was the targeted segment
Unique thought
 Hair treatment ideas
Adv(hair experts for promotion)
Sponsership(Miss India events)
 Suggestions
• Promoting by mobile phones
• Social networks
• Target customers
 Conclusion

 Changing behavior
Determining & Measuring requirements
Innovative Medium
Updating accordingly