MARKETING MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT

Reckitt Benckiser developing a new laundry-

care category in India solution

Submitted to: DR. Tapas Kumar Chatterjee

Submitted by Group 4:
Rahul Kumar Singh (202011027)
Sandeep Kumar (202032056)
Shresth Sharma (202012075)
Shriya Mishra (202012077)
Soumya Malhotra (202012080)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our

thanks and sincere gratitude
to our teacher Dr. T.K.
Chatterjee, who gave us the
golden opportunity to
prepare this assignment of
Marketing Management on
the Case study “Reckitt
Benckiser developing a new
laundry-care category in
India solution” It primed us
with useful insights and the
concepts would surely help
us to excel in our future
endeavors.
 Reckitt Benckiser developing a new laundry-care category in India solution
Question 1. Identify the key drivers of laundry detergent industry in India
Answer: The key drivers of laundry detergent industry in India are:
1. Automatic detergents and high-quality hand-wash laundry soaps which improved the
growth in the laundry-care industry.
2. Powder detergents was the biggest product segment in the market which made 98% of
the hand-wash segment and had a 68% share in the machine was segment. The sale
grew at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5% in the machine-wash
segment whereas 8.8 percent in the hand-wash from 2005-2012.
3. Increase in Disposable Income changed lifestyle in both rural and urban India.
Consumer was more focused on personal health and hygiene.
4. There were changes in consumer preferences. An increase in the demand of washing
machines and for better quality premium products. Product benefits such as stain
removal, shine and softness also supported market growth. In 2005, fabric softeners
grew at a rate of 23 percent.
5. There were new detergents for automatic washing machine, such as Surf Excel and
Ariel Matic which resulted in a fast growth in the urban areas.

In our opinion, Reckitt Benckiser should launch the detergent as a brand extension of
Dettol. Dettol has always been able to diminish the fears of consumers with respect to the
cleanliness and hygiene it offers. As they were planning to launch an Antibacterial detergent, it
would be beneficial for RB to introduce it under the “Dettol” brand name as Dettol has always
been associated with Anti-Bacterial products and is always the first preference of consumers
when health and hygiene is concerned.
With rapid increase in disposable incomes of people and economic growth due to urbanization,
the aspirations and expectations of people rose for better things. The increase in ability to pay
increased the demand for washing machines in urban as well as rural India. Their change in
lifestyle also enhanced their awareness for health and hygiene resulting in comparatively
greater demand for toiletries and cleaning products.
Dettol has been the biggest brand under RB since launch covering a large market share in India
with various products. RB positioned Dettol as the invisible protector against germs.
Dettol gradually gained trust of the people of India as being the first preference of every mother
in case their child gets hurt.
In 2005, RB entered the Laundry-care market by launching India’s first stain remover brand
“Vanish” as being an additive to detergent but failed to live up to expectations as most of the
customers thought that the brand damaged the cloth and was little expensive. Product launched
under the brand named Dettol succeeded and gathered a reasonable market share in India be it
Antiseptic liquid(their Flagship product), Gold Bar Soap, Shaving cream, Hand Wash, Liquid
Body Wash, Hand Sanitizer, etc. , but the market penetration of Vanish was only 1.1%.
RB has already launched Dettol Antibacterial Laundry Cleanser in Europe, so they good
amount of experience in this segment. Also, there are other brands like P&G who are selling
Ariel Professional Antibacterial Washing Powder outside India. So, to enjoy first mover
advantage in this segment, RB should introduce Antibacterial detergent under Dettol’s brand in
India.
Reckitt Benckiser, with brands like Dettol is already enjoying popularity and huge market share
in Indian market. STP analysis can be used to launch the new product, detergent -
Segmentation
It refers to bifurcating the consumer based on their needs and their wants. It answers who buys
and why the consumer buys the product.
Geographic Segmentation: For new product (detergent) it required to available across the region
as reach of Reckitt Benckiser is widespread because of its distribution channels and it caters to
rural and urban areas as well throughout the country.
Demographic Segmentation: For new product its required to be economically feasible to major
section of the society. It’s needed to work upon “Value for money” criterion in the country like
India.
Psychographic Segmentation: Reckitt Benckiser need to make it new product (detergent) to
relate to people in comparison to already established brands. It can use its other products like
Dettol to establish a sense of connectivity to its product.
Targeting
Targeting refers to the selection of potential customers based on various parameters and study
with whom the business wishes to sell its product or services.
Mass marketing: Reckitt Benckiser products are well spread across a huge market. It already
has a lot of loyal customers with its product it needs to provide the same marketing process for
the new product to establish the same treatment.
Concentrated marketing: For new Product it needs to segregate its market properly with
required information available to Interpret the magnitude of concentrated marketing required
whether to introduce the new product as premium product or normal product.
Pricing Perceptive: To introduce new product (Detergent) Reckitt Benckiser needs to set its
price strategically lower to its competitors without compromising quality.
Positioning: Positioning refers to concentrating the areas or potential aspect of product, market
or consumers which it can excel in order to compete and to have an effective position in the
market.
 To position itself as powerful stain remover which is low on cost.
 To introduce unique features to make it consumer friendly thus building loyalty
 To position the product strategically in such way that it led to highest penetration in the
market
 To position itself as “Value for Money” Product aspect to Indian consumers.
 To Connect the new product (Detergent) to its already established products to gain
popularity

The major obstacles in the success of the Reckitt Benckiser’s laundry detergent market in India
are:
1. The presence of major competitors like Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), Procter &
Gamble (P&G), Rohit Surfactants Private Limited (RSPL) would make it hard for
Reckitt Benckiser’s new detergent to make its place in the Indian market. HUL has
brands like Wheel, Rin and Surf which has 37.6% of market share, P&G has brands like
Ariel and Tide which has market share of 18%, Ghari detergent from Rohit surfactants
which has the share of 22.8%.
2. Similar sort of experiment was done in Europe by Reckitt Benckiser when it launched
Dettol antibacterial laundry cleanser in Europe, but P&G already had similar product in
this category. If they launch a product in India the P&G will also go ahead and compete
with the same product line.
3. The product should not be very costly as it should be affordable to the buyers also, there
should not be any compromise on the quality.
4. Dettol is the flagship brand of RB, if company launches a new product with Dettol name
in it and the product fails, it will impact overall brand image of Dettol
Question 2 Analyze the Dettol Brand and the reasons for its success over the years.
Answer: Following are the reasons behind the success of Dettol Brand:
Reckitt Benckiser's flagship product Dettol was introduced under individual branding. It
positioned Dettol as an expert antiseptic that acted as a protection against germs. They
advertised Dettol using a mother-child relationship to create an emotional touch that showed a
mother and a hurt child relationship.
1. SENSORY MARKETING - The differentiating smell, color created an impression of
quality among consumer's subconscious minds. They started associating Dettol as they
are using the same antiseptic used in hospitals and nursing homes. Due to this sense of
trust with Dettol, it gave them a competitive advantage as now consumer's preferences
were biased, based on points of difference.

2. EMOTIONAL MARKETING – Dettol’s marketing created an emotional connect

between the consumers and the brand. The tingling sensation upon applying Dettol
convinced customers that Dettol was successful in killing germs and effectively healing
the wound. It created a sense of trust by using mother child relationship that Dettol cared
for families’ protection .These factors differentiated Dettol from its competition.

3. ALLOPATHIC PERSPECTIVE – Previously there was a notion that diseases were

caused by body imbalances but with the arrival of Dettol, it represented a new allopathic
perspective that diseases were caused by germs. And then it became common that Dettol
was started being used while bathing (Dettol dissolved water), cleaning toilets and
household surfaces. Medicated plasters.

4. ATTRACTIVE PACKAGING– The packaging of Dettol was done in a slim bottle with
a large-cap that made it easier to be opened. The white and green colored wrapping was
done to give it a medicinal bottle look .Even the logo on the bottle Aesculapius was
shown to put forth a sword of trust. The clouding effect was used as an advertisement
when Dettol was added to water as Dettol turned white upon contact

5. INNOVATION- Even after facing stagnation Dettol continued to launch its other
products like Dettol soap, Dettol liquid hand wash, Dettol liquid body wash, Dettol
shaving cream and kitchen gel.

Some other reasons are:

Marketing Strategy of Dettol
Reckitt Benckiser India Ltd (RBIL) is a fully owned subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser Plc,
world’s No.1 Company in household cleaning, is the parent company which owns Dettol brand.
The brand “Dettol” started its journey in 1933 as antiseptic liquid, but over the years, it has
been extended to a number of product categories like toilet soaps, liquid hand wash, liquid body
wash, shaving cream and plaster strips. Dettol has been widely accepted and positioned as a
100% germ fighter with complete protection and control for entire family as its core value

Segmentation, targeting, positioning

Consumers see Dettol as an ‘expert’. It is perceived as a product which is effective and versatile
and guarantees protection from germs. It uses demographic segmentation and can be used by
most people of any age group. People from all generation are the targeted customers of Dettol.
Dettol follows Product specialization strategy in order to penetrate the market and increase the
usage rate. Dettol has been successful in positioning itself as an antiseptic which
safeguard/protect the people from germs. Dettol’s communication has always focused on the
core brand positioning of protection from germs.
Competitive advantage
Over the years Dettol has created strong, distinct associations-first and foremost is its trademark
smell. Who can miss the characteristic Dettol smell that has been the reassurance to many a
child’s scraped knee! Consumers recognize the smell enough to refer to a medicinally clean
room as ‘Dettol like smell’. The second characteristic is its amber gold colour. The third is the
‘clouding’ effect that appears when it is added to water. The fourth and most important is the
absolute trust that consumers have on the brand Dettol because the brand has always been
proven to kill germs and to make a wound septic or even to clear a room of all germs. It has
been positioned effectively and beating that position is very difficult. This positioning is the
most important competitive advantage of Dettol. Dettol’s packaging is distinct in its very own
way. All Dettol products have a sword on the pack, which is a symbol for fighting germs and
infection. Over the years, the clouding action and the sword have become synonymous with the
brand and have been creatively used in Dettol advertising. Dettol has a broad product portfolio
under each category which helps the company in capturing the market across the segments
thereby increasing its product visibility by occupying the large shelf space of the retail outlets.

BCG Matrix of Dettol

Liquid hand wash are stars. Dettol is the market leader in hand wash category so command
strong hold in the market. But this market has several other strong players including Lifebuoy.
Antiseptic Liquids is Cash cows although Dettol is the market leader in this product category
but the market is deeply penetrated & and crowded with other competitive brand offerings
resulting into low industry growth rate. Product categories like bar soaps, Wipes, Kitchen Gel
and shaving cream are still struggling due to low acceptability of these offerings of Dettol in the
market and hence are in question marks. In the stagnant and small plaster market its main
competitor is Johnson & Johnson’s “Band Aid” therefore it is under Dogs.

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
 One of the oldest germ killers in the market – Dettol is practically the oldest germ killer
in the market, and is being used since 1936. Wide applications of Dettol – Dettol was
used as an anti septic after surgery. Initially, after its usage for humans, it started being
used for Animals as well. In fact, people use it nowadays for batch and after minor
scratches as well.
 A household name – Because of its product quality and simple use, Dettol has become a
house hold name.
 Timely expansion – Dettol made a smart move when it expanded its brand name to other
day-today products which are also consumed in high volumes – such as soaps, liquids,
hand was, body wash and others.
 Brand equity – Dettol had almost a monopoly in the anti septic liquid market before
Savlon came in, and since that day, these two brands are at loggerheads. But due to its
brand equity, Dettol was also able to gain traction in the soap and hand wash segment.
 First mover advantage – As it was the first to come in the market, many loyalists still
prefer
 Dettol thinking of this brand to be the original quality Anti septic.
 Dettol is one of the top brands from the house of Reckitt benckiser. It is known to be a
 household brand and is the first brand to be remembered when anyone needs an
antiseptic
  location. In fact, a few years back, dettol had become a generic brand name for all anti
septic
 lotions as hardly anything else was used. One of the strong points in the SWOT analysis
of Dettol is its product as well as its brand equity. As Dettol has been around for ages,
people trust it blindly. In fact, till date doctors too use Dettol instead of any other
antiseptic, weaknesses
 Penetration levels – As dettol is practically the market leader, it has become complacent
and is not looking at aggressive expansion. The distribution of Dettol can become better
with more penetration into rural area. Even dettol soaps and hand washes are found
mainly in metro markets and the distribution needs to be ramped up as per the brand
equity of Dettol.
 Savlon should not have been allowed to enter – If Savlon can promise that their anti
septic can cure wounds without any burning sensation, then Dettol should have launched
an immediate variant which would have been Dettol NXT and which should have done
the same thing. It would have been a me-too product, but at least Savlon should not have
been allowed to settle.

Opportunities
 Dettol shampoo – Shampoo is one of the variants missing in the Dettol product line and
it is one product which should be in the portfolio. As of june 2016, it is in United
arhbarites, but not expanded to other regions.
 Faster expansion – Dettol needs to expand faster and, in more territories, and take
charge of the situation. It can become a generic brand if it expands its product to non-
burning anti septic and if it can cover the market completely. This will ensure that
penetration by other products is difficult.
 Dettol baby products – Although this is too much to hope for, but dettol baby products
will create a completely new market for dettol and give the company a new market to
play in. The market is competitive, but with good products, dettol can give the assurance
to parents of newborn babies, that their product is good for the baby’s health.

Threats
Savlon – None of the other competitors are coming close in the antiseptic market to Dettol
except Savlon. Savlon has made the exceptional move of differentiation, which has become
difficult to avoid for Dettol. Other markets filled with competition – Where dettol is the market
leader in antiseptic, it derives the brand equity of antiseptic in other competitive sectors such as
soap and hand wash. These products do not have a brand equity of their own, which should be
built by dettol. Because if any time its antiseptic market is threatened, it will lose these other
markets as well.
THANK YOU