The FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) market is highly competitive, one that is rife with the advent of newer brands being introduced. In a capitalist set-up, there begins a system of hard sell and introduction of more innovative products to boost sales and garner a larger consumer base. Advertising is a major player in the arena of marketing. For this, it becomes essential to understand the purpose behind the launch of a product, its various utilities and the trajectory it has mapped in the market.
The soap selected for the study is the globally acclaimed Lux, a product owned by Unilever. In India, Lux is owned by Hindustan Unilever, an offshoot of its Anglo-Dutch counterpart and one of India’s largest FMCG companies. In this project, Lux shall be examined only from the perspective of the Indian market.
A luxurious brand, touted as the ‘beauty soap of the film stars,’ Lux has been a consistent ubiquitous part of the Indian household and one of India’s most trusted personal care products. With generation after generation of women sustaining a product in the market, consistent with its former glory, a statistic mentioning that three in every five Indian consumers use Lux may not seem entirely far-fetched.
PRODUCT LAUNCH AND HISTORY
Initially known as “Sunlight Flakes” laundry soap, Lux was established as a domestic brand in the United Kingdom in 1899. It was produced by a British company named Lever Brothers. The company has been founded by two brothers, James and William Hesketh Lever in 1885.
The brothers manufactured the “Sunlight Soap,” the flaked version of which came to be known as Lux.
Lux was rechristened its present name in 1900 and launched in the United States where its sales picked up.
Lux was launched in India, in 1929. The very first Lux advertisement featured actor Leela Chitnis. Its popular slogan was ‘the beauty soap of film stars.’
In order to remain in tandem with the changing fashion trends, Lux changed its colour and packaging from the 1930s to the 1970s. The five principal colours used for Lux in 1958 were pink, white, blue, green and yellow.
It was only in the 1990s that Lux launched its own range of luxury soaps, shower gels, liquid soaps and moisturising bars. At present, Lux is sold in a 100 countries with a turnover of 1.0 billion euros alone in 2005.
REASON FOR LAUNCH
Lux was launched earlier as laundry soap. Gradually, over the years, it has gained immense popularity and recognition as a luxury soap. Its identity became synonymous with the glamorous lifestyle of the movie stars. Lux has pioneered as being one of the first products to be advertised using women as brand ambassadors.
Earlier a product known for its domestic utility, Lux has moved on to skincare and beauty products as part of its present brand image.
THE PARENT COMPANY
Lux was initially manufactured as “Sunlight Flakes” by Lever Brothers. The company gained foothold in the market only after 1916, when it was launched in the United States. Unilever was founded on the first of January in 1930, an amalgamation of Lever Brothers and the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. The founders were Antonius Johannes Jurgens, Samuel van den Bergh and William Hulme Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme.
Hindustan Unilever Limited was known as Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company Limited when it was first established in 1931, as a subsidiary of Unilever, in India. Further two companies were launched, namely the Lever Brothers India Limited in 1933 and the United Traders Limited (1935). In 1956, all three companies were merged to form Hindustan Unilever Limited.
At present, the company has a 54.3% market share; headed by Harish Manwani (Chairman) and Nitin Paranjpe (C.E.O. and M.D.).
PRODUCT TRAJECTORY
· Initial stage (1929 – 1950s): When Lux was first launched in 1929; it was introduced only in major Indian cities. It was kept at a comparatively higher price range than its product competitor Lifebuoy for recovering their initial cost of production. The initial Lux advertisements were aimed at ‘the early adopters’ i.e., the consumers who were most willing to buy that product.
· Growth stage (1950s – 1990s): The pricing was reduced for the purpose of market penetration. There was an increase in the advertising budget for attracting newer consumers. Lux continued its trend of using renowned actors from the mainstream film industry through the decades. Old time magazines like Eve’s Weekly, Star and Style, Femina etc invariably featured the leading heroines of the times as models for Lux. Some of the prominent heroines featured have been Sharmila Tagore, Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi.
In the 1990s, Lux launched its own range of luxury soaps, shower gels, liquid soaps and moisturising bars.
· Maturity (1990s – present): As the product gained greater foothold in the market, the price was increased in order to maximise the profit.
The main marketing objective was also to maximise the market share and introduce modifications in the product. This included a new range of products entering the market like Lux Almond, Lux Orchid, Lux Saffron and Lux Sandalwood to name a few.
The brand ambassadors in this stage have been Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Asin.
As of the year 2011, Lux has a recorded profit of 533 crores.
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING STRATEGY
Despite its product modifications which shall be later mentioned, Lux has always marketed itself as a product used by the stars. A common refrain associated with such a promotional strategy says ‘if it is good enough for the stars, it is good enough for me.’ Despite this, Lux was never an entirely elitist product, though it has not embedded itself within the rural consumer segment.
Because Marketing is all encompassing, it shall be examined first, followed by Advertising.
Marketing covers the four main aspects, when it comes to any product that needs to be sold in a market, namely the: product mix, price mix, place mix and promotion mix. The marketing mix of Lux shall be examined from the perspective of the four P’s in marketing.
· Product mix: The product mix refers to any and every feature related to the tangible commodity to be sold. This part of marketing takes into consideration the ingredients that form a part of the product, the innovations/modifications done in the product, its external appearance, packaging, aroma, utility, colour, logo and the overall visual appeal/easy recall value it serves for its consumers.
Lux has also taken the initiative to introduce product variants like:
o Lux almond.
o Lux orchid.
o Lux fruit.
o Lux saffron.
o Lux oil and honey glow.
o Lux sandalwood.
o Lux rose.
o Lux international.
o Lux chocolate.
o Lux aromatic extracts.
o Lux crystal shine.
o Lux purple lotus and cream.
o Lux peach and cream.
o Lux strawberry and cream.
· Price mix: A sound pricing strategy induces a consumer to purchase a certain product. It proves to be a worthy incentive. In a country of wide economic disparities like India, the price of the product takes precedence over the quality, for the less affluent.
When Lux was launched in 1929, the pricing was kept high so that the product could make up for its manufacturing cost. The prices were later reduced in order to penetrate a greater market segment. As of now, the product pricing is competitive i.e. on par with those of the competitors.
· Place mix: The place mix refers to not just the distribution channels of a product, but also the geographic location of its availability which greatly affects its accessibility. Lux was earlier sold only in major cities at the time of its launch. Post 1950s, the distribution network continues to be expanded to include smaller towns.
· Promotion mix: A hoarding on one of the more prominent locations in Mumbai once said, “Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you’re doing, but she doesn’t.” And thus, promotion seeks to bridge the gap between ignorance and purchase.
The ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind the promotion goes a long way in brand building.
o As reiterated in this project, Lux was promoted as a product used by film stars. And thus, every major actor has promoted the product. The list included: Leela Chitnis, Madhubala, Nargis, Meena Kumari, Mala Sinha, Sharmila Tagore, Waheeda Rehman, Saira Banu, Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Juhi Chawla, Tabu, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Asin and Kajal Agarwal.
o Although Lux was always advertised as a product meant for indulging the senses, where bathing was a wonderful ritual in itself, it petered down its approach in the recent years. The actors are still shown seen indulging themselves. But the focus also moves towards the ordinary girl in a bid to reach out to its female consumers.
o A wonderful example of this promotion was the 2005 ‘Mujhme Star Jagaaye’ campaign featuring Aishwarya Rai and Shilpa Anand. The campaign also promoted a Model Hunt that went underway soon after.
o In 2001, Lux had announced a 22-carat Gold Star offer, wherein a gold coin was hidden inside a bar of soap. The lucky consumers who find the gold coin also have a chance to win an additional 30 grams of gold.
o In 2004, Lux launched a ‘Lux star bano, Aish karo’ contest where consumers were supposed to buy a promotional pack of Lux and scratch the special scratch card to earn their reward. Prizes varied from living a day in Aishwarya Rai’s life to beauty kits, Neeta Lulla saris among a host of other gift vouchers and well… more Lux soaps to be won.
o On its completion of 75 years in 2005, Lux roped in Shah Rukh Khan as its first ever male ambassador. The advertisement featured the actor in a bathtub, flanked by his leading ladies – Juhi Chawla, Kareena Kapoor, Sridevi and Hema Malini. It was known as the ‘Har Star Lucky Star’ offer, where every wrapper guaranteed a gift, waiting to be unwrapped.
o In 2009, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan featured in the new ‘Sone Se Bhi Sona Lage’ campaign. The campaign also conducted a Lux Super Star Offer where the lucky winners get to meet Aishwarya-Abhishek in London. The campaign jingle became so immensely popular that its varied renditions were used in the advertisements that featured Katrina Kaif since 2009.
o Asin Thottumkal and Kajal Agarwal are the newest brand ambassadors of Lux, modelling together for the “Kya Khoob Ho Tum” advertisement that has been recently released.
o Lux also relies on market research for making innovative changes by going for door-to-door sampling of a product, once a year, in urban and rural areas. The brand image is firmly and favourably embedded in the psyche of the consumers. The product is also not particularly expensive, which is said to be a ‘winning combination.’
· Weaknesses: The weaknesses stated for Lux as a brand are as follows:
o The product lacks unisex appeal.
o It has been unable to effectively tap the rural market.
o Lux faces competition from brands like Lifebuoy, Pears, Vivel, Fiama Di Wills, Santoor among others.
· Some commonly noted recommendations for Lux:
o Innovations in terms of Ayurvedic variants are recommended.
o A special offshoot of Lux meant for children, since it has essentially been targeted at a 16-35 year age group.
o The consumer base in the rural area needs to be expanded upon.
o The product should appeal to men, without promoting it solely as a product for women.
o The product can be altered to appeal to the ageing segment of women who form a large segment of consumer base in the present product market and account for many billions of currency for anti-ageing products.
CONCLUSION
The assignment is an educative exploration of one of the most iconic products that has entered the Indian market. The history of the Lux soap has been synonymous with women and beauty down the decades. The brand, ‘Lux’ has been identifiable with women of every generation since the times the product were launched through the media, evolving from the print to audio and visual through the decades. From the earlier sepia-toned photographs of beautiful heroines captured in the pages of women’s magazines and Reader’s Digests to popular advertising in electronic and visual mediums, the brand Lux has pervaded the lives and times of every person. It has successfully transcended the barriers of class and elitism and has occupied center-stage as a product appealing to women of all ages and classes.
Given the present market share of the product as examined in the preceding text, Lux has more than a promising void to fulfill in the coming times. Its continuity and popularity will sustain its consumer base in all coming times. Lux stands out as the soul product by way of a soap that has seen the dawn of two centuries, promising to run its length of continuity for many more to come.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
