Submitted By:

Aditya Zutshi (09BM8005)

Amit Sarangal (09BM8082)

Ambuj Aggarwal (09BM8007)

Nidhi Bansal (09BM8028)

Shilpa Gautam (09BM8085)

Shweta Jain (09BM8031)

The Need To Smell GoodThe Need To Smell GoodA Case Study of Rexona DeodorantA Case Study of Rexona Deodorant

Introduction In mid 1990s HLL decided to create market for deodorant with “

Rexona” Brand Earlier existing brands Copper for men and Fa for women were

merely focusing on customers how knew difference between perfumer and deodorant

Majority of target population (90%) was in unawareness stage HLL adopted strategy to educate customer by marketing campaigns

showing body odour is a problem Increased trail ability by introducing Rs20 and Rs5 sticks Advertisements were based upon “acceptance-rejection” theme and

communicated its nothing to be ashamed of – “Shilpa Aunty” ad. New Ads focused on body-appeal confidence concept Major competitors is talcum and soaps Targeted “Magic Age” i.e. young population as target segment.

Q1: What aspects of Consumer Behavior has been discussed in this case?

Acquired/Secondary/Psychogenic Needs: These are needs that arise as a result of an individual’s psychological state and

his/her interactions with other and motivate a consumer to buy a product. India is a high perspiration country and with high body odour sensibility.

Therefore, the deodorant market became of 1000 tonnes by the end of the millennium.

Marketers Trigger Consumer Motives Inducing Need Recognition: Marketer steers the consumer from an actual state to

a desired state. Need Benefit Segmentation: Marketers can emphasize benefits that satisfy

recognizable needs. Triggering Sub-conscious Motivation: Many purchases reveal subconscious

motivations.

Trait Theory: Trait theories seek to classify individuals into group of people who share personality types. Based on consumer innovativeness and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence, HUL decided not to focus on the consumers above 40 years of age.

Attitude Formation & Change: A consumer with a positive attitude toward a product is more likely to buy that product. The advertisements and marketing communication done by HUL was targeted to induce a positive attitude towards using deodorants.

Communication Process: The marketing communication of a company is designed to induce purchase, create a positive attitude towards the product, to give the product a symbolic meaning and show that it can solve the consumer’s problem better than a competitive product.

Consumer Learning: Company focus on consumer learning to acquire the purchase and consumption knowledge and experiences that they apply to future related behaviour. HUL was trying to make the consumer learn about deodorants.

Adoption Process

Cognition

Attitude

Behaviour

Q2: What is the adoption process of a deodorant among consumers?

Communication Strategy

Aim –creating awareness and promoting sales of a product Medium – impersonal ( television advertisement) Advertising appeal- fear appeal Message framing both positive and negative

24 hour Suraksha (positive) Avoid public embarrassment(negative)

Presentation method-comparative advertisement with soap bars and talc

Use the comparative advertisement(with talc and soap bars)

Influence on Attitude Formation

Direct experience Influence of family and friends Direct marketing Exposure to mass media

Attitude Change

Attitude consist of Knowledge, evaluation and a predisposition to act

Formation of utilitarian and ego-defensive attitude Highlighting the benefits(all day long fragrance) Highlighting how it can avoid public embarrassment(at work

place, college, etc) Change in the evaluation criteria(from fragrance to durability of

fragrance and body appeal confidence)

Product packaging( it was switched to push up stick and aerosol can, more convenient to use, vibrant packaging for youngsters)

Trial ability –launch of 5gm push up stick for Rs. 5 help develop image for new users(cheap, ease of use)

Product Positioning

Target segment of 16-20 yr old –more conscious of the social benefits of smelling good rather than segment above the age of 35.

Tagline-” talcum ka asar chand ghanto me gayab. Rexona ghanto tak suraksha de”

Position the product on its benefits such as long lasting freshness

Position deodorant as better than the conventional soap and talc.

Q3: Why does the company think that it would not be of any advantage to target consumers of over 40 years of age? Would they not be concerned about body odour? Consumer Innovativeness: People stay vanity conscious well into their 30s. People above

that age won’t adopt the concept easily.

High Dogmatism: People above 40 years of age are generally high in dogmatism. They have been using alternate remedies from the past many years and would be reluctant to accept the innovation.

Ego-Defensive Function: It is unlikely that consumers above 40 years of age would grow conscious of their body odour and would agree that odour is an embarrassing problem. Therefore, they would not like to defend their ego/self-concept by buying deodorant.

Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence: Consumers above 40 years of age are unlikely to switch to deodorants because of what is being talked about by the younger segment and in advertisement.

For the above reasons, the segment of consumers above 40 years would not be an attractive segment to target.

Thank You