17. Introduction (1929- 1950s) Company Objectives Actions Sales Low Cost of manufacturing High Profits Negative Marketing Objective Create product awareness in major cities Product strategy Offer a basic product Price strategy Higher than Lifebuoy Distribution Created network in major cities Advertising strategy Awareness among early adopters.
18. Growth- (1950s- 1990s) Company Objectives Actions Sales Rising Sales Cost of manufacturing Average cost reduction Profits Positively increasing Marketing Objective Maximise market share Product strategy Offer variants Price strategy To penetrate the market Distribution Intensive network in the entire country Advertising strategy Awareness an interest in mass market
19. Maturity-(1990s to till date ) Company Objectives Actions Sales Peak sales Cost of manufacturing Low Profits High Marketing Objective Maximize profit while defending market share Product strategy Diversify brand Price strategy To match the nearest competitor Distribution More intensive focusing on rural area Advertising strategy Multiple brand ambassadors for different variants.
HUL was formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited and came into being in 1956 as Hindustan Lever Limited through a merger of Lever Brothers , Hindustan Vanaspati Mfg. Co. Ltd. and United Traders Ltd. It is headquartered in Mumbai , India and has an employee strength of over 15,000 employees and contributes to indirect employment of over 52,000 people. The company was renamed in June 2007 as “Hindustan Unilever Limited”. Hindustan Unilever's distribution covers over 1 million retail outlets across India directly and its products are available in over 6.3 million outlets in the country, nearly 80% of all retail outlets in India. It estimates that two out of three Indians use its many home and personal care products, food and beverages. [2]
Lux soap was first launched in India in 1909 as a flaked version of Sunlight soap . Subsequently it was launched in the US in 1916, and marketed as a laundry soap targeted specifically at 'delicates'. The name "Lux" was chosen as the Latin word for "light" and because it was suggestive of "luxury." [3] Lux toilet soap was introduced as a bathroom soap in the US in 1925, and in the UK in 1928 as a brand extension of Lux soap flakes. Subsequently Lux soap has been marketed in several forms, including handwash, shower gel and cream bath soap. Lux soap was launched in India in 1929. The very first advertisement in 1929 featured Leela Chitnis as its brand ambassador. It was branded in India as "the beauty soap of film stars'
In 2005 Lux celebrated its 75th anniversary sparking of a controversy. Deviating its tradition of roping in Bollywood Divas , this time none other than Shah Rukh Khan endorsed Lux. The ads created instant controversy with marketers discussing whether the brand has suddenly become MALE. Paul Newman also has endorsed Lux soap which shows that Lux makes such stunts to excite the market. Whatever be the controversy, the brand again succeeded in creating excitement in the market. Some argue that HLL was testing a new positioning to appeal to male users while others say that it was a one time endorsement to break the clutter. For marking the 75th year Lux came out with a celebration range endorsed by Kareena Kapoor . The Celebration range too created news because of its variant :Chocolate Seduction. These innovative products created lot of excitement that ensured that Lux remained in the top of mind of the consumers. Another vari
Over these years, the positioning of Lux also evolved. Earlier the brand used the positioning " Beauty soap of Film stars" . But as the customer evolved, the positioning lost its charm because customers began to doubt whether the film stars actually used this brand. The brand had 2 choices :- either to compromise on market share and uphold the premium positioning or to retain the market share and dilute the positioning.
Taking a cue from the customers, Lux changed the positioning . The new positioning is communicated with the tagline " Bring out the star in you".Although worldwide the brand is being endorsed by film stars, the actual package usually contains picture of international models and not film stars.
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