Marketing Project

A PROJECT ON MARKET SEGMENTATION, TARGETING & POSITIONING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• HISTORY (LAKME) • COMPANY BACKGROUND • PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

• ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS INTERNAL - SWOT EXTERNAL - PESTLE • SEGMENTATION, TARGETING & POSITIONING • CONCLUSION

SKIN CARE PRODUCTS

Mr. Anil Chopra, Business Head, Lakme

HISTORY Half a century ago, as India took her steps into freedom, Lakme, India's first beauty brand was born. At a time when the beauty industry in India was at a nascent stage, Lakme tapped into what would grow to be amongst the leading, high consumer interest segments in the Indian industry – that of skincare and cosmetic products. Armed with a potent combination of foresight, research and constant innovation, Lakme has grown to be the market leader in the cosmetics industry. Even today, when most multinational beauty products are available in India, Lakme still occupies a special place in the hearts of Indian women.

Lakmé is an Indian brand of cosmetics. In 1998 Tata sold off their stakes in Lakmé Lever to HLL, for Rs 200 Crore (45 million US$), and went on to create Trent and Westside. Lakme also started its new business in the beauty industry by setting up Lakme Beauty Salons all over India. Now HUL (Hindustan Unilever Limited) has about 110 salons all over India providing beauty services.

COMPANY BACKGROUND Lakmé is an Indian brand of cosmetics, owned by Unilever. Lakme started as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills (Tomco), part of the Tata Group; it was named after the French opera Lakmé, which itself is the French form of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, also renowned for her beauty. Indian cosmetic Lakme was started in 1952, famously because then the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was concerned that Indian women were spending precious foreign exchange on beauty products, and personally requested JRD Tata to manufacture them in India. Simone Tata joined the company as director, and went on to become its chairman. And in 1998 Tata sold off their stakes in Lakmé to HLL.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

LAKME SKIN CARE 1) Sunscreen Lotion (Sun Expert Sun Protection Lotion with SPF 15) - A 100% oil-free formulation that protects normal skin from 70% of skin problems. Specially formulated for Indian skin that tans easily, new Lakme Sun Expert has SPF 15 to prevent tanning and block out harmful effective rays. 2) Lakme Matt effect Purifying Face Wash - The primary step of a good skin care schedule is cleansing. It removes the dirt, impurities and excess oil that clog your skin's pores and cause blackheads and acne. Cleansing is recommended twice daily and is available in the form of gels and foams. 3) Lakme Pure Defense Detoxifying Facial Wash -With powerful antioxidants, Lakme pure Defense Detoxifying Facial Wash deep cleansers impurities from the outer surface of your skin. 4) Lakme Intense Body Milk - Enriched with the righteousness of sweet almond extracts and honey, Lakme Intense Body Milk provides generous nourishment for your whole body.

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS



INTERNAL ANALYSIS SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH HIGH QUALITY MANPOWER RESOURCES BRAND NAME VAST RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL UNILEVER GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITY POPULAR PARENT COMPANY

WEAKNESSES HIGH SERVICES COSTS USE OF HARD CHEMICALS ONLY FOR WOMEN

OPPORTUNITIES BRAND GROWTH THROUGH INCREASED CONSUMPTION DEPTH GROWTH IN BUSINESS OF BEAUTY SALOONS LAKME BEAUTY TRAINING ACADEMY IN MUMBAI, CHENNAI DELHI. LAKME FASHION WEEK CAN TRY FOR NEW VERSIONS OF BEAUTY PRODUCTS

AND

NEW

THREATS AGGRESSIVE

PRICE

COMPETITION

FROM

LOCAL

AND

PLAYERS

AVAILABILITY OF CHEAP BEAUTY PRODUCTS REPORTS REGARDING PRESENCE OF LEAD IN LIPSTICKS COMPETETION FROM AYURVEDIC & HERBAL PRODUCTS

MULTINATIONAL



EXTERNAL ANALYSIS – PESTLE

THE CONCEPT OF PERSONALITY GROUPS (CULTURAL) :

Women always appreciate if someone calls them beautiful and it has become the custom of the society to see women in such a context. So it would be prudent to say that according to the societal norms a women has to look good at all times and which has a bearing on the psychology of female consumers towards cosmetic products which help them achieve that desired look. Needless to say that Lakme plays on the concept of women wanting themselves to be appreciated for their beauty and being loved for that.

CONCEPT OF PERCEPTUAL (ECONOMICAL):

SELECTION

Lakme has tried to gain the attention of its consumers by line extension and having more and more product depth, packaging and attractive print advertisements. If we look at the line extensions of Lakme than we would observe that it is in almost all the segments of cosmetic care ranging from hair care to skin care to beauty salons! Looking at the product depth it is pretty evident that Lakme has actually tried to fill in all areas that it can. It was the first cosmetic brand in India that captured the imagination of consumers. It had a market share of 52%5 at one time as the consumers didn't have many choices but as the foreign brands came in, it lost its Numero Uno position. This was primarily due to the fact that consumers now had easy access to high quality products and with rising disposable income and size of the Indian middle class consumers shifted their attention to foreign players.

PREVAILING (SOCIAL) :

CONSUMER

ATTITUDE

The prevailing attitude of the consumers regarding Lakme is that it is: •A brand that epitomizes the feminity of Indian women. 30% of the respondents of the in depth interview felt that Lakme has over the years built a brand that has got a special place in the hearts of Indian women. This was attributed to the length and depth of its product mix.

•20% of the respondents feel that Lakme is economical as compared to its competitor foreign brands. This particular aspect has never been harped upon by Lakme in its advertisements. 10% of the respondents felt that Lakme provides them a complete range of cosmetic products. This is in line with what Lakme has been trying to position it as. The various advertisements of Lakme try to tell their consumers that they provide them with a complete solution for their beauty enhancement.

•20% respondents felt that Lakme is not at all a healthy choice in order to keep a healthy and beautiful skin. This is in contrast with its skin care products as they try to tell their consumers that using their skin care products would help them achieve radiant and glowing skin.

SEGMENTATION, POSITIONING



TARGETING

&

SEGMENTATION

1) Demographic In this segment Lakme targeted Females from the age group of 24 – 42 & now they are targeting young women. 2) Geographic – In this Lakme has mainly focused on the urban area. 3) Psychographic In this, women are more concerned about their looks and how they feel about it.So, Lakme has provided them with a wide range of skin care products that has helped them come off their age and now. They are constantly changing their lifestyle & Lakme is constantly innovating to match up with their wants. Lakme has targeted nearly the whole of INDIA based on these different types of segmentation because of the fact that Indian women in general do not have a fair skin like that of their western counterparts. Thus it becomes natural for Indian women to try and look good and use beauty products that help enhance their looks and style. With globalization and liberalization of Indian economy and the changing demographics and income levels there is more and more concern to look good as today's Indian woman is no longer confined to her home but is a

big contributor to the growth of Indian economy.



TARGETING & POSITIONING

As we mentioned above that Lakme was originally a TATA company. Lakme Unilever Limited which was a 50:50 joint venture of Lakme and HUL was formed in 1995. Finally, in 1998, HUL acquired the remaining 50% stake to make Lakme a completely HUL brand. Lakme offers both skin care and cosmetics products. It has a wide variety of products which includes products for lips, nails, eyes, face and skin. Most of the Lakme ads feature beautiful girls who woo guys with their Lakme-cared lips, nails or skin. The tagline of the brand is: ‘On Top of the World’. Just to prove the point that the fashion oriented premium position of the brand has not changed over the last 20 years. It tries to position itself amongst its consumers as a product range that will help them look beautiful as is evident from its catch phrases: 1. On top of the world. 2. Source of radiant beauty. Positioning strategies for Lakme include the following characteristics to determine its personality: Positioning by corporate identity: As lakme is now a completely owned subsidy of HUL, it was able to position itself well in the market due to the name and goodwill of its parent company. Positioning by attribute and benefits: Lakme was the first cosmetic company launched in India. Therefore, it had a greater hand to position itself well in the Indian market, it included attributes and benefits like:

•Someone who takes care of your beauty needs. •A long lasting beautification product range. •Something that is not harsh on your body or harmful for your beauty. •A product that helps you get a beautiful skin. •A cosmetic product that you can wear for the entire day and not a special occasion. •Someone who tells you right things about looking good. •It's an Indian cosmetic brand. •It covers all facets of beauty care for women. The following factors of Lakme's personality help in differentiation of its products from the Competition: •It covers all facts of beauty care. •It helps arm the consumer with products to pamper her from head to toe i.e. a complete product range. •The quality of its products which can be only gauged by the consumer perception of the brand. •India's first beauty brand and is there for a long time in the market (since independence). However, most of the other foreign brands have come only lately. Marketing Mix ( the 4p's of marketing ) Marketing mix which is one of the main factors of marketing, has become most necessary for any organization to grow and survive. Marketing mix is among the famous marketing term and covers basic elements of tactical components of marketing plan. Four P’s of marketing need to think before applying any marketing strategy to any business segment. Marketing mix moreover describes the

strategic position of product in market. PRODUCT We have mentioned the Lakme Skin Care products above in the Product Description part. Lakme developes and manufactures its products to satisfy particular needs of society at large. The product range that Lakme Skin care has to offer are as follows: 1) Sunscreen Lotion 2) Lakme Matt effect Purifying Face Wash 3) Lakme Pure Defense Detoxifying Facial Wash 4) Lakme Intense Body Milk Lakmé also has a wide range of products in color cosmetics that bring visible results. To add to this vast is a range of specialized skin care products for the discerning women. Keeping skin looking healthy and glowing is also a part of looking great. Lakmé provide the complete package with the skin care range and the wide range of colors to spice up the look. New Products and services •Silky skin LAKME has launched Lakme Strawberry Silk Crème with strawberry extracts... Lakme has been the pioneer in the skincare category in and launched the first moisturising lotion over 20 years ago. •Lakme Sun Expert Sunscreen for oily skin A unique, water-based, lightweight sunscreen that's

non-greasy and prevents 70% of skin damage. •Lakme Skin Brightening Gel For After Sun Use Rehydrate and revive your skin with new 100% oil-free Lakme Skin Brightening Gel. •Feast for face LAKME has introduced Lakme Face Magic -Daily Wear Souffle. Natural Marble for medium skin and Natural Shell for dusky skin. PRICE Price is the second component of marketing mix and can be determined by company based on various economical factors and cost of production and marketing. Price is what consumers actually pay for product in marketing mix. Lakme has priced its products reasonably for Indian customers. They have a vast range of products which are priced differently and cater to all types of customers in the country. Indian women are price cautions and they want value for money and they also spend wisely, they avoid experimenting and therefore taking the above things into consideration, Lakme makes sure that they provide the best quality in the best possible price, hence leaving behind their competitiors. PLACE Costumers will purchase the product from place where it is located. Place in markeing mix can be seen as distribution channel and cover physical store as well as virtual store on internet. There are two categories of channels of distribution

Prestige - Department stores, specialty stores and chain department stores. Broad - food stores, cosmetic discounters, warehouse clubs, and mass merchandisers.

Lakme is a product range that caters to the beautification needs of not only women in their adult age but in today's context teenagers also. It has a brand personality of someone who takes care of you and your beauty needs. It tries to position itself amongst its consumers as a product range that will help them look beautiful as is evident from its catchphrases: 1. On top of the world! 2.Source of radiant beauty. Lakme Skin Care Products are easily available. From departmental stores to big retail stores like Shopper's Stop, etc. will have Lakme Products available with them. Malls have a special demonstration of the products for the customers who are willing to buy the products. PROMOTION The fourth component of marketing mix covers way of communications being used by marketers to convey product message in a marketplace. There various ways to promote product by means of word of mouth, advertising, public relation and point of sale. PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES It is identified by five different marketing methods:

•Direct Sales •Direct Mail/TV/Print •Free Standing Store •Health Food Stores •Salons Purpose of Promotion To increase customer awareness both of the products and knowledge about the products desirable features and benefits. Elements of Promotion 1. Personal selling - Lakme uses personally selling as a very important aspect of promotion. The demonstration of products and making sure that the customers try experimenting with the new products are done through personal selling. 2. Advertising- Lakme advertises its products on a regular basis, they use celebrities like Yana Gupta, Indrani Das Gupta, etc for their advertising campaigns. The medium of advertising is print media like newspapers, magazines and television. 3. Direct Marketing- Lakme has kept in touch with their customers through mails, telephone and non-personal contact tools. They take feedbacks from their specific customers and try providing them with what they want. 4.Trail and service promotion- The demonstration of their products and services that they provide at various malls and also the discounts that they offer on their products is a part of this promotion. They have offers such as A small 30ml tube of the new Skin brighting gel free

with the Sunscreen lotion. 5. Sponsorship- They support certain events or people for their promotion and to come in the eyes of every possible consumer like the Lakme fashion week, etc. OBJECTIVES OF PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY 1. To provide information and educate the customers 2. To increase demand and usage of the products. 3. To differentiate the products. 4. To stabilize existing activity levels