Surf Excel

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Report on

SURF

Submitted to: Prof. R Kamley

Submitted By: Mudit Srivastav (2010123) Neha Agarwal (2010131) Piyush Ranjan (2010148) Pratyush Singh (2010150) [Pick the date]

History Hindustan Unilever introduced surf in 1959, introducing the first detergent powder into the country. At that time,housewives used laundry soap bars to wash clothes. surf offered them a significantly better clean,with much less effort. the promise of "superlative whitness"-the articulation of a great clean at the time, connected with consumers and helped to establish the brand. It Introduced a novel concept of bucket wash to housewives who up till now used to washing clothes with laundry soap bars. Surf was the first national detergent brand on TV; the brand used TV to effectively educate their consumers on how to use detergent powders in a bucket for a better wash. It is advertised on more than 300 channels across the globe .

Indian detergent market(competitive scenario)

The first companies to manufacture detergents in India were HLL and Swastik. HLL test marketed Surf between 1956 and 1958 and began manufacturing it from 1959. Swastik launched Det, a white detergent powder, in 1957. By 1960, Det had made rapid inroads in eastern India. Surf, a blue detergent powder, became the national

market

leader

with

dominant

positions

in

the

west,

north

and

south.

In the early 1960s, the total volume of detergents manufactured in India grew from around 1600 tonnes to 8000 tonnes. HLL dominated the market with a share of almost 70 % compared to Det's 25%. In 1966, another

player

entered

the

fray.

Tata

Oil

Mills

Company

(TOMCO)

.

In 1973, TOMCO introduced 'Tata's Tej' in the low-priced segment. TOMCO unveiled another economy detergent powder called OK in 1977.

The Eras…(journey of Surf Excel) 1970s The 1970s saw the launch of Nirma powder, now Surf had to communicate the idea of pricevalue equation to its consumers. The brand introduced 'Lalitaji', a no-nonsense, independent, sensible housewife, who understood value and quality, and made the smart choice.

During this period when surf was being upgraded to surf excel, marketer promoted it as a trustworthy brand that cares and looks after the family's clothes. They wanted to endow it with a reliable, secure, and friendly personality to make consumers feel familiar and comfortable with it. The brand was personified by Lalitaji, a middle class housewife, who puts the welfare of the family above all else. Kavita choudhury, who stirred up a storm as a spunky pilot in the television serial "Udaan", acted as Lalitaji, whose character fitted with the image of the brand. Lalitaji protected a distinctive personality and reflected the value of consumers.

Personality used as the brand personality: Lalitaji was shown as a stickler for cleanliness. She wore a dazzling white saree with a blue border-personifying Surf Excel as a tough stain remover and supporting colours associated with the brand. Lalitaji's stern school teacher demeanour, her severe bun, and no nonsense manner projected the fact that Surf Excel was not superfluous and delivered what it promised. Lalitaji ensured that she got the best bargain when she went shopping. Her priority was the welfare of her family and she didnot mind paying more for the benefits of getting the right

quality. This represented the challenge of Surf Excel to tackle Nirma that was winning over the market by sheer price value at seven rupees to surf's twenty-one rupees. She taught women how to shop in 80's. Lalitaji came across tough lady who knew the value of money representing the fact that surf excel is value for money. The camapaign positioned as a cheaper alternative to Surf and as a superior product compared to inferior washing soaps thus becoming a symbol of low priced, good quality detergent. It primarily aimed at the unorganised laundry soap market in the urban and rural areas.

1990s The 1990s saw the emergence of concentrate and mid-price powder segments with the launch of Ariel and Surf Ultra. Surf Ultra was launched to establish a new standard of washing performance, and was introduced with highly memorable 'daag dhoondte reh jaaoge' communication. The campaign was very impactful, and clearly positioned Surf as a top performing brand. The Surf Ultra detergent commercials are known for embracing the concept of a young, positive wife who tenderly reprimands her husband. Consider the popular ad where the husband asks whether his wife really believes that “stain digesters stuff.” The young, goodhumored wife smilingly replies, ‘I don’t just think, I know . . . daag dhoondte reh jaoge.’ (You will keep hunting for the stains).

While concentrates provided the consumers the best clean, there was a growing concern that they would damage clothes. In 1996, Surf redefined this completely when it launched Surf Excel, a variant offering complete cleaning and care – ‘Kadi safai, magar pyar se’. surf Excel had superior formulation and a more distinct packaging than any competitor in the

market. In a category offering complete clean, Surf Excel offered the incremental benefit of care. This led to a phenomenal growth of the brand. Over time, Surf Excel improved and offered to remove the widest range of stains. This progressed into one of the most memorable campaigns in the country ‘Surf Excel hai na!’ It changed the way people had traditionally looked at stains. Tough stains usually bring in anxiety. Here was a brand that said, ‘Relax, there is no need to panic. The solution is right there in the form of Surf Excel’. The sign off line became so popular that it has, over the last few years, become a part of everyday parlance. Surf Excel is the image and market leader in this segment, today. It is the epitome of stain removal – Jaise bhi daag ho, Surf Excel hai na! (Whatever the stain, relax, Surf Excel is there)

A brand building initiative in Mumbai In July 2000, the brand management team at Lowe Lintas, Mumbai, hit upon a novel idea leveraging the lunch dabba network in Mumbai to distribute free Surf Excel-branded tablemats at offices. "All of us have, at one time or another, stained our clothes by dropping food on them while eating lunch at office," explains a Lowe Lintas spokesperson. "This is quite embarrassing, especially when we have to go for a meeting. Also, whenever we eat at office, we are always looking around for a piece of paper to place our lunch boxes on. We saw a need and the branded tablemat idea was born." The fact that Mumbai had a phenomenal delivery mechanism egged Lintas on. The lunch dabba system in Mumbai is a fascinating study in terms of logistics. In fact, Sumantra Ghosal, of the London School of Economics, is attributed to have said that Fedex can draw some lessons from the dabba system in Mumbai. The system is spearheaded by one organization - the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers' Charity Trust - that is in charge of the distribution of the dabbas throughout Mumbai. There are two types of dabba systems in Mumbai; households that make one-to-two dabbas for selfconsumption; and professional suppliers who supply dabbas to customers at various offices.

The dabbawallas, as they are referred to, collect the lunch dabbas from different locations all over Mumbai. All the dabbas are then brought to a central point, from where the dabbawallas take the dabbas for a particular locality to a railway station nearest that locality. For instance, Churchgate Station is a central point for the distribution of dabbas bound for Churchgate, Nariman Point, Fort, Colaba-Cuffe Parade and Ballard Estate. Approximately 110,000 dabbas are distributed everyday. Realizing that it had a cracking idea, the brand team at Lintas approached cartoonist R.K. Laxman to design the tablemat. "This added to the novelty of the tablemat," says the spokesperson. "We figured that if people received a tablemat with R.K. Laxman's drawing on it, they would be less inclined to throw it away. Thus, the branded tablemat would be used again and again." Laxman too liked the idea and agreed to design the mat. Pleased with the way things were going, the agency presented the idea to the Surf Excel Brand Manager at HLL. "He appreciated the idea greatly and was extremely enthusiastic. He gave his go-ahead immediately," says the spokesperson. The mat was designed with the line ‘Kuch Khana, Kuch Girana… Surf Excel Hai Na' to drive home the point. Enlisting the help of the dabbawallas was no problem - they charged Lintas about Rs 1.50 for the distribution of each tablemat. The actual distribution of the tablemats took place in end October, in the areas of Mahalaxmi and Lowe Parel. "The idea was a huge success," gushes the member of the brand team. "When reactions were checked, people were very excited and pleasantly surprised to receive the tablemats along with their dabbas.

2003 In 2003, surf excel was aligned to the global "simpler laundry" platform. the task was to emphasize that surf excel removes tough stains with less effort and less time, a low foam formula meaning less scrubbing and rinsing. this addressed a key concern in the country : a

shortage of water. the brand tied up with eminent celebrities like revathi(south) and shabana azmi to propogate the claim that with Surf Excel wash, you don't just get a stain free clean, you save 2 buckets of water a day as well.To unite the franchise and strengthen brand equity of "Surf Excel", the base "Surf" was re-launched as surf excel blue - a color variant that would remove tough stains but not fade color. It was communicated with a catchy tag line of 'jayega nhi jayega', which became quite famous with the consumers.

In the first week of March 2004, P&G India had drastically slashed the prices of its detergents Ariel and Tide. P&G had reduced the price of a 500 gram pack of Ariel from Rs 70 to Rs 50 - a drop of 28 % and the price of a 500 gram pack of Tide from Rs 43 to Rs 23 - a fall of 45 %. P&G's detergents were expected to reach customers across India within a week of announcement of the price cuts. Within two days, in swift retaliation, HLL slashed the price of its premium brand Surf Excel from Rs 70 to Rs 50 and the price of Surf Excel Blue from Rs 50 to Rs 38 for 500 grams. HLL tried to ensure that the products reached the retail shelves within a day or two of HLL's announcement, thus countering P&G's first mover advantage.

2005 In year 2005, when every detergent brand in the category was grappling for shares with their cliched anti-stain commercials, surf excel broke clutter by adopting stains, thereby adopting the philosophy of Dirt is Good (Daag ache Hain).Based von facets of modern parenting, "Dirt is Good" champons the theory that if a child learns something and gets stained in the process, then those stains are 'good'. They encouraged mothers to let kids get dirty because it's all part of the learning necessary to become well rounded, sucessfull adults. The objective was to reinforce the stain removel capabilities. To make "dirt is Good" truly endearing and meaningful, the stains experiencewas linked to learning of values. All pieces of communication hence, was based on showing why dirt is good through different approaches with the tagline-"agar daag lagne se kuch acha hota hai, toh daag ache hain.

Surf Excel Matic was launched to adress the needs of the fast growing washing machine consumer,delivering machine care with in-machine stain removal

2006….till date In 2006, the brand introduced a detergent bar to the portfolio, and a national camapaign migrating the Rin-Supreme bar to Surf Excel bar was rolled out. the project brought together the stain removel properties of Surf and whitening properties of Rin Supreme in the same bar.The camapaign was based on a 'good news, bad news' platform. Surf Excel had clearly differentiated itself as a premium brand which offers a range of solutions that deliver top clean performance.

The complete Branding strategies of Surf Excel Brand Mission Surf Excel is dealing in the detergent industry, its brand mission is a clean India with out any worries about stains; because it says “Dirt is good”.

Brand Vision “To be a market leader in the detergent industry; and to position itself as the 1st preference in mind of the consumers of detergents, all over the country.”

Brand Philosophy Surf Excel believes that stains are good. This is because when children go out and play and get dirty, they don't just collect stains. They experience life, make friends, share with each other and learn from each other. This helps them get stronger and get ready for the world outside. Stains make our world better. Stains are good

Brand Values  Surf Excel emphasizes on children rights to learn through getting stained “ A Dirt is good Philosophy”: “Surf Excel Says”  Every Child has right to create  Every child has the right to be a child

 Every child has the right to play  Every child has the right to explore  Every child has the right to use their imagination  Every child has the right to express themselves  Every child has the right to join in  Every child has the right to discover their own world  Every child has the right to be spontaneous  Every child has the right to experience life for themselves

Because learning and growing is impossible without doing so, This is why every child has the right to get dirt  Explore, Learn , Grown and Get creative  Surf Excel believes in helping other, this is what they communicate through their different campaigns.  Promotes Education and Learning  Believes in living the life without worries of getting stained  Social and Environmental benefit  Surf Excel follows all the values of the Unilever i-e Integrity, Respect, Team work, and equal growth opportunities  Believe in “ Get more out of life”  Children need time, space and freedom. Time to be themselves, Space to run, Freedom to get dirty.  It has its learning program for the children for building their skills;

Emotional & social Problem-solving Creative Language & communication

Through using Top 5 Splat-Skills:

 Leaf To Leaf  Mimes In Nature  Natural Ruler  Rock Around  Treasure Hunt

Brand Objectives The objectives of the Surf Excel are:  To meet the everyday needs of people everywhere, to anticipate the aspirations of consumers and customers and to respond creatively and competitively with branded products and services, which raise the quality of life.  Top Cleaning Without scrubbing and rinsing effort  Time and Water saving, as with soap many hours are required to get the clothes clean and lot of water is required, while in India , there is insufficiency of water, so Surf Excel’s

objective is to change the ways of work done in life, through its light foaming and stronger clean formula.  Surf Excel’s objective is the availability to every one, ranging from the Surf Excel blue for those consumers who wash clothes with hands; to those who use automatic washing machines, without any discrimination in formula of cleaning clothes  To be available in different price ranges and packaging sizes to include all income level people to experience and adopt Surf Excel in their lives to make the clothes clean easily.  Total commitment to exceptional standards of performance and productivity, to working together effectively and to a willingness to embrace new ideas and learn continuously.

The major areas of focus are as follows:  Sales growth  Revenue  Market positioning  Enhance Market shares  Customer satisfaction  Goodwill & reputation

Brand Name  It was first introduced with name “Surf”, later when the advance formula was adopted; due to intense competition in the market and threat of losing market share, the name was changed as “Surf Excel”, now with new variety in brand, every new addition is

named separately along with “Surf Excel “e-g Surf Excel Blue, Surf Excel Top Matic, Surf Excel Gentle Wash, Surf Excel Quick Wash, Surf Excel Front Matic, and Surf Excel bar.

Brand slogans: Over the years and with the time to time innovations in the brand, Surf Excel has changed its slogan,  aadha kilo Surf ek kilo sadharan powder ke baraabar hai'  iski kharidari me hi samajh dari hai.  daag dhoondte reh jaoge  kadi safai magar pyar se  jaise bhi daag ho, surf excel hai na  Jayega nhi jayega  Daag ache hai

Brand Logo  Surf Excel’s logo has been designed in a very attractive way; the color scheme is pink, orange and blue. A flower type pattern symbolizes the liquid stain and brand name has been written at that stain which shows that the stain can be removed with the following brand. Orange and blue colors have been used to make judgments related to the brightness after using the brand and also the Surf Excel granules colors are white, orange and blue.

Packaging: Over the years, there has been a shift from cartons to polythene bags and emergence of low unit price packs. Previously Surf Excel used to come in container boxes, and now low priced packaging has been introduced which is easy to carry and handle. Packaging has been made in the

same

logo,

fashion as the dominating

in

orange

and

blue color. The

packaging

has

been made in

Orange

and

Blue

here Blue and

orange

colors, color

shows that it cleans the stains from white and colored clothes, but also orange is the color which communicates fun, and as the packaging is attractive so most of the children get attracted to it and they pester their moms to buy it.

Variety Surf Excel is available into different variety range; Surf Excel Blue, Surf Excel Top Matic, Surf Excel Gentle Wash, Surf Excel Quick Wash, Surf Excel Front Matic, and Surf Excel bar.

Quality Surf Excel is very popular among the people for its high quality cleaning power for the every type of stain. Like previously the company emphasized on this main characteristic in the brand slogan i-e “ Jaise bhi daag ho, Surf Excel hai na”.

Size Surf Excel is available in different packaging sizes which are as follows: 25g, 50g, 115sg, 500g, 1kg and 2kg.

Promotion Unilever Limited places their products in local as well as in foreign market. They export directly and indirectly. Unilever promote their products through media, and other trade incentives to distributors and wholesalers. Advertising expenditure of the Surf Excel has been increasing day by day. The product is communicated through various ways, like using print media particularity Newspapers, Electronic media particularly TV channels, web, Electromagnetic media i-e Radio etc. Beside this company promotes the brand by offering free samples, discount offers in special events, arranges events and functions, public relations, stalls, games and reality shows and personal selling.

Points of Parity Point of Parity if compare it with other brands:  Stain Removal: All of the detergent brands are focusing on stain removal.  All the companies including Surf Excel are using emotional appeals.  Focusing on kids and their learning process and to highlight the basic performance (stain removal) of their product.  Whiteness and shine  Packaging & sizes

Points of Difference The points that make Surf Excel Different and stand it out in the race are given below:  Milder but strong active ingredients  Formulated with high quality phosphate builders and multi-active surfactant system to deliver superior cleaning  Color safe bleach system  Enzymes for superior stain removal in washing machines.  Brand association is strong  Tag line is also a plus point i.e., daag to achche hote hain.

Brand Equity

Brand awareness

Perceived quality

Brand loyalty

Brand association

Brand equity of Surf

Brand assets

Excel

Brand Loyalty There is a loyalty that has been inferred from the survey. The result of this loyalty could be that it reduces the competitive action. Whenever the consumers go to the market he straight away goes to Surf Excel. Now the uses of Brand Loyalty to Surf Excel can be  The brand loyal customers can provide exposure to the potential customers with the help of word of mouth.  The customer base increases day by day.  The brand loyalty will help Surf Excel to extend its brand.  They can charge premium prices but they are following the prices as set in the market.  They build strong customer relationships by organizing various events for the children.

Name Awareness Uses of name awareness are  The name of Surf Excel is very easy to pronounce and to memorize. So that’s why it stores in the mind of consumers and comes in their consideration list.  The name makes the purchase decision easy for the consumers.

Perceived Quality As said earlier the perceived quality is high as there is congruity between the company deliverables and the perception of the consumers.

Brand Association Following are the associations people have regarding Surf Excel  Stain Removal.  Power full cleaning.  Good fragrance.  Keeps the colors of clothes bright  Attractive packaging.  Daag to achche hote hain.  Maximum of users focusing on better stain removal.

Mostly through the ads the Brand tries to associate it with dirt. Trying to create an image that there is no harm playing in the dirt and that it is good to allow your children play in the soil and

let them explore their selves. This type of advertising strategy not only creates a brand association but also makes a positioning statement.

Brand asset Brand name and its slogans is very famous among the consumer, which is like an asset for the brand because stain removal and surf will automatically make consumer thinks about the Surf Excel brand. All these factors provide equity to Surf Excel and in the return both the company and the consumers get value from each other.

(Conclusion & Recommendations): Unilever a big giant who owns brands from soup to soap, in this project we are doing brand analysis of Surf Excel which is a famous brand of Unilever. Surf excel is targeting the kids; while the actual user of the detergent is the washers like women, including house wives, moms, sisters etc. Surf Excel is targeting kids through a number of means like by creating interactive, colorful and interesting, story based ads, making more and more funky printed ads, through public relations like arranging different events e-g races, competition, art and fun and game masti, through direct communication using indirect means of targeting. Like inviting the kids to the different parks and indirectly teaching them about the goodness of Surf Excel As regarding the image there is message for the people to avoid on the occasions to restrict “when kids are in situation of doing something extra ordinary”.

They are also positioning as considering the fact of Strong’s competition. They say That children must be free to experience their LIFE for themselves”. They also have targeted kids through creating and communicating value to them like educational programs, rural development programs etc. In shot Surf Excel is making “birth to cradle brand association” and in return getting the loyal and life time value maximizing customers. A survey is done to know about loyalty level mostly consumer for Surf excel was on third place and think Surf Excel as a brand because on answering a question mostly respondents replied to go for other competitive detergent if it is not available in the market. Mostly consumer are loyal with Surf excel also spread positive word of mouth and recommend it to their peers as a best stain removal detergent. Surf Excel found its competitive edge on the basis of its advertising like Dirt is good and targeting kids by different projects for kids. Also it has Milder but strong active ingredients formulated with high quality phosphate builders and multi-active surfactant system to deliver superior cleaning. Surf Excel is providing color safe bleach system and enzymes for superior stain removal in washing machines. Brand judgments about Surf Excel from the consumer is as very credible brand and used this brands because of its superior quality and for its new extension Surf excel matic have high perceived quality as Surf Excel is providing them. Surf Excel is trying to build its brand resonance as the best stain removal and socially as caring brand for children learning abilities. Surf Excel is one of those brands with which consumer has strong association and loyalty level of consumer is very high with this brand and Surf excel is highly advertised and awareness level of this brand is very high among consumers.

Daag lagne se kuch acha ho toh daag ache hai na………