The Deodorant Market in India - Final (2)

THE DEODORANT MARKET IN INDIA The deodorant market in India is considered to be in its nascent form. It falls under the personal care category which is worth Rs 90,336 crore. Men‟s deodorants occupy 60% of market share in the deodorant market. HUL is the market leader and holds 31.5 % of the market share. AXE is its flagship deodorant brand aimed at males with a very unique advertising technique. Other brands include Rexona and Dove.

SEGMENTATION The colour chart below indicates segment variables exclusive to a product or common among two or more products. Axe Axe + Rexona

Rexona

Dove

Axe + Dove

Rexona + Dove

Axe + Rexona + Dove Based on Age

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Based on Sex

Based on Income

Based on Lifestyle

2

Based on Socio Economic Class

TARGET SEMENT OF AXE

REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE SEGMENT When AXE was launched in India in 1999 by HUL, they carried out an intensive market research to figure out their target market. They chose the target segment because the male population of India was greater than the female population, so there was a lot of scope in the untapped market of men‟s deodorants. They decided to target men aged 18-28 as they were vulnerable to attraction and sought attention from the opposite sex. Aspirers and Seekers were targeted because of their increasing abilities to spend on lifestyle products. For this reason, HUL even priced Axe at affordable prices.

OTHER BRANDS BY THE SAME COMPANY IN THE PRODUCT CATEGORY The given table mentions the other two brands- Rexona and Dove, launched by HUL in the product category of deodorants along with their respective target segments.

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To confirm the perception regarding views on deodorants a survey was carried out to identify the segments and preferences. A total of 170 people responded to the survey

40 30 20

Series1

10 0

Exhibit 1: The percentage of people according to age groups who use deodorants

The target market (18-28 years) was chosen as most of the people in this age group buy deodorants. Value for Brand money Value 8% 11%

AntiPerspiran t 14%

Strong Fragrance 19% LongLasting 48% Exhibit 2: The most important characteristic of a deodorant

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Series1

Exhibit 3: The Percentage of people who prefer various brands

For majority of the people (48%) the most important characteristic for buying a deodorant is that it should be a long lasting deodorant. Strong fragrance is the most important characteristic sought by only 19% of the people. Yet we observe from exhibit 3 that Axe is the deodorant bought by maximum number of people. This can be probably due to people equating strong fragrance with long lasting. 4

MESSAGE COMMUNICATION The message communicated to the target is that the fragrance of Axe deodorants drives women crazy. The implication is that the male who uses axe deodorants has an edge in the mating game. For this purpose a lot of advertisement is done- TV, print and internet. All the Advertisements have a sexual undertone. TV and Internet are the primary media. HUL has launched Axe games to lure in the younger internet users in association with Zapak games. To boost sales Axe has recently slashed prices from Rs.150 to Rs.125. The advertisement for the same shows a girl cutting her dress really short. The advertisement line is “Because Axe men like it less”.

POSITIONING Axe has been positioned as a cool, iconic, youth brand since its launch in India in 1999 and is the largest selling Men‟s Deodorant in the country. Perceived as a brand with a very strong fragrance, Axe enjoys the position of a fashionable, stylish and naughty deodorant. Axe can be positioned relative to its competitors in the product category on a variety of factors. The comparative study of the competitors as per the factors of competitiveness can be illustrated as follows. COMPETITIVE FACTORS FRESHNESS

AXE

WILD STONE

OLD SPICE

BRUT

ADIDAS

PARK AVENUE

CINTHOL

LONG LASTING STRONG FRAGRANCE ANTI PERSPIRANT

Axe deodorants are not anti-perspirant but still enjoy popularity in the market because of its communication strategies and the strong fragrance. This can be further illustrated by the survey results. Exhibit 3 shows the brand preference of a sample of people chosen randomly. The points of difference for Axe are- “Weapons of Seduction” as well as its corrugated screw caps. Axe in contrast to its competitors is perceived as a brand that is high on the „attraction quotient‟. HUL‟s scientific research has proven „Spray more, Get more‟ and thus, it urges its customers to spray more to get the desired effect. Whereas, other deodorants have pull up caps on their bottles, Axe clearly establishes itself as a comfortable, easy to use brand with its innovative packaging. The points of parity include delivery by aerosol spray, anti-odour properties and strong fragrance.

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The positioning statement of Axe can be given as - Among young males (aged 18-28), Axe is a brand of deodorants that helps you to attract the fairer sex because of its strong seductive fragrance. The perceptual map developed for Axe based on a sample survey further reinstates the same statement. The perceptual map has been drawn on two variables- fragrance and lasting time, which were the most sought after features in a deodorant by the customers (as per the survey).

As can be seen, Axe stands very high on fragrance variable though it does not last for a very long time. It faces close competition from Wild Stone and Set Wet which have similar features as those of Axe. On the other extreme, expensive deodorants such as Park Avenue and Tommy Hilfiger have a mild fragrance but last for a longer time duration. These deodorants are preferred by men above 28 years of age who avoid strong fragrances. Another segment is catered to by Old Spice and Gillette which last for a long time as well as have a strong smell and are primarily preferred by men with an active lifestyle.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Market Forecast & Indicators- Volume 1 2010-20 Consumer Voice August 2009 The Marketing Whitebook 2007-08

Marketing Management 13th edition : Kotler, Kelly, Koshy, Jha http://www.theindiastreet.com/2008/11/the-battle-of-the-deodorants.html http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Marketing1/Unilever%20in%20India-BrandMarketing%20Case%20Studies.htm www.hul.com

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