Life Bouy

Introduction:
Life bouy is one of the oldest brand of HUL & positioned as health & hygiene soap. Life bouy was introduced in 1895 as a disinfectant soap especially when the country was severely affected by diseases like typhoid plague & yellow fever !nly soap brand to cross 1"" """ tones of sales in a single year. #he $rick %ed &oap with its beautiful 'ingle have carried the (essage of health across the length and breadth of the country (aking it the largest selling soap brand in the world )arketing (i* +roduct +rice +lace &trong distribution channel (ainly targeted rural (arket. .""" suppliers 8" factories /5 0 & 1 agents /""" stockiest 1( direct outlet 2.3 ( total outlet #argeted lower & (iddle inco(e group (ainly the rural consu(ers )oved on to high prices following the process of trading-up Launched as carbolic red disinfectant soap ,nitially (eant only for health & hygiene &trong $rand ,(age. )oved on to freshness beauty care nature care & deodorant

+ro(otion ,nitially positioned as a (ale brand then (oved on to fa(ily brand 0&% works - health progra(s for pro(otion to (ake people aware about health & hygiene %aised 4#andrusti5 slogan in 199. 6oi darr nhi in ."". 7asi( 8kra( to endorse Lifebuoy as celebrity endorse(ent

+ositioning Lifebuoy is positioned as a co(plete fa(ily health soap. 0oncept- health for the entire fa(ily #agline- 46oi darr 9ahi5 8lso positioned as a value-for-(oney product a soap that lasts long %ecently Lifebuoy also started using : ensure cleanliness and hygiene for the entire co((unity. ;lobally its positioned as a disinfectant.<a bar soap keeps u away fro( ger(s=

+ackaging #he packaging of Life buoy has changed fro( that of hard cover wrapper specifically for (en to soft cover for the fa(ily ,n ."". : Lifebuoy (oved fro( being a hard soap to a (ild soap - delivering a significantly superior bathing e*perience #he new soap painted its pro(ise of health in softer (ore versatile and responsible hues >for the entire fa(ily

PLC (Product Life Cycle)

Product life cycle is the stages over which a product develops & affects the sales and profits over ti(e. #he five stages of each product lifecycle are? +roduct develop(ent ,ntroduction ;rowth )aturity @ecline.

Life $ouy Introduction Stage of the PLC

1895 - 193" 1895 lifebuoy started its 'ourney in ,ndia. #argeting ,ndian blue collared as effective disinfectant. &uccessfully accepted with pro(ise that it kills ger(s and keeps body healthy ,n 1911 went global.

)arketing strategies +roduct strategy- 0arbolic soap. +rice and pro(otion strategy-%apid penetration. @istribution strategy-0oncentrated distribution strategy.

Growth Stage of the PLC

1931-1929 $y 1931 de(and for lifebuoy increased. Launched officially & 0aptured huge (arket share. 1923 the lifebuoy was (ost popular body soap in ,ndia. 4lifebuoy special5 launched as a line e*tention< failed due to unclear positioning=. 192A- ranked 1 a(ong the top 5 private sector fir(s<turnover of 93..8 billion 2 factories & A""" e(ployees= . 8dvertising efforts are li(ited Bn'oyed )onopoly.

Marketing strategies +roduct strategy : ,ntroduction of new (odels. +rice and pro(otion strategy : +enetrating +ricing<rapid penetration= @istribution &trategy- increase in distribution coverage

Maturity Stage of the PLC

1 !"#1

$ $y 19A" sales grown but at lower rate 7itnessed sCueeDe in sales records 29E as (arket share. ,ncreased 0o(petition <+&;= Unilever entered in (arket. ,n 19AA +&; used sa(e (arketing strategy and beco(e .nd largest seller. ,n 198" #F ads used for pro(otion. ,n 199" &oap industry witnessed rapid growth due to product awareness as well as choice in selection. LifebuoyGs (onopoly was challenged by co(petitors.

Marketing Strategies +roduct strategy : +roduct )odification +rice & +ro(otion &trategy :+enetration +ricing @istribution &trategy : 1ocus !n +rofitable &eg(ent & focus on ,(portant 0hannels !f @istribution

%ecline Stage of the PLC

$ & 'ill now $y 1992 (arket share fell to /5E. $y 1999 ,nco(e level increased consu(er preferred to but e*pensive soap. $y .""1 (arket share fell to /" E and later "n 3".25E Low pricing results perception that lifebuoy is only for poor people and those who belong to the lower (iddle class thought by urban people. %e'uvenate its lifecycle

(e)u*enate %epositioning the brand with several new product. B*tend life cycle of the brand it adopted a strategy of brand re'uvenation. $acked by High 8dvertise(ents $udgets it in'ected new products targeting higher seg(ent of +akistani (arket. HLL launched Hlifebuoy 8ctiveG. +ositioning &hift fro( a H(ale brandG to a 4fa(ily $rand5.

Ca+,aigns and ,ro+otional acti*ities

Lifebuoy has launched 4save the children5 ca(paign. Lifebuoy conducts 4global hand washing day5 Lifebuoy launched 4the lifebuoy way of life5 in +akistan ,n .""3 sales grew up by ."E. ,n .""5 goodwill increased & sales grew by 1"E. ,n .""2 Lifebuoy beco(es 1st brand to have a special postal cover used for pro(otion. HUL holds 2/E (arket share.

Li+itations of PLC Like hu(ans products do not have a very predictable life so the concept of +L0 is not well suited for forecasting of product sales. ,t yields a product oriented picture rather than a (arket oriented picture. +L0 (ay beco(e self fulfilling (eans if sales peak & then decline (anagers (ay (isinterpret it as decline phase & therefore cut the advertising budget and thus (aking a further decline.