Program & Batch: PGDM 1st year section- E

Term: I
Course Name: Marketing Strategy and Organization
Name of the faculty: Dr. S.R. Singhvi
Title/Topic STP – Surf Excel
Group Number: 9
Group Members: Sr. No. Roll No. Name
1 16FT-002 Aakash Singhal
2 16FN-041 Devesh Jain
3 16MKT-060 GVS Chaitanya
4 16FT-099 Sarthak Arora
5 16MKT-153 Sohail Dev Majumdar
6 16FT-120 Sonal Kulkarni
 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 About the Company

HUL is deeply rooted in India with products used in 9 out of evert 10 households. Having
heritage of more than 30 years, over 35 brands and 20 distinct categories such as soaps,
detergents, skin care and many more. The company has more than 16000 employees and has
an annual turnover of INR 31,425 crores. HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the world’s
leading suppliers of FMCG. It has 67.25% shareholding in HUL

Any given day more than 2 billion people use Hindustan Unilever Product across the globe to
look & feel better and get maximum out of their lives. HUL is consistently thriving hard
having vision to double its current business and launching new products. At the same time,
they are also focusing on sustainable management, reducing environment footprint and
focusing more on social as well as environmental aspects.

The company has multinational expertise as well as deep roots in diverse local cultures.
Company’s five key priorities include the following:

 A better future for children

 A healthier future
 A more confident future
 A better future for the planet
 A better future for framing and farmers.

The company believes on conducting operations with honesty, integrity and openness respecting
human rights and interest of the employees. Being a global company it becomes tricky for them
to obey and adhere to different rules and regulations of different countries and adapt with
different markets around the world.

1.2 About the Product

Laundry care market in India is growing by 9% in current retail value reaching 189 billion in
2015. Overall laundry care is expected to achieve CAGR of around 3% in 2015 and will reach
216.3 billion in 2020.
Laundry care market has following items under its umbrella:
 Carpet Cleaners
 Fabric Softeners
  Laundry Aids
 Laundry Detergents
Laundry detergents is the category that our product falls in. There has been a rise of 10.7% in
CAGR from 2010-2015 in the sales of laundry detergents
. The detergent industry is a vast industry. It consists of various types of detergents such as:
 Automatic Detergents: These detergents product very little or no foam as too much foam
can hamper the washing action. This type of detergent can further be categorized into
following types:
o Powder Detergents: These detergents are available in powder form and must be
mixed with water for stain removal and effective washing. These are used in
washing machines only
o Liquid Detergents: These are in the liquid form and are effective in stain removal
or spot pre-treatment. These are softer on clothes but a little less effective than
powder detergents in washing quality. These are used in washing machines only
and are not suitable for hand washing
o Standard Detergents: These are detergents that have to be mixed in larger quantity
with water for washing clothes. These are milder and hence, more volume is
required for washing purpose
o Concentrated Detergents: These detergents are much stronger than the standard
detergents and a small amount of these are required for effective washing
purposes
 Other Detergents: This category covers all other types of detergents that do not fall under
the category of automatic detergents:
o Bar Detergents: These detergents are available in shape of bar soap and are cheap
detergents. These are used mainly by lower income households or rural
population. The average unit price of bar detergents is growing at the rate of 6%
per annum
o Hand Wash Detergents: These are powder detergents but are used for hand
washing instead of machine washing. These must be soft on hand and should also
dissolve easily in water. The average unit price of hand wash detergents, on the
other hand, is increasing at the rate of 5% per annum
o Fine Fabric Detergents: These detergents are soft on fabric and are used with fine
clothes.
 Top 4 companies have a total market share of more than 73% in 2015. New launches in
laundry care industry are more directed towards targeting urban customers with their high
end premium products. A surge has been witnessed in demand of automatic detergents and
high quality hand wash detergents.

As water scarcity is increasing in many parts of the world, it is the need of the hour as well
as growth opportunity for companies to replace traditional laundry chemicals with new ones
requiring lesser water. As forecasted in coming times, countries like China, India,
Indonesia, USA, South Africa will be among the water stressed countries which is around
50% of global laundry detergent market.

All these events will lead to increase in demand for liquid detergents designed for use in
conventional and high frequency washing machines. This segment is expected to grow at a
Compounded Annual Growth rate of ~7% and this subsequently complementary products
like synthetic polymer will grow at a comparatively slow CAGR of around 3%. The value
rise for the fastest growing category in 2015 has been around 23%.

With increase in disposable income, there is inclination towards taking better care of
expensive clothes. Mainly the demand of fabric softener and other sophisticated products
comes from colder regions of North India and also from some eastern parts during winter
season.
Hand wash still continues to be a dominant method of washing clothes in major part of
India majorly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities (roughly 65% of the whole country), overall there
has been a marginal decline because of increasing use of washing machines and more
hygiene awareness.

The higher participation of women in workforce and subsequently lesser time availability
for household chores will have a positive impact on the sales of washing machines in the
near future. This will lead to decrease in the sales of bar detergents. Although this process
will take time as the disposable income and purchasing power is growing at a moderate rate.

1.3 About the Brand

1.3.1 Journey from Surf to Surf Excel
Surf, the flagship detergent brand of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) was launched in
1959 in India. The virtues of buying expensive ‘Surf’ was expounded by ad man
Alyque Padamsee when he created a commercial for HUL’s flagship detergent brand,
“Surf”. It was unchallenged in the Indian market until it received competition from
“Nirma” in 1969.
 The sparkling white saree-clad Lalita ji taught the difference between “Sasti cheez aur
Achchi cheez” (a cheap product and a good product) to the Indian consumers. Lalita ji
was soon countered by Nirma’s Deepika ji. She urged consumers to use Nirma Super
that offered the same quality and whiteness as offered by the expensive powders. Soon
a detergent war started with an increasing number of parties sparring. Since this battle
of the 1970s, Surf has become a seasoned player taking on challenges from Nirma and
Proctor & Gamble.
P&G entered the market a bit late in 1991 with its detergent brand, Ariel. It was
targeted at the premium segment. Surf had to react to the changing turf and with that
Surf Excel was born. In the early 90s, concentrates and mid-priced powders emerged in
the Indian market.
Surf’s reaction was the launch of Surf Ultra with enzymes technology. It came up with
with a new product and new campaign: “Daag Dhoodhte Reh Jaaoge” (Even if you
search hard, you won’t find stains). The brand has launched several extensions over the
years. Today, the brand’s range includes soap bars, liquid detergents, top-load and
front-load detergent powders.
With the launch of P&G’s Tide in early 2000s, the battle for dominance got a bit
messy. Surf Excel’s sister brand Rin got involved in blatant sparring with Tide in the
media. But HUL and P&G have not let the image of their key brands get sullied and
have maintained their clean appearance. The credibility of both the brands is
sufficienty established.
1.3.2 Surf Excel- The present scenario
Surf excel has a strong local presence in highly competitive and fragmented market. Its
weakness few years before which was of being a high end product is slowly changing
as there is an inclination among target audience to move towards premium products
under laundry care segment.
Most of the products in this category focus on stains removal, dirt removing or
fragrance but Surf Excel has this point of differentiation that it focuses on care for
fabrics including ‘smart stain sensors’ in its product.
Surf’s excel aggressive promotion has been a major reason and primarily the backbone
for its success. They use various platforms like Electronic Media Advertisements,
campaigns like “Daag Achhe Hai” (Dirt is good), promotional activities like
organizing Art competitions and also various social activities
 2. CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS (PRIMARY RESEARCH)

2.1 Questionnaire For Consumer Survey

1. How do you clean your Laundry? 9. The quantity of product that you require
a. Detergent per month
b. Bar a. <100 gm
c. Liquid Soap b. 100-500 gm
c. 500-1000 gm
2. Number of family members d. >1000 gm
a. 2 10. How did you come across this product?
b. 3 a. TV advertisement
c. 4 b. Word of mouth
d. More than 4 c. Friends/family/neighbours
d. Co-worker
3. Who decides/influences what to buy? e. Salesmen
a. Home maker f. Newspaper
b. Husband g. Social Media/ Internet
c. In laws h. Others-
d. Yourself (if Single)
11. How long have you been using the
4. How do you wash your clothes? product?
a. Washing Machine a. <1 yr
b. Hand wash b. 1-5 yr
c. Dhobi c. >5yr

5. If you use washing machine, what kind of 12. What made you buy this product?
washing machine do you use? a. Effective cleaning
a. Semi-automatic b. Fragrance
b. Fully-automatic c. Price
d. Packaging
6. Which detergents do you use? e. Size
a. Surf Excel f. Machine friendly/Hand wash
b. Tide g. Less water consumption/ Sustainable
c. Rin
d. Wheel 13. Has the product surprised you in any
e. Ghari ways?
f. Others- a. Yes, attractive offers
b. Yes, new technology
7. If Surf Excel, which brand do you use? c. No
a. Surf Excel quick wash (Orange)
b. Surf Excel matic 14. Are you likely to switch to other brand if
c. Surf Excel Easy Wash (blue) you get better technologies or offers?
a. Yes
8. Where did you buy this product? b. No
a. Retail
b. Groceries 15. Would you recommend this product to
c. Hypermarket others?
d. Online store a. Yes
b. No
 16. If switching, then which brand?
_________________________
17. Reason for switching brand?
a. Price
b. Performance
c. Technology
d. Marketing/Advertisement
e. Others-

2.2 Primary Data Analysis

The questionnaire that was prepared was used to conduct a survey in the neighbourhood market.
This survey provided some insights into the consumer behaviour. An analysis, on the basis of the
survey, is given below:
Total number of people surveyed= 45
2.2.1 Washing method distribution

Graph 2.1: Percentage Distribution of washing method based on survey

Table 2.1: Distribution of washing method based on

survey

Washing Style No of People

Fully-Automatic 17
Semi-Automatic 15
Hand Wash 13
Grand Total 45
 Analysis: Under the regions surveyed and people targeted, a decent amount of higher
class proportions are using fully automatic machines (Refer to Graph 2.1 and Table
2.1). This is mainly due to rise in working culture where both male and female in a
family goes for work and has very less time for household chores like washing clothes
and cleaning dishes. A large segment of upper class people when interviewed also told
that they refrain from giving their clothes to washer man because they doubt the quality
of detergent used by them. So they prefer washing clothes using high end quality
detergents as these are promising from usage perspective as well.
With increase in disposable income there is slight increase in buying behaviour of
consumers and market for washing machines is on a constant rise. This will
subsequently lead to increase in usage of powder and liquid based detergents.

2.2.2 Age based user consumption statistics

User Consumption Statistics (Based on age)

12

10
No of People

<100
6
100-500

4 500-1000
>1000
2

0
15-25 25-40 40-60 60+
Age Group
Table : Distribution of people for various washing
methods
Graph 2.2: Consumption distribution in different age groups

Analysis: People in the age group of 25-40 are more inclined to buy larger volumes
because of larger family size, small aged children, thus more washing of clothes.
Bachelors or single working professionals are more inclined towards buying smaller
quantity of detergents or small bars because of irregular usage (Refer to Graph 2.2)
 Table 2.2: Age-wise Distribution of Brands

Brand

Age Group

Rin Surf Excel Tide wheel Others

15-25 2 6 3 2 1
25-40 4 9 1 3 3
40-60 1 2 2 2
60+ 1 2 1

Age Wise Distribution of Brands

10
9
8
7
No of Persons

6 15-25
5
25-40
4
3 40-60
2 60+
1
0
Rin Surf Excel Tide wheel Others
Brand

Graph 2.3: Age wise distribution of brand in the survey

People in the age group 15-25 are very much influenced by advertisements and have the habit of
trying new products, these are young working class people generally less conscious towards
spending habits (Refer to Graph 2.3 and Table 2.2).

People of age group 25-40 start having a settled life and having children. They also have good
disposable income thus generally go for high end products like Rin & Surf (Refer to Graph 2.3 and
Table 2.2).

People of age group more than 40 stop changing brands. They are not adaptable to changes and
prefer sticking to 1 brand maintaining uniformity (Refer to Graph 2.3 and Table 2.2).

2.2.3 Occupation-wise distribution of detergents

Analysis: Surf excel is mainly bought by service class professionals working in
different high income sectors like banking, IT, Data Analyst etc. These people have a
good disposable income and enjoy a good lifestyle. Lower income people like
watchman, housemaids, tea-vendors general go for cheaper products like Ghari and
Nirma. Main differentiating factor for them is the price. (Refer to Table 2.3)
 Table 2.3: Occupation-wise distribution of various Detergents
Surf Grand
Occupation Ariel Fena Ghari Nirma Rin Tide Wheel
Excel Total
Business 1 2 2 2 2 9
Home Maker 1 2 3 2 8
Private 1 1
Student 2 3 1 6
Teacher 3 3
Lower Class Working People 1 2 2
Service Class 1 1 2 6 1 3 14
Retired Persons 1 1 2
Grand Total 2 1 1 3 8 19 4 7 45

2.3 Conclusions From Consumer Survey:

The survey conducted above have been helpful for us in drawing some insights about the Surf
Excel brand. Three main conclusions that we could draw from our survey were:
 People could relate well to Surf Excel and in fact, in some cases it even turned out to be
the synonym for detergent. But as far as the sub-brands within Surf Excel are concerned,
they have not done a very good job. People were not able to identify with the sub-brands
such as Quick Wash, Easy Wash etc. They were not able to associate with the special
attributes or particular purpose of each sub-brand, and only identified the sub-brand with
colour (Orange and Blue).
 Surf Excel introduced sachets aggressively for the consumers who consumed less
quantity of detergents and to attract lower middle and lower income class people.
However, it was found in the survey that people still found Surf Excel as a costly
product. Lower middle income and lower income groups still go for cheaper washing
solutions like Nirma, Wheel etc.
 People who brought surf excel also stated that they wanted fragrance variants of the
brand. This attribute was found to be an important differentiating factor between other
competitors such as Ariel, Tide etc. and Surf Excel. All of these detergents are available
in various fragrances like Talcum powder, Jasmine etc.
 3. SEGMENTATION

Segment, a division which behaves in a similar way or has similar needs, can be created in detergent
market on various factors. Segments that have been identified for the detergent market are:

3.1 Demographic Segmentation

Table 3.1: Demographic Factors for Segmentation

Age Income Marital Status Gender Region

15-25 Rich Class (Global Indians) Single Female Rural
25-40 Upper Middle Class (Strivers) Married Male Urban
40-60 Lower Middle Class (Seekers)
60+ Lower Class (Aspirers)

3.1.1 Age: It is an important demographic factor upon which detergent market can be
segregated. Marketer should be clear about the age segment which he/she targets.
Detergent market segmentation on the basis of age can be done as following:
 15-25 years: People in this age group are generally students or young working
professionals. Out of this division, the % of people who will wash their own clothes
will be staying away from their homes. This can be because of two reasons:
Firstly, they might be staying in hostel for studies
Secondly, they might be staying away from their homes in their jobs
These people lead a dynamic life. They wash their clothes, either themselves or
through a maid. They are looking for easy and quick washing solutions and might even
be inclined towards cheap washing solutions.
 25-40 years: People in this age group are generally working professional who are
married and might even have a family to look after. They generally lead a stable life.
This age group requires detergent in larger quantity as compared to the previous
segment and hence, the marketer can target this aspect of the consumer. Also, this
segment has the highest persons in population division which makes this segment a
good prospect for volume consumption
 40-60 years: People in this age group lead a settled life. They have families which
increases their requirements in terms of quantity. They have the most stable life of all
age segments.
 60+ years: People in this segment usually have various constraints. They might face
budget constraints, age constraints (such as ailments like arthritis) etc. They require
quick and easy solutions for effective washing of clothes.
3.1.2 Income: The Indian population is divided into various classes based on their income
levels. We have classified segments based on their annual disposable incomes in the
country as following:
 Rich Class (Global Indians): Households in this class have large income (Rs 10
lakhs +) and usually include senior corporate executives, large business owners, big
agricultural owners and top tier professionals. Clothes of households that fall in this
class are expensive and require better care. People in this category have high
disposable income and hence, potential for laundry care material such as fabric
softeners, high quality detergents is high in this market.
 Upper Middle Class (Strivers): Households in this class (Rs 5-10 lakhs +) are
considered well off. This includes established professionals, senior government
officials, medium-scale industrialists and rich farmers in villages. These people use
detergents for washing through washing machines. A great rise in the trend of washing
machine within this class is the use of automatic washing machines.
 Lower Middle Class (Seekers): Households in this class (Rs 2-5 lakhs) are employed
over various sectors. These include mid-level government officials, medium-scale
traders and business people etc. People in these household prefer a low cost washing
solution that satisifies their needs. They don’t go for cheap laundry care products but
for medium range laundry products.
 Lower class (Aspirers): Household in that constitute this class (Rs 90,000- 2 lakhs)
struggle to live a comfortable life but they do not fall in the category of the deprived.
They look for cheap laundry care solutions so as not to upset the tight budget
constraint upon them. People in these categories do not care about the additional
aspects of a laundry product, such as fragrance, fabric softeners, but expect a
minimum level of cleansing from their laundry product.

3.1.3 Marital Status: The market can be segmented on the marital status of an individual as
well. This attribute is important to understand various factors as following:
 Single: A person who is single will have less usage of detergent. He/ she might fall in
any of the above segments also but some attributes will remain constant for this
segment.
People in this segment will always look for a quick solution for washing clothes. They
will not look at their budget while buying detergents because their usage will be low.
Moreover, if these people are living alone then they will not use a washing machine as
it will increase the cost of living for them. Washing, in such cases, will be through
hands or will be delegated to local washerman (dhobi) on most occasions. If we
consider the former case where people wash their clothes by hand, then marketer can
explore great potential in this segment
  Married: A person who is ‘married’ will require detergent in a larger quantity than a
‘single’ person. They will have a more stable lifestyle and hence, their consumption
patterns will be different.
3.1.4 Gender: This is an important segment for the marketers to look at. The two segments
in this category are:
 Female: Laundry chores in India are considered as a work intended for women. The
main reason for the same lies in the patriarchal structure of the society in India. The
possession rate of washing machine among women has also increased from 7% in 2012
to 9% in 2015. This is due to increase in disposable income and higher participation of
women in the workforce. This increase in possession of washing machine further
increases the need for detergents.
 Male: With the increasing urbanisation in the Indian society and dynamic nature of
work in these areas, more and more men are becoming independent. They are
outsourcing their washing requirements to maid or local washermen, or are using
washing machines to clean their clothes. This paradigm shift in the attitude of the men
can enable the market to target them as a substantial prospect for their product, i.e.,
detergent.
3.1.5 Region: Demographic segmentation of the population of India can be done in two
ways as following:
 Rural population: This population have considerably low income as compared to the
urban areas. Hand washing remains a prevalent method of washing clothes in these
areas. However, with the increasing penetration of the washing machines in the rural
population, there has been a marginal shift in the washing method from hand washing
to washing through machines.
 Urban Population: There is a better penetration of washing machines in this segment.
This promotes the use of more detergents (powder detergents and liquid detergents) in
these areas. The disposable income levels of the people are comparatively higher in
these regions. This makes them a good prospect for the marketers

3.2 Geographic Segmentation: Detergent marketer can make use of geographical segmentation and
define their marketing strategies as per the following geographical segments:
 North India: The sheer size of the population of this geographic segment makes it the most
important segment in terms of volume (Refer to Table). Marketers can target this region for
volume sales. Also, this region has per capita consumption at par with the national average
  West India: This region is the most prosperous region of all the regions. The per capita
income is highest in this region. The home care industry gets its 25% of the sales from this
region.
The marketer can use this aspect of the region to target the affluent customers.
 South India: This region has the highest education level of all the regions and there is
product awareness among the population of the region. The detergent marketer can target this
aspect of the region and use a well-defined mixture of emotional as well as rational marketing
for the same. The consumers in this region cover, at present, around 25% of the sales of home
care products.
 East India: This region is home for a lot of lower-middle income and lower income groups.
At present, this region makes around 20% of the market share of home care products. This
region can be developed as a volume-generating region by the detergent marketer.

3.3 Psychographic Segmentation:

3.3.1 Lifestyle: Consumer lifestyle is a parameter for the marketers to segment the market.
Three possible lifestyles of people that define their psychographic attitude are:]
 Trend Setters: This is a way of doing life style classification under psychographic
segmentation. The trend setters are ambitious persons for self and family. Also
interested in new products, adaptive to change, career minded, achievement oriented.
These include people with good income, successful farmers and entrepreneurs, city
educated men.

 Chameleons: These people are generally active but lack courage and self-confidence
preferring following rather than leading. Career oriented women at heart but still do not
allow full freedom. Average financial soundness.
 Traditionalists: Passive, hopeful, culture bound, under achievers, prefer peace to
prosperity and tradition over fashion. Prefer arranged marriages, see women as capable
home makers, are generally very loyal to the brand they use. Comprise of old persons,
teachers, doctors.
 4. TARGETING

Table 4.1: Targeted Segments of Surf Excel

Segment Target Reason

These people are ambitious, interested in new and expensive
Lifestyle Trendsetters
products and have good income
Working age group, highest population of people, target for
25-40
volume sales
Age
Lead a stable life, have a family, high but fixed detergent
40-60
requirement
Wear expensive clothes which require better care, very high
Rich Class
Income disposable income
Upper Middle A great rise in the trend of washing machine, high disposable
Class income
Marital Require detergent in larger quantity, more stable lifestyle so
Married
Status fixed detergent requirement
Laundry considered as a work intended for women, more
Gender Female
women in workforce
More use of detergent powders due to better penetration of
Region Urban
washing machines, high disposable incomes
North India Highest population, important target for volume sales
Geographic
West India Most prosperous region, highest per capita income
Highest education level so more product awareness among
South India
people

Surf Excel has selected its target segments on various factors. Firstly, on the basis of psychographic
factor- lifestyle, it has Trendsetters as the target segment because this segment consists of people who
are ambitious, interested in new and expensive products and have good income. So they would be
willing to spend more money on detergent powder for better was quality and the brand.

Then Surf Excel looked for the segments based on demographic segments. On the basis of age, it
selected two target segments. The first one is 25-40 age group. This is a working age group. Majority
of people in this group are married and have a family. So they require detergent powder in large
quantity. The highest population of people in India belong to this age group (Refer to Table 4.2). This
makes it a good prospect for volume sales.
The second target age group is 40-60. People in this age group lead a settled life. They have families
which increases their requirements in terms of quantity. They have the most stable life of all age
segments. So they have a fixed quantity requirement.
The next target segment has been selected on the basis of income. Two target segments have been
selected. First is the Rich class. Households in this class have large income (Rs 10 lakhs+) (Refer to
Table). Clothes of households that fall in this class are expensive and require better care. People in
this category have high disposable income and hence, potential for high quality detergents is high in
this market. The next target segment here is Upper Middle Class. Households in this class (Rs 5-10
lakhs+) are considered well off. They have high disposable incomes. A great rise in the trend of
washing machines in this segment raises the potential for the use of high quality detergents.

Then the target markets have been selected on the basis of marital status. Married people are the
target market here. A person who is married will require detergent in a larger quantity than a single
person. These people will have a more stable lifestyle and hence, their consumption will be fixed.

On the basis of gender, females are the target segment for Surf Excel. This is because laundry chores
in India are considered as a work intended for women. The main reason for the same lies in the
patriarchal structure of the society in India. The possession rate of washing machine among women
has also increased from 7% in 2012 to 9% in 2015. This is due to increase in disposable income and
higher participation of women in the workforce. This increase in possession of washing machine
further increases the need for detergents.

The target segment on the basis of region is Urban region. There is a better penetration of washing
machines in this segment. This promotes the use of more detergent powders in these areas. The
disposable income levels of the people are comparatively higher in these regions. This makes them a
good prospect for the marketers.

On the basis of geographic segmentation, Surf Excel has three target segments. The first one is North
India. The sheer size of the population of this geographic segment makes it the most important
segment in terms of volume (Refer to Table 4.3). Marketers can target this region for volume sales.
The second target is West India. This region is the most prosperous region of all the regions. The per
capita income is highest in this region.
The third target segment is South India. This region has the highest education level of all the regions
and there is product awareness among the population of the region. The detergent marketer can target
this aspect of the region and use a well-defined mixture of emotional as well as rational marketing for
the same.
Table 4.2: The table above shows the population division of India in respective age
groups

Population
300,000,000

250,000,000

200,000,000
Persons

150,000,000

100,000,000

50,000,000

0
15-25 25-40 40-60 60+
Age Group

Table 4.3: This table depicts the Region wise population of India
 5. Competitive Analysis

5.1 Levels of Competition

Table 5.1: Levels of Competition

Level of Competing Need Satisfied

Definition
Competition Products
Offer complete
Cleaning care with
advanced cleaning
technology,
premium quality,
and product has
Multi Purpose Ariel, Tide, Henko,
variations depend
Product Form Detergents Wheel, Ghari,
upon the type of use.
Nirma, Patanjali
(For e.g. washing
machine use,
advanced whiteness,
different fragrances
etc.)

Detergent Powder
Powder Detergents, for a better cleaning
Product Category
Detergents Detergent Tablets, experience, more
Liquid Detergents foam and easy usage

Laundry Care,
Laundry Cleaning Fabric Softeners,
Generic Cleaning laundry
products Laundry aids, Bar
soaps
Dish washing, Toilet
Care, Air Care, Home Care and
Budget Home care industry
Surface Care Clean Living

Analysis:

Based on the close proximity of the Detergents on the perceptual map the competitors of Surf
are Wheel, Ariel, Patanjali and Tide. However, the segment targeted by Wheel,Tide and
Patanjali is Middle to Lower Income families and not the high end consumers. The physical
attributes of Ariel are similar to that of Surf. Also the segments targeted by the both these are
women belonging to higher income families, using washing machine as well as the
conventional methods of washing by hands to clean the laundry. Hence Ariel can be
considered as the direct competitor of Surf.
Comparative Analysis between Surf Excel and Ariel

Brand Awareness

Most of the consumers surveyed used Surf Excel as they had a higher brand
awareness of Surf Excel

Ad Recall

Surf Excel ads which have switched from following a rational approach of extreme
cleanliness to the emotional approach surrounded around the tag line “Daag Acche Hain”
have been able to penetrate the minds of the customers to a great extent. Most of the Surf
excel users remembered the surf excel ads. Even the Ariel users did not remember the ariel
ads but recalled the Surf Excel ads. Hence surf excel has a better ad recall.

Associations:

Consumers usually associate surf excel with stain removal, powerful cleaning, good
fragrance, maintenance of brightness of colour, attractive packaging, emotional and catchy
tag lines like Daag Acche hain and Surf Excel Hai na. On the other hand, the Ariel users
focus on stain removal, extreme cleansing of white clothes and food fragrance.

Availability of Brand

Most of the people surveyed said that if the brand of their choice is not available, they would
buy another brand or look for the brand elsewhere. So irrespective of the performance of the
detergents, it is the consumer need that forces the customers to buy.

Brand Image
Most of the people perceive Surf Excel as a high quality brand which is why they mostly
consider it to be costlier than Ariel, although both of them are similar priced. Most of the
consumers buying Surf Excel could not recall the price of the product. Also, the Ariel users
though Surf Excel to be costlier than Ariel though both of them are of comparable price.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the image of Surf Excel is high because it has a high
performance level. Surf Excel is strongly associate din the minds of the consumers. On the other
hand, very few people actually associate Ariel as a detergent effectively cleaning clothes. Thus
 even though both Ariel and Surf Excel follow an emotional approach, surf Excel has a stronger
market presence than Ariel.

5.2 Perceptual Mapping

Figure 5.1: Perceptual Map for Detergents in India

 6. POSITIONING

6.1 Position Brand “Surf Excel”

Initially surf excel was launched under the brand name “Surf” in Pakistan, 1948 & 1959 in
India.
Initially it was positioned on cleaning attributes as “washes whitest”. However, with
changing times and emergence of new players in the segment Surf Excel underwent various
changes in its brand communication. Surf Excel created positioning by creating values and
beliefs and campaigns having emotional touch to fit themselves in the minds of the Indian
consumers.

“Dirt is Good” campaign was launched with the idea that children discover more by self-
learning and during this course even if they get their clothes dirty it is acceptable. Dirt should
not come out as a barrier. Most importantly in the end it emphasizes on the point that Surf
Excel will take care of all the dirt with ease.

Surf excel managed to create a significant value in consumer’s day to day life. They related
the product and the brand with the easy lifestyle. That’s why whenever it comes about
detergent name, the first name comes is “surf excel”. Surf excel is leading the detergent
market from many years. The price is high, still people buy the product because over the
period of time a faith is created that the quality of the product is of very high standards.

Point of Parity for Surf Excel mainly includes attractive packaging, good quality and
effectiveness in removing dirt and string stains.

Point of differentiation for Surf Excel are Superior technology to wash clothes in the machine &
fabric softener which takes care of cloth’s fabric.

6.2 Bull’s Eye

The bull’s eye ( Refer to Figure 6.1) of a brand describes the position of the brand in the
industry. It gives the overview of the similarities and differences it maintains with its
competitors.

As we start from the innermost circle, we note the brand-mantra of the product. It articulates
the heart of the brand.
In the second level, we list the Points-of-parity and points-of-differences of the brand with its
competitors. In this case, the stain removal is the basic requirement expected from a
detergent. Whiteness, Emotional appeal are the additional attributes the brand provides, but
competitor of Surf Excel, Ariel also provides the same attributes to its customers. So, these
three come under points-of-parity. Then the differential factors Surf Excel provides is it is
mild on the consumer’s hands and clothes. It also has a huge brand value that surf is used as a
generic term for a detergent.

Then comes the Substantiators (reasons to believe). Here, we list the reasons which supports
the points in the inner circle.

Outermost circle of the bull’s eye shows the tangible and intangible aspects of the brand that
affect the way the consumer perceives the product. When comes to tangible components, the
colour of the detergent reflects the quality of the product. In general, the yellow colour
signifies a lower quality product. The white/blue colour signifies a higher-quality. The
packing helps the customers to easily differentiate the sub-category of the product among the
wide range of subcategories it provides. In intangible components we list the qualities which
reflects the values, personality or character of the brand.

With the Target Consumer, Consumer Insight, Consumer need state and Competitive product set
as inputs to the Bull’s eye, we get Consumer takeaway as output
 7. REFERENCES

7.1 http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/portal/analysis/related
7.2 http://www.indiastat.com/demographics/7/stats.aspx
7.3