LOVE

Aur
dhoka
Ankith S Shetty
20180125010
FMCG BRANDING INDIVIDUAL
ASSIGNMENT
Case Context
Unilever formally established the fragrance market in India by
launching Axe in 1999. Although, Rexona- the world’s biggest
deodorant brand could not pick up in India, Unilever claimed
the lion’s share of the Indian fragrance market through Axe.
Axe targeted the metro youth and led the game with its story
of- “edge in the mating game”. Axe became the go to thing for
the male youth who wanted to attract girls and have a certain
sex appeal. “The Axe Effect” became synonymous to sex appeal
and the brand grew strong.

But as the market grew, Axe’s strength turned into its

weakness. The over the top, foreign style of storytelling could
not resonate with the non-metro customer- a segment that was
growing rapidly. This opportunity was ceased by the likes of
set wet and other Indian brands which played on the same
game of sex appeal but talked in a more culturally relevant
way. Colourful packaging of the Indian brands cornered Axe to
limited visibility and same proposition made the market much
more cluttered and difficult to find differentiation in.
The launch of Fogg in 2012 was a game changer. Fogg which
talked about “great fragrance and nothing else” did wonders
for the brand and made it the market leader, whereas Axe was
reduced to 12% of the market share from 33% in 2006.

Q 1- Given the present data what do you

think HUL should do – at a brand level – Try
and find a solution on each of the 6Ps.
Proposition-
Current- Axe makes you irresistibly attractive for women by
making you smell amazing, giving you the confidence to get
any girl that you desire. The Axe proposition is mainly directed
towards the young males for whom the number of girls they
attract is a great confidence boost.

Wearing Axe makes it impossible for girls to control

themselves around you making you the master of the mating
game.

Proposed- Since the proposition has been constant for a long

time and the awareness about Axe is high, it wouldn’t be wise
to change the proposition altogether since it may lead to
confusion in the customer fraternity. However, with women
empowerment and gender sensitivity on the horizon, and most
of the deodorant brands offering similar benefits, display of
women as a playful thing fails to register itself in the minds of
the modern day customer.

The new proposition should be on the lines of women

‘choosing’ men who use Axe over men who use other products,
rather than blindly falling for them. The Axe man continues to
woo women, but the women in question are not just porcelain
dolls but smart, intelligent women who consciously make the
choice of going for the man who uses Axe. Rather than offering
the proposition that one should use Axe as an instrument to
get women, Axe should be highlighted as a symbol of a
confident man. Something without which a man remains
incomplete and hence only an Axe man can get the women.

Product-
Current- Axe has mainly two product lines in India-

1. The regular Axe deodorant range

2. Axe Signature Range

Proposed- Introducing a new range of Axe Deo Sticks which are

primarily antiperspirants with deo just adding fragrance. They
will be in a liquid format, easy-to-apply and will get absorbed
by the skin quickly leaving no wet patches or sticky feeling
behind. Lasts longer than normal deodorants while keeping
you dry. It also addresses the wastage problem that comes
with deo sprays.

Active – For men who enjoy playing Sports and still want to
smell fresh

Refresh – For men who want to remain fresh and cool all day
while they go about their work indoors/outdoors)

Promotion-
Current- The campaigns are targeted at men in the age group
of 18 to 28.

The Ads mostly run on the Axe effect theme other than Ads of
the signature range.

Ads run on both online and offline media.

Proposed- Sticking with “Be Yourself”

Promotion keeping the TG in mind as men in the age group of
16-25, with more focus on digital

Indianized TVC where a male employee enters a crowded

elevator at the end of the day; Tired faces and bodies all round
but the employee who just endered smells fresh and looks
great. All the girls in the elevator check him out because he’s
standing out of the clutter of other men in the lift. Because he
is smelling fresh and good, he smiles at the women
confidently.

5 second ads on Youtube: The format takes only that much

time to apply. (Apply, Spread, Go)

Carousel Ads on Instagram A 3 frame carousel ad that shows

the 3 steps: applying the non-sticky roll on, spreading it and
“ready to go”

Price-
Current- The pricing is influenced by the competition.
Therefore it can be said that the Axe range is priced
competitively. The signature range is priced slightly higher
than the regular line to give it the premium positioning.
However it is not significantly high.

Proposed- Axe Deo Stick Roll On: (Penetrative Pricing)

40 ml: INR 60

80 ml: INR 110

Place-
Current- The product is available at-

1. General stores
 2. Modern retail stores
3. Pharmacies
4. E-commerce sites

Proposed- Along with presence in Modern trade and E-

commerce, the price point of the deo sticks means that more
focus should go into general trade helping the brand battle
better with Set Wet, Wild Stone and Engage in Tier 2 and 3
cities, especially.

Packaging-
Current- 2 types of packs are currently available, one of which
is the regular range that looks like wild stone’s deodorant
bottle and the other is the signature range that has slender
bottles in sleek boxes. The entire Signature range comes in
black with just a little colour to differentiate various products.

Proposed- Sticking with the current color scheme of Axe. The

packaging would be minimal with the front part highlighting
Active or Refresh boldly. 40 ml pack fits in your palm, easy to
hold, shaped with the slight curve of a body. 80 ml pack will
be slightly bigger

Q 2- What are the 5 data elements that you

think u need that can help u delve deeper
and find a better solution – and why
RFM Analysis-
 Helps you predict customer response to direct marketing
promotions
  Frequency helps you understand response when defined
properly – Frequency here can be defined as number of
times the customer purchased the brand in the past 12
months
 RFM analysis helps you find your most profitable
customers.

Gain Loss Analysis-

 It is the most accurate measurement of positioning and it
directly benefits the consumers
 Helps improve the product mix based on the results
 Helps you clearly understand points of strength that can
be leveraged further and points of weakness that he
brand could clearly work on, directly from the horse’s
mouth (the consumer)
 Helps you sell better as a result

Share among Handlers- Other than the overall

market share one must know the market share among the
dealers that actually stock our product. This is known as Share
among handlers. It is important to keep track of this since a
rising share among handlers means that the brand is enjoying
premium among customers of that region. This is an indicator
to increase distribution in that particular region and reach out
to more dealers since the customer in that region is looking
out for the product.

Brand Pyramid-
 Helps you establish the overall state of a brand’s
relationship with its consumers
 It helps you identify what % of customers are at what
stage of loyalty

Communication PreView -
  Awareness Index vs Persuasion
1. Awareness index measures the return on your
media investment – Proven metric to predict
brand recall
2. Persuasion gives a measure of how compelling the
target group finds the communication to be
 Helps you understand whether the brand needs to work
on its positioning or if the communication is not
resonating with your TG in terms of driving the required
goals

Q 3- If you were the brand manager of Axe,

what would you do to revive Axe? Talk of
what research you shall do and what
actions you shall take as a result of the
same.
Existing Problems:

• Declining Market Share

• Out-of-favour product type – People are gravitating
towards liquid sprays that last longer
• Positioning not sharp enough – Too many players in the
same space creating clutter
• Communication – Too edgy for the Indian consumers

Research required to solve these problems:

• Primary research: To understand consumer insights

and identifying a clear need gap to place the new
product in. Axe has defined its target group well but
its product has become similar to several other
players, thanks to increasing competition. So, the
 brand needs to identify a new need gap to break free
from this clutter and reposition itself

• Secondary research - Nielsen Panel & Household

Panel: To understand the trends of the category as
well as understand the target group better in terms
of their product usage, especially with respect to
competition. Apart from that, generally understand
advances in technology and be abreast with trend
shifts in parallel categories such as personal care as
a whole or fashion

• BASES Test: Once, the insight has been derived, a

concept product can be developed basis that. This
product can then be tested with the consumers using
the BASES test which will help us understand the
purchase intent, liking, value, uniqueness, units the
consumer claims to buy for the first time and
frequency of purchase. By repeating this test till a
clear winner concept is found in a time period of
about 12 weeks, we can identify a new product for
Axe that will help break free from the clutter
surrounding the category

• PreView: To understand how the current

communication is doing on the awareness index vs
persuasion grid. This will also help us identify
potential areas of improvement in terms of both the
brand and the communication.

Actions to be taken based on research results

 Understand from the primary research if there is scope to

launch a new product that satisfies a unique need gap. If
so, understand the size of the opportunity and if it is line
 with the brand’s mission and vision. Start thinking of
product innovations.
 Understand from secondary research if the trends in the
category second the insight gained from primary
research. Understand what other players in the category
have done towards the need gap identified. See if there is
a clear scope for differentiation. If found, go ahead and
create a concept product. If not, go back and find a
different insight
 Understand from BASES test, if the target group finds the
concept product to its liking. Tweak the product
constantly till the sweet spot is found.
 Understand from PreView, where in the awareness index
vs persuasion grid the brand currently exists and make
tweaks to it based on the position. If awareness index is
high and persuasion is low, then the communication
needs to be changed to make it more appealing. If the
awareness index is low and persuasion is high, then
branding has to be improved to increase top of mind
recall.

Q 4- If you were to crystal gaze up to 2020,

what do you think the market would look
like?
1. Like most of general retail items, a lot of deodorants would
be sold online. This would be led by more recognized
fragrances and set choices for variants, incentivized by
discounts and faster delivery.
2. The demand for fragrances and deodorants would grow as
the general awareness about hygiene and grooming
increases. Although the market might also
3. Categories like anti per spirant might catch momentum as
India catches up with global trends.
4. According to a recent Fact.MR report, the global fragrance
market is expected to reach $70,000 million by 2022,
increasing at a CAGR of 6.2% during the period
5. Introduction of products like dry spray
6. Higher demand for stick and roll-ons.
7. Demand for products that have not been tested on animals.
With awareness about tests on animals rising and digital
media playing a role to sensitize people regarding the same,
products tested on animals would no longer be considered
good products.
8. Rise in organic, natural products and variants.
9. Bottles might be made eco-friendly considering the rising
awareness about environment.

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