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The LifeBuoy Story While brands have managed to upgrade their image and evolve together with their consumers Lifebuoy is a great example, having moved from a carbolic, sweaty asso ciation to desirable health imagery there has been no example of a brand that ha s moved to the top of the pole after residing at the bottom. The relaunch of the soap in 2002, 2004 & again in 2006 have been turning points in its history. In 2004, Lifebuoy s product offering was revamped with contemporary packaging and an upmarket look. While that went down well with existing users, new users were still elusive; they continued to perceive the product as a cheap soap for poor pe ople . That perception had to be changed without alienating the Lifebuoy loyalists . The objective for HUL was to launch a campaign that helped the soap shed its o ld-fashioned image and gain an entry into two million urban households. A survey by HUL showed that mothers stop kids from indulging in activities that are unhygienic. Further, healthcare brands tend to harp on the fear factor, talk ing of the ills of dirt. It was decided that Lifebuoy, as health soap, needed to do something radically different. Hence, Lowe(Lifebuoy account holder) took the creative route of a Little Gandhi, a boy who takes the initiative of sweeping h is street one day, just to make a difference to society in his own little way. O ther boys join him in this social act. Mothers are shown encouraging their child ren to do so, which is a step away from the regular stay away from germs kind of s oap advertising. There was a series of TVCs for this new campaign: Little Gandhi ad showing a young boy leading young children to clean the streets; a young gir l playing football with the boys to young children helping in a cricket stadium on a rainy day. There was a common thread in all the commercials toughness shown by young children and women. Campaign Dissection Consumer: Indian Families Economy class. Major chunk of consumers are in Rural p arts of India where Lifebuoy is most popular soap brand. Corporation: Hindustan Unilevers Ltd. Nature of the Company: The largest FMCG company in India with wide range of prod ucts, present in India since 1933. The brand Lifebuoy the honest & hard working soap, with its distinctive perfume and popular jingle, has carried the message o f health across the length and breadth of the country. Vision of the Brand: Making a billion Indians feel safe and secure by meeting all their health and hygiene needs . Gender of the brand: Image of a masculine able bodied young man. The brand stron gly symbolized macho-ism, sportiness and was accepted as a champion s brand. Its f amous jingle of Lifebuoy hai jahan, tandarosti hai wahan with young men playing f ootball in the TVC had an imprint of this image in the minds of the Indian consu mers. Competition: Pertaining to the brand Lifebuoy, the other players in the market w hich are also gaining popularity are: a) Cinthol soap by Godrej which is positioned as a soap for macho men(Hrithik Ro shan) b) Dettol known for its antiseptic attributes.

c) Medicinal soaps like Medimix which combine properties like germ protection skincare in a natural way. d) Ayurvedic soap industry with brands like Ayur is increasing its presence in I ndia and abroad.

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Mission: Lifebuoy brand has been an established brand in soaps category since 19 80 s and had a very strong positioning as a tough soap for tough men . The brand stoo d for germ protection for working men. Lifebuoy s brand colors of red and white de picted the association with healthcare and emphasized on personal hygiene platfo rm. But now the brand wanted to increase its hold and positioning from men s soap to a family soap by carrying the same message of germ protection for tough people fo rward. In a nutshell, the mission of the company was to take the brand Lifebuoy to the next level The health icon of the nation . Message: The campaign had an emotional message by showing the soap as a germ pro tective and soap to keep your family in good health. Although by projecting toug h character of the child in the advertisement it again wanted to connect with th e audiences on an emotional front .The confidence of Lifebuoy mother with regard t o the safety of her son underscores the long-standing brand benefit when she say s naha kar gaya hai Koi darr nahin . This transpired into appeal for the whole famil y which is tough and daring and always ready to take on newer challenges. Little Gandhi Ad The Little Boy picks up a broom; The boy surveys the messy street before sweepin g it clean; The kid enjoys the Lifebuoy bath, washing away sweat and toil. The start of the advertisement with the small boy waking up before everybody sho ws a common child but who gets up on his own, he knows what to do, He has a miss ion in his mind, starts for work with putting bandana on his head. Shows a perso n focused and determined to do the work. All portraying the characteristics of a tough child. And he is a leader also trying to portray the soap more synonymous with leaders. He is being portrayed and compared in qualities to Gandhiji with dandi being replaced by a broom and spectacles of the child very much similar to Gandhiji s. The atmosphere in which he is standing is very gloomy showcasing his fighting against all odds, comparisons with Gandhi. He starts on his own without waiting for anybody else to join him. And the people are shown getting amused b y them and slowly other children start pouring in and setting behind him like pe ople followed in the footsteps of Gandhi. Portraying Lifebuoy as a soap for cour ageous people who dare to think against all odds, who are the leaders and set ne w examples for the society. This ad marked a very big repositioning for the Lifeb uoy brand from earlier being a soap for a tough man to now moving to a germ prote ctive soap for everybody who is tough carrying on the toughness aspect with them . The cleanliness drive being run by the children is shown as synonymous with th e freedom fight. All the wordings in the campaign Sometimes.. one person..one tho ught.. one desire.. can change the world portrays the Gandhi in the common people and shows if we decide to change the world and start taking small actions every body will follow us. And in the end the wording says The world can be changed by only those who have no fear and at the same time mother of the Child Gandhi thro ws lifebuoy showing the ones who use Lifebuoy are tough people and are the ones who change the world as Gandhiji did. Looking further deep, the children are shown cleaning a street. The message put

across is that since these children are secure from ailments that are caused by a lack of proper sanitation and hygiene, thanks to the fact that they use Lifebu oy, they are in a position to ensure cleanliness and hygiene for the entire comm unity. Thus, Lifebuoy not only ensures good health and cleanliness for individua ls, but healthy and productive communities as well. This concerted effort by the children transforms the dirty neighborhood into a s panking clean area. At the end of the commercial, to express their gratitude, al l the parents give their children an open-air bath with Lifebuoy reiterating the concept of Koi Dar Nahi implying that a well-protected family has no reason to fe ar hygiene related illnesses or problems. Another aspect of the campaign was its bilingual nature with English subtitles w ith a clear intent of reaching a wider audience. Market: Lifebuoy increased its addressable market from only for men s soap to soap for the children who gets dirty while playing and need protection from germs an d also to women. Thus, the target market was extended to the complete family by repositioning itself as a germ protective soap for the family who cares for heal th and wants protection from germs. Media: The campaign ran on TV, Hoardings. The Lifebuoy was also cobranded with t he Hindi movie Krrish which involved printing pictures of Krrish s character on its Lifebuoy packs and also giving away merchandise based on the film. The fit betwe en the two brands was there because on one hand is Lifebuoy brand which is all a bout protection from germs and Krrish s character is also about protecting the wor ld from enemies. The TVC was supported with on-ground activities, including stre et plays. To increase awareness, various essay competitions and demonstrations o n hygiene (through flip charts) were conducted in 300 schools across 31 cities. There was also a cleanliness drive in 31 cities across India on World Health Day , in which people were encouraged to clean up a landmark in their respective cit ies. Money: No idea about it .. Measurement: The Little Gandhi campaign gave the agency Lowe, gold in the consum er products category in EFFE 2006 and also the Lifebuoys repositioning campaign is considered as one of the most successful repositioning campaign and since the n the brand has been successful in its new branding. This Little Gandhi work and cleanliness drive also found a place in Limca Book of World Records. The clear success parameter was the remarkable increase in the market share of L ifebuoy in the soap industry after the launch of this campaign. *Source: Advanc edge May 05