PRODUCT PROFILE ON SURF EXCEL

PREPARED BY :-
SONI SINGH
HR+IB
SURYADATTA GROUP OF INSTITUTE
PUNE
MAHARASATRA

TABLE OF CONTENT
S.NO INDEX PAGE NO.
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
2. INTRODUCTION 1
3. KEY TO SUCCESS 2
4. PRODUCT INFORMATION 2
5. BRAND PHILOSPHY 2
6. PRODUCT 2
7. PACKAGING 3
8. PRICE 3
9. PROMOTION 4
10. PLACE 5
11. SWOT ANALYSIS 5
12. TARGET MARKET 6
13. SEGMENTATION 6
14. COMPETITION 6
15. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE 7
16. EVALUATION 7
17. CONCLUSION 7
18. RECOMENDATION 7
19. SOURCES 8
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Surf excel has been following the Unilever’s message i.e. add vitality to life.
Similar is with surf excel. In the beginning Surf Excel was facing competition f
rom Ariel, the product of P&G. but very soon with the tagline “Dirt is Good”, Su
rf Excel was successful in regaining it’s market leadership. It soon emerged bac
k as the dominant detergent of the country.
The product is decided by matching the marketing insights with the local insight
s.
The marketing report
of the brand should match the region’s attitude so that the product can fulfill
and satisfy the customer’s need and expectation.
The packaging is designed in such a manner that it should it is able to create a
Recall value among the prospective customers. It should stand out among its com
petitors because majority of the purchases are impulsive buying’s Price is decid
ed as per the economic situation and spending pattern of the target market. Dist
ribution pricing strategy is determined in such a way so as to suit all forms of
trade (GT, LMT, IMT) along with customer’s purchasing power.
Promotion was the most important ingredient in the revival of Surf Excel. The ev
ent Paint Masti created a name of the brand. Relaunch of the Surf with the tagli
ne “Dirt is Good” helps in differentiating the product, because all other brands
are still focusing on the fact that dirt is bad.
The selection of place to communicate the brand’s message is a crucial process.
The team of Surf Excel chooses the most effective media, be it print or electron
ic, at the most economic and effective time.
The target market of Surf Excel is mainly Housewives as deciders, whereas childr
en as influencers. Surf Excel is available in 4 different packages so that every
income bracket can purchase it.
The product this year showed a robust growth and increased profit. This reflects
the strong brand equity of Surf Excel and market acceptance. Surf Excel’s repen
etration in the market is a model of exemplary marketing strategies.
INTRODUCTION:
Change is inevitable and a leader must be willing to embrace change rather than
resist it. When new technology opens the possibility of a new market that may th
reaten the existing one, a successful firm should consider entering the new mark
et so that it will have the first-mover advantage in it. For example, Surf lost
its leadership as Ariel came with a better technology powder safe for hands and
tough on dirt. Surf did a re-entry with a marvelous campaign of “Dirt is Good”.
The company has been able to maintain its leadership position because it used it
s resources to form make a move into the competitive arena.
In this short report different marketing strategies of Surf Excel along with 4ps
of marketing mix has been discussed. In this report we will be looking at the d
ifferent marketing philosophies of the success behind the brand Surf Excel.
KEY TO SUCCESS:
To build customer value, satisfaction and hardcore loyalty with the brand
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
Surf Excel is the oldest detergent brand to be present in Pakistan since 1960. I
t might sound strange for a leading laundry brand like Surf Excel to say that di
rt is good, but healthy activities involving dirt are essential to development.
It s how kids learn express their creativity and it bolsters their immune system
s
BRAND PHILOSOPHY:
Surf Excel believes that stains are good. This is because when children go out a
nd play and get dirty, they don t just collect stains. They experience life, mak
e friends, share with each other and learn from each other. This helps them get
stronger and get ready for the world outside.Along with dirt being an obstacle t
owards play = experience = learning, what are the other reasons for kids not pla
ying enough in today
In 2005 & 2006 Surf launched Paint and Games Masti where children were invited
to participate in various activities designed to communicate that “Dirt is Good”
This year however, Surf has taken the concept of “Dirt Is good because Dirt = Pl
ay & Play Is Good” to a deeper level and addresses the issues surrounding childr
en’s play: the idea of learning through play, the obstacles towards play, the im
pact of not enough play for our children. As a socially responsible company and
brand, it believes that they can create a platform on which they can take this m
essage forward to showcase how playing helps children mentally and physically
PRODUCT:
Regional Brand Teams at Bangkok meets and decides where to launch which product.
The feasibility report is prepared and market insights are discovered. Market i
nsights should match Local Insights. In the report even the people’s actions whi
le washing are also observed and presented in the report. This enables to presen
t a full fledge information about a the attributes, cultural values, and motions
of a particular community, region, or a nation, may it be washing pattern, econ
omic condition, or spending pattern.
PACKAGING:-Surf Excel, mainly Unilever has a new Phenomena. It consults all 3 tr
ade models (General trade, Local modern trade, and International modern trade) w
hile designin packaging for Surf Excel. Packaging should be to create impulsive
desires, and it should stand out among its competitors. It is where Product dev
elopment team and marketers come into action in furnishing packaging standards f
or all its product ranges.
Product Range:

Surf excel 30g Surf excel 2kg Surf excel 125g Surf excel 1kg
PRICE:
Surf Excel is available in different sizes and quantities in the market for diff
erent prices. Its competitors in its upper-class segments are Ariel which is a p
roduct of P&G and Brite Total which is a product of Colgate-Palmolive (Laksons g
roup). Its market oriented statement is “Daagh NHI to seekhna NHI”. The company
has offered 1kg of Surf excel in the market for 120 rupees. Besides that it is a
lso available in the market in sachets pricing from 5-10 rupees and in ½ kg for
about 70 rupees. It is a quality oriented product providing value to their custo
mers. It is priced for every consumer according to his or her financial status.
In 2005 Unilever adopted one of the price-adjustment strateg
ies which was discount & allowance pricing as they offered 1kg of Surf Excel for
105 rupees. Through this strategy promotional pricing strategy also came in pro
gress as their product was promoted through it and the sales increased rapidly.
But as its competitors also reacted for this change through customizing their of
ferings and price cuts Surf Excel was finally focused towards price increases.
Besides that Surf Excel pricing strategy
have also been to provide value and recently the company improvised their strate
gy as they focused toward more promotion through campaigns. Beside that the comp
any has also implemented product line pricing strategy as their offerings are in
different quantities along with different prices in the market for Surf Excel.
Several offers have also been introduced by Ariel and Brite in the
market using Promotional, discount, and psychological pricing strategies and for
that Surf Excel have also responded efficiently through its strategies.
DISTRIBUTION PRICING STRATEGY:
Unilever _ distributor _ GT / LMT Unilever _ IMT through annual pricing plan
Where,
GT= General Trade (general stores, Kiryana stores, Medical and Genaral stores)
LMT= Local Modern Trade (Super stores such as Aghaz, Naheed, D-Mart)
IMT= International Modern Trade (departmental stores/Hyper Market such as
Makro)
FOR CASE 1:
List price Rs. 100
Add: Distributor price (5%) Rs. 105
Add: Trade price (5%) Rs. 110.25
Final Retail price (10%) Rs. 121
FOR CASE 2:
List price Rs. 100
Trade price (add 10.25%) Rs. 110.25
Surf Excel also launches Temporary price reductions (TPR) such as 0.25/unit for
a week or for a month. They also gives Bonus. Such as Bonus 25 cartons---0.5/cas
e.
While setting prices or changing prices t Which is determined by the Price Index
. It measures the relative SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). For example,
Product price %
Ariel 1 kg 230 115%
Surf excel 1 kg 200 100%
Brite 1 kg 190 95%
PROMOTIONS:
Sales Force in Surf Excel is divided into 3 types: General Trade (general stores
, Kiryana stores, Medical and Genaral stores), Local modern trade (super stores
such as Aghaz, Naheed, D-Mart), and International Modern trade (Large houses suc
h as Makro).
Merchandising Drives: It depends on the Channel the team is choosing to commu
nicate it’s product (surf excel). They may ask the retailer to have at least 50
pieces of surf in their shelves along with POS Materials (posters, banners, shel
ves, etc)he team of Surf also looks at the Equity Level
Outdoor Media Agency is appointed for the advertising campaigns via billboard an
d signboards. These OMA classify different regions under Strata, ranging from 1
to 6.
Strata 1 includes cities like Karachi and Lahore, Strata 2 includes cities with
comparatively less density and so on. They may select sites as per the following
 example:
Strata 1 would have 60% advertising sites.
Strata 2 would have 20% advertising sites.
Strata 3 would have 20% advertising sites.
Strata 4 nil
Strata 5 nil
Strata 6 nil
They may book the site either for 30, 60 or 90 days depending upon t
he nature of the product, budget of the campaign, and rent of the site selected.
The most effective advertising site in Pakistan is Shahrah-e-Faisal. The effect
ive billboard which is displayed on the left of the driver and is at a height of
40 to 50 feet, with an exception of flyovers, bridges, and high altitudes road.
Buy 1 get 1 free offer is not a issue for the company, because no product is sol
d at a profit less then 60%. Moreover in the Income Statement nets sales increas
es as the volume increases. So does the profit. Before launching such types of o
ffers Break even is analysed.
The plus point of the marketing strategy of Surf Excel is that when all other (d
etergent) brands were campaigning against stains and how dirt is bad for clothes
, Surf Excel came up with the tagline- Dirt is Good.
PLACE:-Mind Share is the Media Buying House for Unilever in Pakistan. The airtim
e is purchased depending on the relative price and numbers of spots the brand is
getting.
These spots must be enough so that Recall value is created within the customer’s
mind.
Frequency of target market is also analyzed. In Electronic media, especially Tel
evision PTV and Atv has the biggest countrywide viewership. Whereas in Private S
ector Hum tv currently is the biggest Tv production and broadcasting house. The
selection of Print and Electronic Media depends again on the nature of product a
nd the marketing strategies. The Ratio is divided for print and electronic Media
in the beginning of the campaign.
Moreover retailing consumer products is Unilever’s bread and butt
er. The company has the biggest retail reach in the country with the company ser
vicing 500,000 outlets, of which 50 per cent are covered direct by the company’s
distributors and the balance through wholesalers. For company the main business
is done by General Trade as compared to IMT or LMT, therefore different incenti
ves and preferences are given to general retailers, wholesalers and distributors
.
SWOT ANALYSIS:
STRENGTH:
_ Constantly changing as per washing needs.
_ Strong brand portfolio.
_ High quality manpower.
_ This is the company’s strength. With rising competition, the company is now
focusing on getting the right product at the right shop with the right kind of
visibility.
WEAKNESS:
_ Possibility for low price competition.
_ Spends on entertainment instead of new product.
OPPORTINITIES:
_ Growing rural markets.
_ As brand grows, increase in consumption and usage.
_ Upgrading customers through innovation (soap migration).
THREATS:
_ Local products and other major competitors.
MARKET POSITIONING: As the best detergent in the detergent’s category.
TARGET MARKET:-
Mainly housewives but the things have to be seen in context. Pakistan’s middle
income group comprises about35million consumers. They have a combined spending p
ower of Poland. But Surf Excel is not just targeting the middle income category.
With the broadest socio-economic footprint amongst consumer goods competitors,
Surf Excel is also looking at lower income market as well as the higher income b
racket with different sets of products.
That was the income bracket but if we analyse the commercials aired o
n TV or Radio or via print media we will notice that most of the communication i
s done by the help of children through tagline dirt is good. The philosophy behi
nd this is the children are the best influencers for the deciders. The children
with this eye catching phrase try to influence the decision of their parents (ma
inly mother) who are the deciders.
SEGMENTATION:
Segmentation is done on the basis of Living standard measure (LSM), which ranges
from 1 to 15. 1 denotes those people who are living from hand to mouth, whereas
15 denotes extremely rich and elite class. LSM is measure by a number of variab
les such as no of mobile phones in a house, no of cars, income bracket, etc. Sur
f Excel starts from 6 who can afford washing machine for washing.
COMPETITION:
_ Ariel Enzymax (P&G),
_ Brite Total (Colgate Palmolive),
_ Bonus Active,
_ Bonus Tristar,
_ Express Power,
_ Express Ultra,
_ Tide Super plus,
_ Wheel lemon power
_ and most of all WASHING SOAPS.
PRODUCT LIFECYCLE:
Surf Excel is at growth stage unlike Lux which is at Maturity. The Surf is still
showing an increase in profits (approximately 25% this year). At growth if the
sales are stagnant or not increasing company can relaunch or reposition it’s pro
duct to give a boost as it was previously done with Lifebuoy.
EVALUATION:
Surf excel is a major player in the Pakistani detergent market. today the market
is not declining but shifting towards more perceived value and added brands. So
every brand has to update itself with changes to retain it’s position in the ma
rket. Unilever, Pakistan’s largest consumer products company, has a problem. It
cannot keep up with demand for some of its products. These include laundry powde
r also.Demand is so strong that, in the case of foods, despite doubling producti
on capacity,Pakistanis can’t seem to have enough of them. But this is just the t
ip of the iceberg because one can easily ascertain how much demand is there for
Surf Excel as it has 41% market Share.
One of the areas where consumer product companies are increasingly focusing is c
entral and southern Punjab where two factors are driving demand. One, a string o
f successful harvests has meant rising disposable income for farmers. The second
, interestingly, is 40 or so television channels that broadcast to viewers in th
is area. “They are the driving force behind building aspirations. This for Unile
ver is an opportunity for selling its products
. CONCLUSION:- A stream of innovation and successful relaunch of Surf Excel in
creased value of Unilever’s propositions for consumers. The latest campaign of S
urf as “Dirt is good” has created a good ground for the success of marketing str
ategies of Surf Excel. Moreover, surf as being the product of Unilever has a plu
s point within itself, but still with an aggressive campaigning of “Dirt is Good
” has bear increased profits along with marketexpansion status of the product as
well as the company.
RECOMMENDATION:
The possibilities are endless. For example, shampoo penetration is one of the lo
west in Asia. Similarly fifty per cent of the population still uses laundry soap
to wash their clothes which comprises mainly the low income group. Unilever has
40pc of the market for detergent powder (Surf Excel). A switch from laundry soa
p to detergent powder will be hugely beneficial to Surf Excel and ultimately for
Unilever. Profitable growth will be sustained through focused brand building, i
nnovation and superior management of the supply chain to achieve cost competitiv
eness. This will enable the business to expand its share of consumer spending de
spite the increasing level of competiton.
SOURCE:
URL:
_ http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=100155
_ http://www.pakistaneconomist.com/issue2001/issue41/f&m5.htm
_ http://www.travel-culture.com/pakistan/media/hum_tv_advertisers.shtml
_ http://www.dirtisgood.com.pk/
_ http://www.unileverpakistan.com.pk/ourbrands/homecare/surfexcel.asp
_ http://www.unileverpakistan.com.pk/ourcompany/careers/insideunilever/howwework
/
_http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/snapshot/snapsho
t_ article.asp?symbol=UNIL
_ http://www.paksearch.com/Annual/Annual00/LEVER00.htm
_