HUL-INTRODUCTION

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company with a heritage of over 75 years in India and touches the lives of two out of three Indians. HUL works to create a better future every day and helps people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps, detergents, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea, coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water purifiers, the Company is a part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India. Its portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Ponds, Vaseline, Lakm, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Walls and Pureit. The Company has over 16,000 employees and has an annual turnover of around Rs. 21,736 crores (financial year 2011 - 2012). HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the worlds leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong local roots in more than 100 countries across the globe with annual sales of about 46.5 billion in 2011. Unilever has about 52% shareholding in HUL.

Brand Categories

Home care

Food & Drink

Unilever Brand Categories

Personal Care

Water Purifier
Home Care:Surf Excel,Active Wheel,Rin Personal Care:Dove,Lux,Pepsodent,Lifebouy Water Purifier:Pure it Food&Drink: Kwality Walls,Brooke Bond Red Label,Knorr

Surf Excel-The Brand

Evolutionary History

Surf Excel, launched in 1959, is one of the oldest detergent powders in India. Initially, the brand was positioned on the clean proposition of washes whitest. However, with the emergence of numerous local detergent manufacturers and the entry of other global brands, Surf Excel underwent various changes in its Brand Communication. This is in line with the global communication platform of Dirt Is Good, which is a communication strategy of Unilever for its premium detergent products, sold under various brand names; such as Omo in Brazil and Persil in UK and France. In 1990, following the launch of Ariel, Surf became Surf Ultra In 1996, Surf redifined itself by launching Surf Excel In 2002, it launched Surf excel Matic In 2003, the base variant Surf was re-launched as Surf Excel Blue In 2006, it added Rin Supreme Bar as Surf Excel Bar and Surf Excel Gentle wash into its portfolio

Surf Excel:Current Range of Product

Surf Excel : Journey in Brand Communication

1959 : Surf was the first national detergent brand that used Television for its advertisement 1970s : Launch of Nirma Washing Powder Surf introduced the legendary Lalitaji campaign to communicate the price value equation 1990s : Rising competition in the mid price powder segment with the launch of Ariel Surf launched the highly memorable Daag Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge campaign 1996 : Launch of Surf Excel Introduced as a variant offering Complete Cleaning and Care Was communicated through the tag line Jaise bhi daag ho, Surf Excel hai na 2003 : Surf was re-launched as Surf Excel Blue The Brand was communicated through the catchy Jayega Nahin Jayega tagline 2005: Daag Acche Hain Surf Excel broke the cluster by adopting stains, thereby adopting the philosopy of Dirt is Good(Daag Acche Hain) Dirt is good was communicated through different approaches with the tag line Agar Daag Lagne se kuch acha hota hai,toh Daag Acche hai 2006: Surf Excel Bar Nationwide campaigning announcing migration of Rin Supreme Bar to Surf Excel Bar The campaign was based on Good News,Bad News platform

1970s Lalitaji Surf ki kharidari mein hi samajdari hai!

With the launch of lower priced brands, the challenge for Surf was to justify its premium by educating consumers how it was still economical than others. Surf introduced Lalitaji, a nononsense, smart, independent, prudent homemaker, who is conscious of her budget and yet will never compromise on the quality of products that she buys . Lalitaji became a household name and an inspiration for other homemakers who identified with her, making her one of the most memorable characters in Indian advertising .

Surf Excel: PRINT ADS

1999 Surf Excel Hai Na!

Even today, a decade after this campaign was launched, what do people say when they encounter stains Surf Excel Hai Na !

This not just was a phrase to accept the fact that stains happen, but also established that there is no big deal as long as Surf Excel is there. The superiority of Surf Excel was established with an image of Stain Removal Expert

In November 1999, Surf Excel made a splash with its landmark Jaise Bhi Daag Ho Surf Excel Hai Na' campaign, burning itself into mindspace as the single solution for a wide variety of stains. Peace of mind was the brand promise. Since then, both HLL and its agency Lowe Lintas have been looking to place the Surf Excel brand at all points where stains occur naturally, hoping that the stain-Surf Excel association will get cemented in the consumer's mind.

2003 SAVE 2 BUCKETS OF WATER

New innovations which make a real difference to lives, is at the heart of Surf Excel. Water shortage is a key concern in many geographies and a significant amount of water is used for laundry. Hence HUL launched a revolutionary product with a low foam formula which would effectively remove stains and save 2 buckets of water. Revathi and Shabana Azmi partnered with us to promote this innovative product and the larger cause of water conservation Do bucket paani roozana hai bachana.

The ad campaign Save 2 buckets of water everyday increased the sales by more than 20% in water stressed areas. It saved over 30 million of water in 2 years. It revealed that the Chennaiites used large quantity of water for bathing and washing. Almost 60 per cent of water was wasted in washing of excess lather from the clothes. The study did not just stop with pointing the reasons for w

ater problem, it also suggested simple methods to reduce water consumption. Using detergents with low lather was one among them. In an attempt to contribute its mite, the consumer brand major, Hindustan Lever, has come out with a powder with low lather to reduce water consumption. The product was named as `Surf Excel Quickwash.' The company has roped in actress and social worker, Revathi, for launching the dual programme - their product as well the `Save Water Campaign.'

2005 till date Daag Acche Hai!

Surf Excel believe that their consumers have always been taught to believe that dirt is bad and we turned the belief on its head by proclaiming Daag Ache Hain (dirt is good) based on our understanding of the relationship shared between a mom and her child.

Surf Excel believe every stain a child brings home is an experience; a value learned in process of getting dirty! Daag Achhe Hain champions the theory that if a child learns something and gets dirty in the process, then those stains are good. Hence they have translated this philosophy into many heart-warming commercials over the years making Daag Ache Hain a common belief across the country.

Creative Strategy for Daag Acche Hain

History Of Advertising

Informational appeal from early days of Lalitaji Ads have been always about unhappy housewives Comparison of white shirt and yellow shirt Boring stereotype, predictive and formulaic ads

Says its OK to soil your clothes for a good cause Known for its newness, simplicity and clutter breaking ability Emotional connect with the audience Breaking the Cliche Focus centered around people rather than brand or the product

Present Status

Came up with Surf Forgiveness Campaign ( Sequel of Daag Ache Hai ) It has increased the brand recall value

This campaign was considered to be an Out-of- the box clutter breaking campaign The brands emotional position has helped Surf Excel to differentiate itself from the other brands. It has also helped us build a deep emotional connect with our target audience i.e. mothers. The Dirt is Good campaign began with the famous puddle war commercial. 2005s award winning commercial for Surf Excel, titled Puddle War, had a school boy leaping into a puddle and beating it up to pacify his sister, who had fallen into it and hurt herself. Towards the end, the boy gets up proudly and tells his sister, Sorry bola (The puddle apologised to you), adding the cute factor. By showing kids emulating adult behaviour, the central idea was that if one gets dirty and learns something in the process, then dirt is good.

The Dirt is Good communication continued with a series are stories of children getting dirty while doing something good and hence dirt is good and moms can leave it to Surf Excel to deal with the dirt The strategy this time around was the same showing children learning/experiencing something good while getting dirty. Therefore, Lowe is out with a film that has another stain story to tell. The puddle factor is once again an integral part of the film. The ad opens on the shot of a car crashing into another in peak traffic. The owners of the two cars step out and begin bickering angrily, blaming each other for the accident. As the wrangling stretches on, their kids (dressed in school uniforms, signifying that their fathers were dropping them to school), look bored. Each boy tries to get his fathers attention in order to break the fight, but to no avail. The two boys then look at each other, and come up with a plan. One kid hurls orange juice from his bottle onto the others shirt. In retaliation, the other kid spatters muck all over the first boy.

The two then fall into a puddle nearby, rolling over in a fist fight. When onlookers point out what they are doing, their fathers are finally distracted from their fight. After some struggle, each father-son pair walks away in a huff. The two children turn and wink at each other, exchanging knowing smiles. A female voice-over concludes, Agar kuch achha karne mein daag lag jaate hain, to daag achha hain, na? Surf Excel. Daag Achhe Hain (If, by doing something good, your clothes get dirty, then dirt is good, isnt it? Surf Excel. Dirt is Good).

Media Strategy(Traditional)

Various categories of communication systems like broadcasting, print media,etc. are used for surf excel Billboards and posters In the Print Media such as newspapers, magazines,direct mails, out doors,etc are used In the broadcasting media television and radio (FM channels) are the major tools The frequency of ads is higher during the time slots 1.00pm to 3.00 pm and 9.00 pm 11.00 pm for stronger impact on target population Word of mouth publicity was an another way of promoting the brand. While Surf communication has been pleasant, soothing and gentle, Surf Excel has had a distinctively bold tongue in cheek style of communication Surf has taken communication beyond mass media advertising and involved consumers in the brands promise in the real world. It has touched consumers life through school contact and in-store programmes. Road shows have helped to go to the consumers and demonstrate superior performance vis--vis competition. Surf Excel has gained publicity through some surprising sources that it didnt initiate. Some of Surf Excels advertising has set off viral marketing in the country. Surf Excel hai na! on the net and commercials on SMS are just a few of the examples.
.

to

A brand building initiative in Mumbai In July 2000, the brand management team at Lowe Lintas, Mumbai, hit upon a novel idea leveraging the lunch dabba network in Mumbai to distribute free Surf Excel-branded tablemats at offices. "All of us have, at one time or another, stained our clothes by dropping food on them while eating lunch at office," explains a Lowe Lintas spokesperson. "This is quite embarrassing, especially when we have to go for a meeting. Also, whenever we eat at office, we are always looking around for a piece of paper to place our lunch boxes on. We saw a need and the branded tablemat idea was born." The fact that Mumbai had a phenomenal delivery mechanism egged Lintas on. The lunch dabba system in Mumbai is a fascinating study in terms of logistics. In fact, Sumantra Ghosal, of the London School of Economics, is attributed to have said that Fedex can draw some lessons from the dabba system in Mumbai. The system is spearheaded by one organization - the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers' Charity Trust - that is in charge of the distribution of the dabbas throughout Mumbai. There are two types of dabba systems in Mumbai; households that make one-to-two dabbas for selfconsumption; and professional suppliers who supply dabbas to customers at various offices.

The dabbawallas, as they are referred to, collect the lunch dabbas from different locations all over Mumbai. All the dabbas are then brought to a central point, from where the dabbawallas take the dabbas for a particular locality to a railway station nearest that locality. For instance, Churchgate Station is a central point for the distribution of dabbas bound for Churchgate, Nariman Point, Fort, Colaba-Cuffe Parade and Ballard Estate. Approximately 110,000 dabbas are distributed everyday. Realizing that it had a cracking idea, the brand team at Lintas approached cartoonist R.K. Laxman to design the tablemat. "This added to the novelty of the tablemat," says the spokesperson. "We figured that if people received a tablemat with R.K. Laxman's drawing on it, they would be less inclined to throw it away. Thus, the branded tablemat would be used again and again." Laxman too liked the idea and agreed to design the mat. Pleased with the way things were going, the agency presented the idea to the Surf Excel Brand Manager at HLL. "He appreciated the idea greatly and was extremely enthusiastic. He gave his go-ahead immediately," says the spokesperson. The mat was designed with the line Kuch Khana, Kuch Girana Surf Excel Hai Na' to drive home the point. Enlisting the help of the dabbawallas was no problem - they charged Lintas about Rs 1.50 for the distribution of each tablemat. The actual distribution of the tablemats took place in end October, in the areas of Mahalaxmi and Lowe Parel. "The idea was a huge success," gushes the member of the brand team. "When reactions were checked, people were very excited and pleasantly surprised to receive the tablemats along with their dabbas."

Internet Media

FACEBOOK: Surf Excel India

FANS 953,872 Talking about it: 72,664 APPLICATIONS: Back to school with a new friend PicBadges

Pledge for responsible parents

CONTENT : Relating to children & their hobbies/activities Mainly emotional advertising. Application

Surf Excel Indias Back To School Campaign On Facebook

Surf Excel in partnership with GuideStar India, a place to look for NGOs have launched the Back to School campaign. Parents can now make a gift box out of their childs used books, stationery, toys and clothes and then donate it to an NGO of their choice. More than 160 NGOs from across India are part of this campaign. The social initiative is being driven mainly through a neat app on the Surf Excel Facebook page and solves a common problem faced by most. More often than not, we take a step back

when it comes to donations as we are either ignorant or wary of a particular social service organisation. This app provides the user with an option to locate an NGO near her area. She can then get in touch with them or visit the NGO to know all about the children in their learning centres and their work. The app also has an option to share on your wall or invite your friends. The detergent brand from Unilever that promotes childhood with its Stains are good message, will donate 50p for every like on their Facebook page. With a 784,782 strong community, this should be a good deal for its fans as well as for the brand positioning.

Facebook can serve as the potential breeding ground for any kind of community-based activity. This nature often induces it to be utilised for bringing about social change. The networks social aspect coupled with the capability of sharing your story with pictures and actionable apps, makes it ideal for corporate social responsibility. The Surf Excel Back to school campaign has been well designed. The idea of supporting education for kids who cannot afford them and also growing your community with this message, is a good recipe for a like campaign. The Facebook page which was at 600,000 fans in the beginning is now thriving with a growth of nearly 200,000 fans! Also, the two things worth a mention are the use of Facebooks make viral features like share and invite.

Surf Excel :Youtube

154 subcribers Surf Excel has uploaded all the videos on youtube from the initial commercial till the latest one.

Surf Excel: Website

Activities for kids: On their website, one can click on any activities and can discover an artist, a chef, gardener in your little champion. Keep them engaged through holidays, get interesting tips for projects and moreover have fun!

Surf Excel Excels In Blogger Reach Through Soak No More Surf Excel promotes the new Surf Excel Matic that can remove deeply embedded stains even without soaking clothes, through a blogger contest called soak no more. The idea of Soak no more is open for interpretation by bloggers in their own inimitable style. But similar to the Surf Excel positioning that stains are good as a child learns something in the process of getting stained, soak no more has been thrown open for bloggers to deal with. The blogging contest at Indiblogger, an Indian blogger community, invites bloggers to share a story, a poem or narrate an incident that is related to soak no more.

Sales Promotion
Sales Force in Surf Excel is divided into 2 types: General Trade (general stores, Kiryana stores, Medical and General Stores) Local modern trade (super stores such as reliance fresh, Big Bazaar)The company has introduced its product in many price band to fit the budget of every consumer. It has came up with a price sachet of Rs. 2 of 14 gms to Rs 450 for 5 kg Surf excel is matching its price band with its competitor like Ariel HUL Introduced a Six Packer which contained 6 sachets (for a week usuage) for Rs 10.This was launched to make the product affordable in the large market.

When Dove was introduced by HUL ,it had to change to change the consumers bad perception that Dove was made of animal fat. Hence they promoted a free Dove soap for every kilogram of Surf Excel. IFB recommended to use SurF Excel with its Washing Machines.

Public Relations Surf Excel LIL Star awards on STAR Plus

Enthralling viewers with its innovative programming, the leading Hindi GEC Star Plus had geared to entertain its viewers, albeit the young ones by introducing a unique award show just for kids and by the kids, the Surf Excel LILSTAR AWARDS SHOW. Produced by Shah Rukh Khans Red Chillies Entertainment, Surf Excel LILStar Awards promised to leave viewers wanting for more incredible acts, gags and performances as for the first time, children under the age of 18 vote for their favorite actor, actress, mom, friend, best film etc in 19 categories.

Surf excel tied up with the movie-Chillar Party

HUL (Hindustan Unilever Limited) has gone a step further than in-film product placement.Chillar Party, the movie actually starts , in a classroom setting with school kids playing pranks on each other. The teacher enters and sees a couple of kids with dirty uniforms. Needless to say, the ad concludes with the legendary Daag Achhe Hain campaign. Wonder if this is a case of in-film placement or a pre-film placement.

Every year Surf Excel organizes childrens festivals- Kala Ghoda 2011, 2010,2009; Anandd Mela 2007, D-Mart 2008
Surf Excel - Kala` Ghoda Art Festival 2009 Concept: To accentuate the tagline of the product Daag acche hain (Stains are good!) - that when children play they dont just collect stains but experience life. The activity was part of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai, the annual festival of dance, music and art and other dance forms. Design: The theme of the activity was self expression and the age group was 6 - 16 years. A mask base was created in layers of wood and paper board. Each layer had a specific shape corresponding to the face. Participants were to paint these and assemble the layers according to their own individual choice. Execution: The activity was to be conducted at the outdoor venue itself. It was essential to blend in the fun and artistic factor intrinsically within the art experience while keeping it simple and easy to do. Each mask, therefore, served as a unit which, when placed in context with other masks on a wall, created a dramatic impact at the festival. Client feedback: ART:WORKS FOR YOU received positive feedback from the event agency as the activity was carried out without a hitch or disturbance.

In 2009,Kids across Mumbai 'Get Dirty for Peace' with Surf Excel on Radio City 91.1 FM Surf Excel, a leading detergent brand from Hindustan Unilever Limited, has come together with Indias leading Radio Network, Radio City 91.1 Fm to celebrate International Peace in Mumbai, where Children across the city got dirty for a noble cause and spread the message of peace in a unique & colorful way. Children across Mumbai are invited to participate in this activity through an on air campaign on Radio City. Across schools, kids will leave colorful hand impressions on multiple canvases. Surf Excel will then showcase these canvasses on hoardings and in malls across the City, in a bold statement for World Peace as defined through a Childs eyes.

CONCLUSION

The market share of surf excel in detergents went up to 28% in 2011. There was a decrease in its market share in 2012 and so we can conclude that surf excel currently is in its saturation stage and needs to come up with more innovative campaigns inorder to regain its market share.Differentiation in the brand is another option, The Daag Ache Hai campaign by Surf Excel is one of its longest running and one that has clicked with the audiences. Surf now needs to come up with a new campaign this year to accelerate its growth in the future