Case Report Section D Group 11
I. Executive Summary
In the wake of rising competition in the Indian Soap Industry, Himalaya Drug Company faced a challenge in positioning its recently launched Herbal Bath Soap—Himalaya Herbal Soap. After a gamut of successful health and wellness products, the Himalaya Drug Company recently entered the Soap Industry by launching Himalaya Herbal Soap. Entry into this overcrowded segment proved extremely difficult as it had to face intense completion from other established brands. Thus repositioning of the Himalaya Herbal Soup became increasingly necessary. The Brand Manager wanted the positioning of the soap to be such that it not only operates in the niche herbal market but also compete with other well-known soap brands operating in the mass market. Thus, reposition the brand to build a long term brand equity. On the basis of a customer perception survey an analysis of brand image perception, functional benefits perception, marketing communication and advertisement perception was performed. It was found that Himalaya soap brand owns less than 1% share of the soap market. Its penetration is only among the urban population. However, almost 70% of India's population resides in the rural areas. There remains huge untapped potential in rural market. Another problem was that the moisturising feature of Himalaya soap has been underplayed though in this regard it is only second to Dove. According to the analysis the repositioning should work so as to showcase what product is offering and its focus should be to occupy space in the mind of consumer. The focus should be on the value proposition-- moisturizing yet natural; traditional in contemporary outfit; healthy glowing skin. Also differentiation from other brands in terms of minimal use of chemicals; curing skin problems; no side effects; environment friendly soap (no test on animals) should be highlighted. As a part of long term brand building Strategy the recommendation include redesigning of the soap bar to more
In the wake of rising competition in the Indian Soap Industry, Himalaya Drug Company faced a challenge in positioning its recently launched Herbal Bath Soap—Himalaya Herbal Soap. After a gamut of successful health and wellness products, the Himalaya Drug Company recently entered the Soap Industry by launching Himalaya Herbal Soap. Entry into this overcrowded segment proved extremely difficult as it had to face intense completion from other established brands. Thus repositioning of the Himalaya Herbal Soup became increasingly necessary. The Brand Manager wanted the positioning of the soap to be such that it not only operates in the niche herbal market but also compete with other well-known soap brands operating in the mass market. Thus, reposition the brand to build a long term brand equity. On the basis of a customer perception survey an analysis of brand image perception, functional benefits perception, marketing communication and advertisement perception was performed. It was found that Himalaya soap brand owns less than 1% share of the soap market. Its penetration is only among the urban population. However, almost 70% of India's population resides in the rural areas. There remains huge untapped potential in rural market. Another problem was that the moisturising feature of Himalaya soap has been underplayed though in this regard it is only second to Dove. According to the analysis the repositioning should work so as to showcase what product is offering and its focus should be to occupy space in the mind of consumer. The focus should be on the value proposition-- moisturizing yet natural; traditional in contemporary outfit; healthy glowing skin. Also differentiation from other brands in terms of minimal use of chemicals; curing skin problems; no side effects; environment friendly soap (no test on animals) should be highlighted. As a part of long term brand building Strategy the recommendation include redesigning of the soap bar to more
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