SOM 610: Marketing Management - 2

RIN Detergent
Group 4 Section A
1. Poojachristine Thayyil - 199278026
2. Rohit Dawra - 199278027
3. Epuri Sai Harish - 199278028
4. Raj Chauhan - 199278030
5. Divya Guggilam – 199278031

Answer 1
A. Evaluation of Lever’s marketing planning and implementation
RIN was introduced in the Pakistan market in 1984. It was the only non-soap detergent (NSD) bar in
the market. Given its superior attributes and Rs.5.7 million marketing budget for the product launch,
management was targeting sales of 1000 tonnes in the first year itself, and for the longer term they
had invested in a production plant with a capacity of 5000 tonnes.
Actual results fell far short of expectations during 1984 till 1986, primarily because Lever’s marketing
plans in this period left a communication gap with consumers. Lever tried to use price-off
promotions as a solution, which failed since the problem was misdiagnosed. Even after a successful
new campaign mid-1986, some aspects of the communication gap remained. The main aspects that
caused this gap were:
1. Inadequate market research was done prior to product launch. Levers Pakistan assumed that
customers and market structures were similar in India and Pakistan. The management failed to
study the Pakistan market and identify its distinct features, the most striking being that blue
colour was strongly associated with dishwashing soap bars.
2. Advertising during product launch used confusing imagery. Thunder and lightning are associated
with rain, yet clothes cannot be washed outdoors in rainy weather.
3. Additional effort should have been made to educate distributors, retailers and consumers about
the benefits and intended use of RIN. NSD bars were new to the market – since RIN is the only
such product. The gap in communication is evident by the fact that retailers do not place the
product in the laundry soap section, and that 65% of consumers surveyed in 1988 used the
product only for dishwashing.
It is also evident that education about RIN was needed since even with a relatively small trade
discount of one free bar per dozen ordered, the use of leaflets and trade meetings lead to 40-60%
more orders during trade promotions.
The main aspects that contributed to the successful relaunch in 1986 were:
1. The use of an appropriate celebrity endorser to establish trust in the message of RIN’s
superiority and cost effectiveness.
2. Clear and unambiguous messaging that RIN was superior to laundry soaps. RIN’s attributes were
clearly stated, compared to the earlier campaign where the lightning imagery was intended to
imply the attribute of superior brightness without a direct attack on laundry soap.

B. What would we have done

- Prior to product launch, the Pakistan market should have been studied to identify its distinct
features. On becoming aware that blue is strongly associated with dishwashing soap in Pakistan, the
management should discuss and plan how to position RIN.
- RIN being the only NSD bar, the product launch should have focused on educating the distributors,
retailers and consumers about its superiority compared to laundry soap. This could have been done
through informative leaflets, free samples to consumers, product demonstrations at trade meetings
(for retailers and distributors) and at women’s gatherings (for consumers).
- Advertising imagery and clarity of message should have been scrutinized prior to launch, or a focus
group of consumers could have reviewed the advertisements prior to launch. The idea of using a
trusted celebrity endorser suitable to the target demographic should have been emerged earlier.
- Product placement in retailer shelves should have been inspected and appropriate placement
should have been agreed with retailers.

Answer 2
1. Targeting both ‘Dish washing’ & ‘Fabric Washing’
Alternative 1
Target both the market with one
brand i.e RIN
Alternative 2
Launch 2 different brands for 2
different use cases:
RIN for Dishwashing &
New brand or a new product under
surf for Fabric Washing
Pros :
 Target both the markets with a single soap
 Positioning it as multipurpose soap
 No change required in product except packaging
 Can charge higher due to its multipurpose
property
Cons :
 No clear segmentation between the two segments
 Won’t have much impact on sales in Fabric
washing market
 Retailers will be confused and hence won’t get
clear shelves space
Pros :
 Clear distinction in consumers’ minds for two use
cases
 Distinct shelves spaces for both the products
 Can remove the special fabric ingredient from RIN,
will help in cost reduction
 Fabric washing bar can utilise the brand equity of
Surf or Sunlight
 Launch with a different colour so that consumers
don’t use it for dishwashing again
Cons:
 Huge investment to launch a new product
 It will have to do market efforts from scratch, will
cost the company a lot
 Change in packaging

2. RIN as a Dish Washing Bar

Alternative 3 - Pros :
To position RIN as a dish washing bar and  On elimination of special ingredient can
targeting the dishwashing segment reduce the total variable cost by 33%
  Already perceived as dishwasher due to
its blue colour
 Can sell at higher selling price
 Actual consumers could be targeted
 Could capture a new market segment

Cons :
 Increase in marketing as well as
operational budget
 Might lose existing customer base

3. RIN as a Fabric washer

Alternative 4 –
To position RIN as a Fabric washer and
targeting the fabric washing segment
Pros :
 Using colours for packaging, like yellow
or white, other than blue can create a
new perception in consumers’ mind
 Add fragrance to the bars to create a
new sense
 Appropriate shelf space in retailers end
 Using common man for advertisements
instead of celebrities

Cons :
 Increase in marketing expenses
 Might lose out customers in dish
washing segment which are high in
numbers

Our Recommendation:
As such in alternative 2 of option 1, though the initial investment required is high but the target
segment is also huge. If successful, it will help us to capture both the market and break even quickly
Increase in sales is almost certain. Increasing sales by targeting all customer segments reduces the
production cost as well. We also know for the fact that manufacturing facility is underutilised
Therefore, launching 2 different products with 2 different brands will be a better strategy here.