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INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY The project undertaken is on MARKETING STRATEGY OF UNILEVER FOR LIFEBUOY soap. It describes about the Marketing strategy using by HUL for the success of both product and company. Goals indicate what a business unit wants to achieve; Strategy is a action plan for getting the goals. Every business must be design a strategy for achieving its goals,consisting of a marketing strategy, and a compatible technology strategy and sourcing strategy.Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. A marketing strategy should be centered around the key concept that customer satisfaction is the main goal.

CHAPTER 1 continues..

Unilever is one of the worlds largest and leading multinational companies; Unilever commenced their business activities on a larger scale by setting up their first factory in Netherlands, in the year of 1872. Operating in Bangladesh for over the last four decades the company is trying to significantly contribute towards the augmentation of the standard of living by bringing world class high quality products at the door step of their customers. The usage of Unilever products by over 90% of the people in Bangladesh stands a testimony to their successful operation. . Their array of products show that they produce household care, fabric cleaning, skin cleansing, skin care, oral care, hair care, personal grooming, and tea based beverage products under worldwide famous brand names Wheel, LUX, Lifebuoy, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Close Up, Sunsilk, Lipton, Lipton Taaza, Pepsodent, All Clear, Vim, Surf Excel,etc.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

This report is an outcome of an analysis of marketing strategies used by Hindustan Unilever Ltd. The main purpose of the report is to find what strategies the company uses to market its world famous soap, LIFEBUOY, in India; the positive and negative aspects of those strategies. The report further analyzes the position of Hindustan Unilever Ltd. in the toiletry industry in comparison to its competitors. The 10 report discusses the process of using market segmentation, target marketing, the product, pricing, promotional and distribution strategies and a competitive analysis.

METHODOLOGY OF THIS REPORT: For accessibility and availability of information we have chosen to work on the strategies of Hindustan Unilever Ltd. As the company operates in the market with a huge number of products in different industries, we have decided to focus on one of their world wide successful brands, LIFEBUOY. The information used in this report is from secondary sources. The main source of information was from websites.

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THE INDIAN SOAP INDUSTRY: The origins of personal cleanliness date back to prehistoric times. Since water is essential for life, the earliest people lived near water and knew something about its cleansing properties - at least that it rinsed mud off their hands. A soap-like material found in clay cylinders during the excavation of ancient Babylon is evidence that soap making was known as early as 2800 B.C. Inscriptions on the cylinders say that fats were boiled with ashes, which is a method of making soap, but do not refer to the purpose of the "soap." Such materials were later used as hair styling aids.Soap got its name, according to an ancient Roman legend, from Mount Sapo,where animals were sacrificed. Rain washed a mixture of melted animal fat, or tallow, and wood ashes down into the clay soil along the Tiber River. Women found that this clay mixture made their wash cleaner with much less effort.

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS:

The toilet soaps market is estimated at 530,000 tpa including small imports. The market is littered over with several, leading national and global brands and a large number of small brands, which have limited markets. The popular and premium brands include Lifebuoy, Lux, Cinthol, Liril, Rexona, and Nirma. Toilet soaps, despite their divergent brands, are not well differentiated by the consumers. It is, therefore, not clear if it is the brand loyalty or experimentation lured by high volume media campaign, which sustain them. A consequence is that the market is fragmented. It is obvious that this must lead to a highly competitive market.Toilet soap, once only an urban phenomenon, has now penetrated practically all areas including remote rural areas. The incremental demand flows from population increase and rise in usage norm impacted as it is by a greater concern for hygiene.Increased sales revenues would also expand from up gradation of quality or per unitvalue.

As the market is constituted now, it can be divided into four price segments: premium, popular, discount and economy soaps. Premium soaps are estimated to have a market volume of about 80,000 tonnes. This translates into a share of about 14 to 15%.Soaps form the largest pie of the FMCG Market with bathing & toilet soapsaccounting for around 30% of the soap market, by value. Currently, the soap industry is divided into three segments namely Premium, Popular and Economy/ Sub popular.To fight competition, major players Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) and Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting are now drawing up fresh game plans. And the accent is clearly on innovation to gain mind share as well as market share in this overcrowded category.

MAJOR PLAYERS: 1.Hindustan Unilever Ltd. With over seven brands LUX, LIFEBUOY, HAMAM, REXONA, BREEZE, DOVE and PEARS has 54.3% share of the overall soap market. HUL is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods(FMCG) Company; its journey began 75 years ago, in 1933,when the company was first incorporated. The company stirring the lives of two out of three Indians with over 20 distinct categories in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages and also one of the country's largest exporters. HUL's brands includes Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond's,Sunsilk, Clinic, Pepsodent, Closeup, Lakme, Brooke Bond, Kissan, Knorr-Annapurna, Kwality Wall's - are household names across the country. They are manufactured in over 40 factories across India. In the Rs7,000 crore by sales soap market, HULs market share has dropped to 54.3% in March 2008 from 55.9% in March 2006.

2.GODREJ CONSUMER PRODUCTS GCPL, Indias second largest soap maker after Hindustan Unilever Ltd, has nearly 9.2% market share. With 11% market share in value terms, it is the second largest soap maker after Hindustan Unilever. Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) is a major player in the Indian FMCG market with leadership in personal, hair, household and fabric care segments. The company is one among the largest marketer of toilet soaps in the country with leading brands such as CINTHOL, FAIRGLOW, NIKHAR, & ALLCARE. Fairglow brand, India's first Fairness soap, has created marketing history as one of the most successful innovations. It is also the preferred supplier for contract manufacturing of toilet soaps, some of which are the most well-known brands in the country.

3.WIPRO In the Indian market, Wipro is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the corporate segment in India. Wipro also has a profitable presence in niche market segments of infrastructure engineering, and consumer products & lighting.Wipro has made a large acquisition in the Consumer Care business. The presence of Wipro in the toilet soap industry can be seen through their brands such as SANTOOR and CHANDRIKA. With industry leading organic growth rates and the acquisition, Consumer care business has reached a Revenue run rate in excess of $100 million per quarter.

4.Procter & Gamble India Procter & Gamble India (PGHHCL) was incorporated in 1964 after Procter & Gamble, US, acquired Richardson Vicks, US. Formerly known as Richardson Hindustan (the Indian subsidiary), it was later named as P&G. It changed its name again in 1998 to Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care in order to reflect the nature and character of the business of the company. During 2004-05 the company has increased its installed capacity of Soaps & Detergents and Toilet Preparations

etc by 36500 Tonnes and 263 Tonnes respectively. With this expansion the total installed capacity of Soaps & Detergents and Toilet Preparations etc has increased to 108500 Tonnes and 5875 Tonnes respectively.

5.Nirma: Incorporated as a private limited company, Nirma was converted into a deemed public company and then to a public limited one in Nov.'93. Nirma has a leadership presence in Detergents, Soaps and Personal Care Products. To have a greater control on the quality and price of its raw materials, Nirma undertook backward integration into manufacture of Industrial Products like Soda Ash, Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB), Alfa Olefin Sulphonates (AOS), Fatty Acid, Glycerine and Sulphuric Acid. During 1996-97, Nilnita Chemicals, Nirma Detergents, Nirma Soaps and Detergents, and Shiva Soaps and Detergents were amalgamated with the company.The company created 'Nirma Consumer Care Ltd.' - a wholly owned subsidiary on 22nd Aug.'97, which is the sole licensee of the brand name 'Nirma' within India.Nirma enjoys a share of 6.74% in soaps.

6.ITC: ITC, the countrys largest cigarette maker, entered the segment last year and has made a strong headway in a short time. According to AC Nielsen, its share has grown to 1.75% in just five months despite the fact that many of its brands such as Superia, Fiama Di Wills and Vivel are currently sold in only six states.

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HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD. AT A GLANCE: Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) formerly Hindustan Lever Limited (it was renamed in late June 2007 as HUL), is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company, touching the lives of two out of three Indians with over 20 distinct categories in Home & Personal Care Products

and Foods & Beverages. These products endow the company with a scale of combined volumes of about 4 million tonnes and sales of nearly Rs.13718 crores. HUL is also one of the country's largest exporters; it has been recognized as a Golden Super Star Trading House by the Government of India.The mission that inspires HUL's over 15,000 employees, including over 1,300 managers, is to "add vitality to life." HUL meets everyday needs for nutrition,hygiene, and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. It is a mission HUL shares with its parent company, Unilever, which holds 52.10% of the equity. The rest of the shareholding is distributed among 360,675 individual shareholders and financial institutions.HUL's brands like Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely,Pond's, Sunsilk, Clinic, Pepsodent, Close up, Lakme, Brooke Bond, Kissan, Knorr Annapurna, Kwality Wall's are household names across the country and span many categories soaps, detergents, personal products, tea, coffee,branded staples, ice cream and culinary products. These products are manufactured over 40 factories across India. The operations involve over 2,000 suppliers and associates. HUL's distribution network comprises about 4,000 redistribution stockiest, covering 6.3 million retail outlets reaching the entire urban population, and about 250 million rural consumers.

HISTORY: Unilever was created in 1930 by the amalgamation of the operations of British soap maker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie, a merger as palm oil was a major raw material for both margarines and soaps and could be imported more efficiently in larger quantities. In the late 19th century the businesses that would later become Unilever HUL among the most philanthropic of their time.They set up projects to improve the lot of their workers and created products with a positive social impact, making hygiene and personal care commonplace and improving nutrition through adding vitamins to foods that HUL already daily staples.Today, Unilever still believes that success means acting with 'the highest standards

of corporate behavior towards our employees, consumers and the societies and world in which HUL live'. Over the years HUL've launched or participated in an evergrowing range of initiatives to source sustainable supplies of raw materials, protect environments, support local communities and much more. Through this timeline you'll see how our brand portfolio has evolved. At the beginning of the 21st century, our Path to Growth strategy focused us on global highpotential brands and our Vitality mission is taking us into a new phase of development. More than ever, our brands are helping people 'feel good, look good and get more out of life' a sentiment close to Lord Leverhulme's heart over a hundred years ago. In 19th century Although Unilever wasn't formed until 1930, the companies that joined forces to create the business HUL know today HUL already HUL established before the start of the 20th century.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF HUL:

STRENGTHS Strong brand portfolio,price,quantity & variety. Innovative Aspects. Presence of Established distribution networks in both urban and rural areas.  3400 distributers  16 million outlets over the world.  700 million customer base. Strong R&D of the company Highly skilled human resource. Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR)

WEAKNESSES Strong Competitors. Low exports level (at present). Changing consumption pattern. High advertising costs.

OPPORTUNITIES Large domestic market over a billion population. Untapped rural market. Changing Lifestyles & Rising income levels, i.e. increasing per capital income of consumers.

THREATS Tax and regulatory structure. Mimic of brands Entry of ITC in FMCG sector. Increasing cost of raw material

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PRODUCT INFORMANTION MISSION:

To bring safety, security and health to 5 billion people through the active Promotion of hand washing with soap.

INTRODUCTION: Lifebuoy is a famous and distinctive brand of soap that was created by the Lever Brothers soap factory in 1894. It was the first soap to use carbolic acid, which gave it a red color and strong, medicinal scent. Lifebuoy is still manufacture d today and is the leading brand of soap in many

developing countries including India. Today Lifebuoy is sold in all over the World. It is market leader in every market where it is sold. The desire to be clean, active and healthy is intrinsic to every one irrespective of age or economic status. Lifebuoy understands this need and champions the cause for hygiene and health around the world.An inspiring vision for more hygienic, healthier and ultimately more vital communities is the driving force behind the Lifebuoy brand. To realise this vision, Lifebuoy has looked to consistently innovate and provide accessible hygiene and health products to a wide variety of consumers. This vision also commits the Lifebuoy brand team to visible action, inspiring projects that motivate consumers to improve their hygiene behavior.

EVOLUTION AND CHANGES: Lifebuoy went through several changes and incarnations throughout the brand's history. A white version of the soap was introduced in 1962 and contained a light perfume scent. Pink and aqua versions were released soon after. Each package of Lifebuoy soap contained the phrase "Knocks out B.O."and the brand is credited with coining the long-standing abbreviation for body odour. The original Lifebuoy soap was manufactured in the UK until 1987 when the production and distribution was halted. The brand was shortly taken over by Unilever and is still in production today---albeit with several key differences. Due to regulations put forth by the European Union, the soap can no longer contain carbolic because it is potentially toxic and linked to skin irritation and respiratory tract problems with prolonged exposure. The substance is also considered a possible carcinogen. Lifebuoy soap is still the leading brand of soap in several countries worldwide,specifically in India and parts of Southern Asia. Unilever produces a wide range of products under the Lifebuoy umbrella such as body wash, liquid soaps and acne-fighting solutions.Lifebuoy's goal is to provide affordable and accessible hygiene and health solutions that enable people to lead a life without fear of hygiene anxieties and health consequences.

HYGIENE EDUCATION AND DISASTER RELIEF: The brand's core promise of protection and a commitment to support life through unbeatable protection is at the heart of the brand name itself Lifebuoy, the guarantee of protection when you are threatened. For example, a 1930's campaign in the US was titled 'Clean hands help guard health', encouraging the use of Lifebuoy soap to kill the germs on hands that can cause health issues. A similar campaign continues today, with Lifebuoy hygiene education programmes ongoing in countries including India,Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Vietnam

Lifebuoy also has a history of helping people maintain hygiene in times of natural disaster. During the 1940 Blitz of London, the brand set up mobile, free washing facilities for public use. Each unit was equipped with showers,towels and soap. In 2004 after a Tsunami hit Asia, Lifebuoy bars were sent in relief packages to India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia to help prevent the spread of disease.

The brand also provided aid after earthquakes hit Pakistan and Northern India in 2005. Lifebuoy donated over 200,000 bars of soap to the International Committee of the Red Cross to support the recovery effort.

LIFEBUOY PORTFOLIO: Today, the Lifebuoy brand is more than the quintessential bar of red soap, and provides hygiene and health for the entire family through a range of products like liquid hand wash and specially designed body wash. Beyond ensuring daily hygiene and freshness, Lifebuoy products also address special needs like

anti-acne and skin fortification for an all around cleansing experience. Lifebuoy Hand Sanitizer effectively disrupts bacterias cell membrane & viruss outer coat thereby kills germs & viruses on your hands.  Proven to instantly kill 99.99% germs.  Proven to kill H1N1 virus  Dries quickly, is non-sticky and has soothing fragrance.  Has Moisturizer and Vitamin E to keep your hands soft and smooth .  .Lifebuoy bar soaps support childrens health and growth by providing extended germ protection for up to 12 hours after a bath thanks to enhanced ingredients.  Lifebuoy Body Wash provides deep cleansing of pores, protecting against the three root causes of skin health problems clogged pores, over-drying, and infectioncausing germs.Clean, germ-free hands are the key to good health, as ingestion of germs from unhygienic hands at mealtimes is the most likely cause for common diseases. Lifebuoy Hand Soaps offer hospital-strengthgerm protection, with a unique formulation that generates a richlather. This provides an effective and hygienic wash in everycorner of the hands and nails, at the same time leaving your hands pleasantly fragrant.

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MARKET STRATEGIES FOR LIFEBUOY: Lifebuoy has always been marketed as a tough cleaning soap for a tough man. (Of course, the 2002 re-launch targeted Lifebuoy as a soap that brought good health to the entire family). Lifebuoy has been seen as a value for- money product, a soap that is long-lasting. In a very smart TV ad campaign, 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 Lifebuoy, they are in a position to ensure cleanliness and hygiene for the entire community. Thus, Lifebuoy not only ensures good health and cleanliness for individuals, but healthy and productive communities as well.The Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana programme uses a direct consumer contact methodology, and touches the lives of 70 million people in 18,000 villages. A unique feature of this campaign is that it utilizes multiple contacts, as opposed to other programmes which are single contact in nature.The brand USP is, Lifebuoy provides 100% better protection from germs as compared to ordinary soaps.

LIFEBUOY S MARKET SEGMENTATION AND TARGETING: The targeting market for lifebuoy is all households who can afford buying soap and who want to fulfill everyday need that provides them and their family with a 100 anti bacterial solution and complete protection from all germs bacteria and cleanliness from dirt Lifebuoy belief that children are the potential agent for change and imparting education on the importance of hand washing with soap will enable them to adopt early habit in life.

LIFEBUOY S REPOSITIONING STRATEGY: Lifebuoy soap is a very old brand of bath soap in India, Life Buoy is an anti bacterial soap and in the beginning it positioned itself on its antibacterial qualities, lifebuoy gained a number of customers with this positioning, but then there comes the competition with the Dettol soap.All this put Lifebuoy out of lime light and to survive in market, Lifebuoy positioned itself on price it became low price antibacterial soap. This strategy may have boosted short term sales of Lifebuoy but it lost its brand value and credibility in the minds of customers. Lifebuoy needed to reposition itself on quality rather than price.

REPOSITIONING CAMPAIGN: The repositioning campaign of Lifebuoy was started at 2008, but it became more prominent and became effective in 2009, Lifebuoy along with the advertisement has improved its quality and fragrance, most of the people had shifted from lifebuoy because it was low quality and it smelled terribly, as Lifebuoy has improve d its quality all it needed to run an effective advertisement campaign to get the customers attention. The advertisement team of Lifebuoy came up with excellent theme Healthy Hoga Hindustan and it is targeting parents which is their target market, Lifebuoy made very effective ad and it also used fear strategy (which is effective in case of antibacterial soap). This has enabled Lifebuoy to get more and more customers. Now a days, Lifebuoy is everywhere in Television, Radio, Newspapers and Billboards, Lifebuoy is running a huge campaign to promote itself which is very necessary in case of repositioning the brand.With the help of marketing department and advertisement, Lifebuoy has successfully repositioned itself as a quality antibacterial soap with better fragrance and more durability. Many companies try to reposition themselves when they see market trend shifting but most fail to do so. In case of Lifebuoy it has been successful.The interesting thing about this campaign is that Lifebuoy is running the same campaign in Pakistan and in India as is done by Unilever, this suggest that Lifebuoy is considering India and Pakistan as the similar market segment.

MARKET STRATEGIES: WITH RESPECT TO 4P S:

PRODUCT: A product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a need or want.Products that are marketed include physical goods, services, experiences, events,persons, places, properties, organizations, information and ideas.

Product Classification Lifebuoy is a Tangible, Non Durable Good on the basis of this classification. Lifebuoy and other soaps fall into the category of Convenience Good.

Product Life Cycle: Lifebuoy Bar is in the maturity stage of its life cycle.

PRODUCT STRATEGIES: Placing a brand in that part of the market where it will have a favorable reception compare with other brands. Unilever position Lifebuoy when come in red colors as a brand of low income group.They choose their segment and position their brand according to the needs and wants of the segments. This segment wants long life of the soap and the chemical formula of Lifebuoy enables it to have long life.

PRODUCT REPOSITIONING STRATEGY: Due to competition, Unilever has to reposition its brand Lifebuoy because the needs and wants of people are changed. Unilever should revise its marketing mix to reposition Lifebuoy. Now they are targeting whole India by the advertisement Healthy Hoga Hindustan. They position their brand for the health conscious people. In repositioning they changed the shape, color and the attributes of the Lifebuoy because want this kind of changes and they do this through environmental scanning.

PRODUCT OVERLAP STRATEGY: Unilever is also using Overlap strategy between Capri and Lifebuoy. The potential customers move from Capri to Lifebuoy and from Lifebuoy to Capri. In this way they are keeping the potential customers with themselves. PRODUCT SCOPE STRATEGY: Single Brand: Unilever is using single brand strategy when Lifebuoy came in traditional red color and use by lower income group. Multiple Brands: In order to attain the whole market Unilever has introduced Lifebuoy shampoo to capture more growth and profits. PRODUCT DESIGN STRATEGY: Deals with the standardization of the product. Unilever is using two of product development strategies. Standard product: Unilever is offering a standard product of Lifebuoy soap and shampoo by standardized packaged product.

Customized product: In case of Lifebuoy shampoo different sizes are available, customers use according to its requirements from 200ml bottle to 5ml sachet pack since there is no one time consumption.

PRICING STRATEGIES: Market penetration: Market penetration is the name given to a growth strategy where the business focuses on selling existing products into existing markets. Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives:  Maintain or increase the market share of current products, this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling.  Secure dominance of growth markets.  Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors; this would require a much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy-designed to make the market unattractive for competitors.  Increase usage by existing customers for example by introducing loyalty schemes Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) like lifebuoy shop has to be Some requirements for making an impression in the market for penetrating: 1) Strong distribution channel 2) Minimum profit margin 3) Simple marketing message 4) Lesser-priced packs to increase affordability 5) Packaging in smaller units and localized design that attracts consumers. 6) Convenience of storage while use 7) Thorough knowledge of the village psyche In brief, the strategy revolves around what attracts consumers to a product.

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES: Successful promotion campaigns don't happen by chance. To realize goals promotional products programs must be carefully planned, taking into consideration the audience, budget and, of course, the ultimate result to be gained. 1. Define a specific objective. 2. Determine a workable distribution plan to a targeted audience. 3. Create a central theme. 4. Develop a message to support the theme. 5. Select a promotional product that bears a natural relationship to your profession or communications theme. 6. Don't pick an item based solely on uniqueness, price or perceived value.Don't fall prey to the latest trends or fads. The most effective promotional products are used in a cohesive, wellplanned campaign. Sales promotions are non-personal promotional efforts that are designed to have an immediate impact on sales. Media and non-media marketing communications are employed for a predetermined limited time to increase consumer demand, stimulate market demand or improve product availability. Lifebuoy is promoting its product using these kinds of promotional techniques. Consumer sales promotion techniques: The different consumer sales promotion techniques used by Lifebuoy are:y y Price deal: A temporary reduction in the price, such as happy hour. Cents-off deal: Offers a brand at a lower price. Price reduction may be a percentage markedon the package. y Price-pack deal: The packaging offers a consumer a certain percentage more of the product for the same price (for example, 25 percent extra). y y Coupons: coupons have become a standard mechanism for sales promotions. Free-standing insert (FSI): A coupon booklet is inserted into the local newspaper for delivery. y Contests/sweepstakes/games: The consumer is automatically entered into the event by purchasing the product.

PLACE

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES: Movement of goods and services from the source through the distribution channel, right up to the final consumer, or user and the movement of payment in the opposite direction, right up tothe original producer or supplier. Chanel of Distribution: A distribution channel can be as short as being direct from the vendor to the consumer or may include several inter-connected (usually independent but mutually dependent)intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, agents, retailers. Each intermediary got the items at one pricing point and moves it to the next higher pricing point until it reaches the final buyer also called channel of distribution or marketing channel.

The Importance of Distribution: Most producers use intermediaries to bring their products to market they try to develop a Distribution channel to do this. A distribution channel is a set of Interdependent organizations that help make a product available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user. Channel intermediaries are firms or individuals such as wholesalers, agents, brokers, or retailers who help move a product from the producer to the consumer or business user. A companys channel decisions directly affect every other marketing decision. Place decisions, for example, affect pricing. Marketers that distribute products through mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart will have different pricing objectives and strategies than will those that sell to specialty stores. Distribution decisions can sometimes give a product a distinct position in the market. The choice of retailers and otherintermediaries is strongly tied to the product itself. Manufacturers select mass merchandisers to sell mid-price-range products while they distribute top-of-the-line products through high-end department and specialty stores. The firms sales force and communications decisions depend on how much persuasion, training, motivation, and support its channel partners need.Whether a company develops or acquires certain new products may depend on how well those products fit the capabilities of its channel members.

Existing strategy: Unilever uses a lot of distributors and retailers to supply its products in each market where the final customer might reasonably look for it. While appointing a distributor for a particular area, management uses its own judgment to select such a person that has a potential to operate effectively. Unilever uses an intensive distribution strategy for lifebuoy soap while at the same brand but in shampoos category it introduces only extensive strategy. Unilever did not fight for the better shelf space for lifebuoy soap. Lifebuoy is targeting middle and low income consumers so shelf space is not important our main focus is on intensive distribution and ideal price with some innovation.

SUGGESTED DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY: We have suggested that Unilever for life buoy should introduce a new kind of distribution strategy that will be a strategic fit between its productions to consumptions. Unilever should identify its larger, medium and small consumption areas and design the channel accordingly. According to my sense and survey lifebuoy must go for intensive distribution with wholesaler and retailers in the areas where rate of consumption is usually very greater than that of the other areas where comparatively rate of consumption is not so attractive. Lifebuoy is available at every outlet and at every big, medium and even at very small stores(hatti).Now we want to save the cost of per Tikki soap in Urban areas by reducing intensive approach and turning to a new strategy that a more easily applicable and sensible.We have discussed the following diagrammatic distribution method of Unilever for Lifebuoy in the both Rural and Urban Market as well. We have eliminated the existence of wholesaler from in the Urban market as of many reasons:It is a lower consumption area for Lifebuoy Warehousing cost can be a big trouble for wholesalers as they did not purchase extra quantity from distributors and company and definitely it increases cost of contacting to wholesaler and managing relationship.While the selection of channel company considers customer buying patterns and the nature of the market.

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CONCLUSION: After study the market strategies of HUL for Lifebuoy, I have reached these following conclusions:  HUL is the market leader in the FMCG sector in India.  Lifebuoy soap brand market leader at Indian Urban and Rural Areas.  Most of the customers are satisfied with the performance of Lifebuoy soap and their other products.  Approx 70% customers have positive and 30% customers have negative attitude in support of preference of Lifebuoy soap and the other products of Lifebuoy.  Customer's awareness level is better in India.  Lifebuoy soap Improving health & hygiene for over 100 years in Indian and all over world.

SUGGESTIONS: I have tried to fully analyze the existing strategies of Lifebuoy, what I find from this detail analysis are discussed as improved version of Lifebuoy where suggestions are given from our side and what adjustments can be made in the present strategies to improve the product performance and overall image of the product in the customers mind. y In evaluating the position of the Indian market, Lifebuoy is lacking in its market geography strategy as it is more common in rural areas of the country where more of the urban citizens keep it as a low level brand. y The major challenge Unilever has to face is its commitment to its old brand of Lifebuoy. Unilever got a major setback when Reckitt Benckiser introduced Dettol through a heavy media campaign. Unilever has tried to compensate that through promotional program of Healthy Hoga India but still it needs a strong and continuous commitment to this product.

Lifebuoy has well repositioned itself but still there is need to change the image that it is a low quality low price product.

In penetrating the market through price, Lifebuoy has to compete with brands of P&G, Reckitt Benckiser and Colgate-Palmolive which are a good name of quality, so accordingly Lifebuoy has to adjust its prices at that level where it creates dominance among the existing brands.

In promoting the worth of the Lifebuoy, it has to modify its promotional campaigns base on traditional heroism and fantasy; one is to come up with new realistic approaches highlighting the need of an antibacterial soap in most hygienic environment.

While deciding about the selection of Channel Company should consider customer buying patterns and the nature of the market.

A general distribution pattern with distributors and retailers are the agents in the urban areas to remove lag time in delivery of the product. Since in rural areas the places are diversified so to improve the distribution there is an inclusion of the whole seller to make the distribution extensive.

These are some suggestions from our side identified through complete analysis and view of Lifebuoy. I hope that these suggestions can make a difference in the Lifebuoy by proper implementation and planning.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Google.com Wikipedia.com Scribd.com Marketing teachers .com Marketingprofs.com Dostoc.com Slideshare.com Principle of marketing Philip kotler.

DISSERTATION REPORT ON MARKETING STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY HUL FOR LIFEBUOY SOAP.