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lux - Strong Differentiation

The personal wash market is valued at Rs.45 billion (ORG-MARG). The market has seen stagnant sales over the last
four years and the low entry barriers have led to intense competition between national and local brands.
Lux is the larges~ personal wash brand in the country with a value share
of 17%. Consumer preference has led to Lux becoming one of the most trusted
brands in the country. Lux has retained its leadership status by strongly
differentiating itself - no soap brand can claim to be more aspirational for the
Indian consumer than Lux - 'the beauty soap of film stars'.
The last three years have seen Lux continue to grow far ahead of the
market, It has gained close to 4% share in this period. A key initiative that has
fuelled this growth has been the launch of Mini Lux - strategically priced at
Rs.5 to bring it within the reach of 300million rural consumers. The introduction
of new perfume and ingredient variants, addressing new benefit segments, has
been the other growth driver.
Lux soap was launched in India in 1929. The first bar of Lux was made in India and sold for a sum of two annas in
1934. From the very first advertiserrient in 1929 featuring Leela Chitnis, the gorgeous faces of tne silver screen have come
out in the open with their beauty secret - Lux. Popularly known as 'the beauty soap of film stars', Lux has been a favourite
with generations of users for the experience of sensuous, luxurious bathing. The brand name, Lux, has been taken from the
word, 'luxury'.
Since its launch in India, Lux has offered a range of soaps in different colours and fragrances. The benefit offered by
all were the same - beautiful skin. Desirable product sensoria's (appealing to all senses), its world-class fragrances and
nourishing ingredients have made a strong product differentiation for Lux, making the Lux bath a pleasurable experience.
But Lux being the market leader 1135 evolved along with the changing needs of its consumers. The late 1980s saw the
emergence 01a premium segment in the soap category - a new consumer set whose beauty and bathing needs bocan to
evolve. In 1989, to tap this segment, l.U)I iaunchso a range of premium soaps to sui! different skin types.
\/Vith icons of beauty endorsing the t':'3IlfJ , :he offerings made by Lux have always been superior and have always led
the market, setting benchmarks for comp hix;. Lux has beauty offerings in two of the four market segments - popular and
premium, spanning the needs of varied CG: sumers. Lux Toilet Soap in the popular segment has, in the past four Y :3ars
(since 2001), offered its customers a r3.n~J eof soaps enriched with the goodness of a variety of nourishing ingredients -
rose extracts, almond oi!, milk cream, rrurt extracts, and honey, which are known to harbour the secrets of incredibly
perfect skin. /l.t the upper end of the market is the premium range which continues to otter f.pociali?8d skincare tc its
customers in the form or lntsrnational Lux - a range of moisturizing, coep cleansing, and sunscreen soaps. !-(eaping in tun"'
with the changin9ti,'r,s:"., it h.?~; also launched Lux Body Wash which offers superior bathing benefi;s .

In /''\priI2003, Lux relauncbeo its lower-tier range to offer even better product quelity in comperisou with oth8: 30.;,:,;
in the competitive set It is now superblvcoised to deliver tile branci nrornise 01beauty care and bathirlg pleasure.
T'J establish the presence of nO~ii'i:;hir(:lingredients in tho new Lux (stronger product differentiation), a unique C01') .<:',.It,
'ir,;J i'eciients you C8.nsee in a soap', INi3;;; bOiTL A nove' metallic substrate packaging beautifully showcased the ingreciia:-a,
and its ,,;iobally accepted ingr8dil)nis'li'~;(l'}d perfumes hei'J hlHr'1ed th:J sensory experience :~f.jclloi the soaps in the ,;)i' ;;;
h;;l~' mill' cream, with the active i"'qreCL:;i"ll::' of rose extracts, ~~,:jrtddl,satlron. aimn:\(, oii ami 'fl'uit extracts. These c(e?t'" :\[1
exporience in pampering indulr.;cnc:e aile! lux:ur~!(j8signHo to b;'jil:; out th.~)star in every womar..
Lux campaigns have wooed millions of people over the decades. Popularly known as the beauty soap of film stars,
Lux has been an intimate partner of the brightest stars on the silver screen, for decades. An ode to their beauty, an
announcement ot their stardom, advertising campaigns on Lux have featured film stars across the nation, promising their
beauty and complexion to ordinary women. With top movie stars - from Madhubala to Madhuri, from Babita to Karishma
and Kareena, interspaced with leading film stars, Hema Malini, J uhi Chawla and Sreedevi - having endorsed the goodness
of Lux over generations, it was natural that the brand has built equity as the best beauty soapin India. In the global market,
some of the international film stars who endorsed Lux include Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Penelope Cruz, Catherine
Zeta J ones, Racquel Welch and Charlize Theron.
From the beginning, Lux, by using a leading film star of the time, has fulfilled the consumers' aspirations of LJ sing
beauty via the rationale,'if it's good enough for a film star, it's good for me.' This later moved into a transformational role
of having a bath with Lux, which transports the user into a fantasy world of icons, film stars and fairylands.
However, this communication was slowly seen to be losing relevance, as consumers were beginning to question if the
filmstars actually used the brand. In addition to this, several competitive beauty soap brands had begun advertising using
similar methods of communication. In this context, the global brand team for Lux developed a new communication strategy.
This strategy - bring out the star in you - for the first time moved the brand away from the long-running film star route. The
film star still features in the new communication but not as her gorgeous self but rather as an alter ego or projection o~the
protagonist (an ordinary girl), for a few seconds of the entire ad.
Thus, for the first time the film star was used as a communication device and not as the main feature of the ad. The
new ad theme - bring out the star in you - puts the customer at the heart of the brand's promise.
Lux beauty is glamorous, sophisticated and luxurious. Lux believes in a woman taking pleasure in herself, for herself,
without feeling guilty. Lux recognizes that wanting to look and feel beautiful is one of the most fundamental aspirations. Lux
knows better than any other brand the meaning and importance of beauty for women. This knowledge is used skilfully to
strengthen the differentiation for Lux.
Lux continues to dazzle and captivate millions even after 75 years. New fragrances like 'chocolate' and new gimmicks
like the superstar Shah Rukh Khan in abathtub, surrounded by five Bollywood stars - we can expect many more surprises,
Alter all, Lux is here to stay, forever.
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(Source: J ~c1apiedfrom "Making of a Campaign", Pitch, September 2005)
1. Discuss the product differentiation strategy of Lux. Do you concur with the approach? Give reasons.
2. What factors contributed to the success of the Lux promotional campaign?
3. Why was the communication changed? Give your comments on the new theme.