Unilever in Brazil

Marketing Strategies for

Low-Income Consumers
Group
Members:
•Aditee Thale
•Abhishek Jain
•Vishal
•Vivek Ganatra
•Prachi Ranjan
•Satyajeet Sahu
 Brazil: Overview & Regional Differences

•Largest country in South America

•170 million people living predominantly in two clusters , Northeast & Southeast.

•Per capita income was $4420 in 1996 as compared to $380 in India.

Differences in lifestyle:
• Northeast region has an African
influence and is mainly agrarian.
Only 28% of the population has a
washing machine
• Southeast was developed by the
Europeans later and is the main hub
of activity. Washing machines are
more popular here.
 Brazilian Fabric Wash Market
Unilever
• It is a US$56 billion company headquartered in London & Rotterdam.
• Started in1929 and till 1996 it had 81% of market share in brazil.
• Detergent division was the cash cow providing fuel for other division like home care
& personal care.
• Popular brands- Omo , Minerva , Campeiro.

Pro cte r & Gam ble

• It is a US$ 40 billion company headquartered in Cincinnati.
• Started in Brazil in 1988 and had 15% of market share.
• Popular Brands- Quanto , Odd fases , Pop
Market Structure
 Marketing Mix
• Product
• Product attributes
• New Formula
• Packaging

• Price
• Re-pricing of all three brands
• Dilemma of correct price- not too high or
not too low!
• Promotion
• Product to be placed on the map quickly to break
even
• Avoid advertising as ‘ Product of low income group’
• Simple message, but in sync with the product
• Choice of media for advertising
• BTL activities
• Reach and cost

• Distribution
• Inability to reach to smaller outlets, reducing reach
to low income group who do not visit supermarkets
much.
• Use of generalist wholesalers
 Challenges-
• Brand Positioning and Marketing
• Internal resistance
• Belief that lower income market should
be left alone as they have no money
any way
• P&G threat in the most vulnerable
market
• Fear of creating impression of
abandoning premium brands in
promotions
• Loosing next generation brand
Market Share in
Northeast(1996)

Detergents
 Value proposition
• Value proposition appropriate
• Each brand serving a different
market segment.
• Catering to consumers’ needs across
stratas
• But a potential market is there to be
exploited
 Marketing Strategy
• Introduce an extension of Minerva –
named Minerva White
• With more cleaning power while
retaining the fragrance, with less
emphasis on softness
• Tentative cost : $1.75 / kg (i.e.
without changing the cardboard
packaging)
• Cost break-up:
Formulation cost : $0.99
Packaging cost : $0.35
Promotional cost : $0.35
Distribution cost : $0.05
Total cost : $1.74
 Marketing Strategy (contd)
• Targeting the top two wanted
attributes by consumers : Cleanliness
and Smell
• Capitalizing on the ‘perceived
quality’ of Minerva
• Positioned as a tough but fragranced
detergent
• Employ Specialized Distributors