Deodrant marketing: Common brand positioning

With the sultry and sweaty summers at the peak, fragrance and deodorant market is all set with their aggressive marketing campaigns.

Perfume and Fragrances is a $3.169 billion industry in India, growing at a +12% rate, and has seen a good number of FMCG companies foraying into this sector. However, the disturbing fact is the minimal differentiation strategy followed by these companies in there campaigns. Every deodorant marketing campaign seems to revolve around the same theme these days: Ability to lure the opposite sex. The assumption taken behind all these campaigns is essentially that all males groove themselves for the female species and the classic Indian male fantasies. Even if the assumption is a correct one, and assuming they aren’t crossing any ethical limits (I leave it to Advertising Standard Council Of India(ASCI) to decide that), I don’t think it’s a smart move to go ahead with a positioning that has already been successfully used by an existing market leader, because you do not give the consumer a reason to switch from the brand he is presently using. One of the strategies to break the brand loyalty that is being currently used by Zatak is pricing their products at lower prices.

What was started by HUL(Axe) way back in 1999 and being continued since then, is now being used by McNroe Chemical Pvt to sell Wild Stone, Elder Health Care Ltd for Fuel for Men, Paras pharmaceutical Pvt limited for Zatak, Denver of Vasena Inc and the current marketing campaigns of Fa Men’s extreme. HUL on the other hand, has been very smartly positioning its brands Axe and Rexona into two different categories, one as an attraction, and other with an antiperspirant formula, and hence forming a major portion of the market share in this category.

Cinthol on the other hand is an exception and has built its brand around a different positioning: A deodorant which removes odour-causing bacteria and keeps one smelling great and feeling fresh all day long, a brand that stands by Godrej’s overall brand positioning, that of quality and healthy products.

Hoping that deodorant brands change there positioning to something that is fresh in themarket, yet striking the right note.