Mumbai: Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India’s top-ten advertiser (across genres) list for week 36 was led by Hindustan Lever Ltd (HUL) with total ad volumes of 4750.01. Reckitt Benckiser (RB) India Ltd has secured the second position at 3620.24 ad volumes.
Cadbury India was a distant third with ad volumes of 970.6. Brooke Bond Lipton India finished fourth. Godrej Consumer Products, which was not on last week’s top advertisers list, made its way to the fifth spot this time. Procter & Gamble, ITC Ltd, Colgate Palmolive India Ltd, and Asian Paints India Ltd grabbed the sixth to ninth positions. Coca-Cola India finished last with ad volumes of 392.47 (‘000s).
Among the brands, RB’s Dettol Toilet Soap dominated the list, recording ad volumes of 574.55. Horlicks stood second at 497.96. Lizol, Dettol, Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, Dettol Antiseptic Liquid, Harpic Power Plus 10X Max Clean, Airtel Black, Lux Cozi, and Myntra followed, in that order.
Mumbai: The top ten advertiser list for week 35 was led by FMCG giant Hindustan Lever Ltd (HUL) with an ad volume of 5072.06 (‘000 secs), as per the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. Securing the second position was Reckitt Benckiser (RB) India which registered a total ad volume of 3217.63.
Brooke Bond Lipton India was at the third spot, though at 959.09 (‘000 secs) its ad volume was significantly lower than that of RB India. Cadbury’s India, Procter and Gamble, Amazon Online India, Colgate Palmolive India, Ponds India, Asian Paints India, and ITC Ltd grabbed the remaining spots, in that order.
Among the brands, RB’s Dettol toilet soaps topped the list at 523.17 (‘000 secs). HUL’s Horlicks followed at the second spot with 516.97. Airtel Black – the mobile, DTH, the fiber in one plan from Airtel – made its way to the third position recording weekly AMAs of 381.35 (‘000s).
The remaining spots were occupied by Dettol Antiseptic Liquid, Lizol, Dettol, Vanish Oxi Action, Amazon.in, Clinic Plus Shampoo, and Harpic Bathroom Cleaner.
Mumbai: The top-ten advertiser list for Barc Week 33 was led by FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever with ad volumes of 4393.11 (‘000 secs). The second position was secured by Reckitt Benckiser India which registered total ad volume of 4143.51.
Cadburys India was at the third spot, though at 838.96 (‘000 secs) its ad volumes were significantly lower than that of RB. Godrej Consumer Products, and Brooke Bond Lipton India stood fourth and fifth respectively. UNSP-GEN-PERSONAL Greetings/Announcement was the new entrant at number six. It was followed by Procter & Gamble, Asian Paints (I), Colgate Palmolive India and ITC.
Among the brands, RB’s Brand Dettol dominated with four products including Dettol Toilet Soap at the first position (643.18), Dettol at the second, Dettol Antisepctic Liquid at fourth and Dettol Liquid Soap at the sixth spot. Independence Day Greetings and Asian Paints Royale Glitz broke the monotony of the FMCG dominated list at number three and seven, respectively.
Horlicks, Lizol, Harpic Power Plus 10X Max Clean and Clinic Plus Shampoo were also among the top-ten most advertised brands.
Mumbai: The top-ten advertisers list for BARC week 32 (7 August to 13 August) was led by Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) with ad volume of 4445.94 (‘000 secs). The FMCG giant’s last week’s score was 5487.39 (‘000 secs).
Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd maintained its hold at the second position. The consumer goods company, unlike HUL, saw an increased ad volume of 3939.47 in week 32 compared to 3213.56 in week 31.
Rest of the list was dominated by other FMCG players, namely, Cadburys India Ltd, Reliance Retail Ltd, Brooke Bond Lipton India Ltd, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, Procter & Gamble, ITC Ltd, and Colgate Palmolive India Ltd, in that order, with the only exception being Asian Paints Ltd – at the seventh place.
Leading the top ten brands tally across genres were RB’s Dettol and Dettol toilet soaps with ad volume of 795.76 and 574.43 respectively.
Horlicks, Vimal Elaichi Pan Masala, Lizol, Asian Paints Royale Glitz, Jiomart, Veet Cold Wax Strip, Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, and Clinic Plus Shampoo followed.
Mumbai: Continuing with last week’s trend, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. maintained its position as the top advertiser across genres during BARC week 28 (10 July – 16 July). The recorded ad volume, however, fell from 4893.09 (‘000 sec) in week 27 to 4450.14 (‘000 sec).
HUL was followed by Reckitt Benckiser (India) ltd. with ad volume of 3721.89 (‘000sec). The figure stood at 4180.54 in week 27.
The top two advertisers were followed by Amazon Online India, Godrej Consumer Products, Cadburys India, Brooke Bond Lipton India, Procter & Gamble, Coca Cola India, Pepsi Co, and Colgate Palmolive India, in that order.
Wipro and Ponds India which held the seventh and ninth position in week 27 went off the list making way for Procter & Gamble and Coca Cola India at number seven and eight, respectively.
Among the brands, RB’s Dettol held onto the top slot with ad volume of 700.86 (‘000sec), as against 754.83 (‘000sec) in week 27. Thums Up made its way to the second position clocking ad volume of 547.24 (‘000 sec). The beverage brand from Coca Cola India was not on the top-ten list last week.
Dettol and Thums Up were followed by Amazon.in, Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University, Vimal Elaichi Pan Masala, Dettol Toilet Soaps, Veet Cold Wax Strip, Horlicks, Close Up Ever Fresh, and Lizol.
New Delhi: A resilient rural market, coupled with subsequent decline in Covid cases has infused growth in theFMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) this quarter. The company reported a 10.7 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit for Q1 ended June, 2021.
The FMCG major posted a net profit of Rs 2,100 crore in Q1 2021, compared to Rs 1,897 crore recorded in the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal. Net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 11,996 crore, up 13.49 per cent, as against Rs 10,570 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.
HUL’s total expenses were at Rs 9,546 crore in the quarter under review, up 14.68 per cent from Rs 8,324 crore a year ago. The FMCG major delivered a strong performance with domestic consumer growth of 12 per cent, underlying volume growth of 9 per cent and profit after tax growth of 10 per cent, said the company in a statement.
“In a challenging environment, we have delivered a strong performance across topline and bottomline. Our performance in the quarter has been resilient and is reflective of our capabilities, the agility in our operations and the intrinsic strength of our portfolio, “said HUL CMD Sanjiv Mehta.
The number of Covid cases have come down June onwards, paving the way for FMCG industry’s growth and market levels to reach close to March 2021 levels. “The rebound that we have seen in the month of June and early July is led by rural. So, the good news is that rural is resilient, and it has started to come back, strongly ahead of urban,” HUL CFO Ritesh Tiwari while talking to the media virtually post Q1 results. “Rural has been a good engine for FMCG for the last few quarters, and it continues to be resilient. Hopefully, we see a good monsoon and this will augur well for the rural economy.”
The company witnessed double-digit growth across all three divisions — Home Care, Beauty & Personal Care and Foods & Refreshment.
Household care continued to perform well growing in high double-digits on a strong base. Liquids and Fabric Sensations also benefited from robust market development initiatives. HUL’s revenue from the home-care segment was up 11.94 per cent this quarter to Rs 3,797 crore, as against Rs 3,392 crore in the corresponding quarter in 2020.
The company’s revenue from Beauty & Personal Care was up 13.41 per cent to Rs 4,585 crore, as against Rs 4,043 crore of the corresponding quarter. This was led by Hair Care and Skin Care, both growing in high double-digits, said HUL. “Contextual communications in Hair Care continue to yield good results. Skin Cleansing continued its strong momentum, soaps grew on a high base and the premium segment performed well. Hand Hygiene portfolio declined against an exceptionally high base,” it said in a statement.
The Food & Refreshment segment was up 12.2 per cent to Rs 3,319 crore, as against Rs 2,958 crore in the corresponding period, helped by double-digit growth in segments as tea, ketchups, soups and nutrition business. According to HUL, all Tea brands also continued to grow in high double-digits despite a very strong base in the prior year.
HUL said it is cautiously optimistic about future demand recovery.
New Delhi: Hindustan Lever Ltd topped the list of advertisers across all genres in the list released by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) for week 27 (3 july to 9 July).
HUL recorded ad volume of 4893.09 (‘000 sec), surpassing Reckitt Benckiser (India), which clocked a total ad volume of 4180.54 (‘000 sec). The two advertisers were followed by Cadbury India, Brooke Bond Lipton India, Amazon Online India, Godrej Consumer Products, Wipro, Colgate Palmolive India, Ponds India and PepsiCo.
In terms of brands, Dettol and Dettol Toilet Soaps continued to dominate the top ten list of brands, with an ad volume of 754.83 (‘000 sec) and 487.8 (‘000 sec), respectively in BARC’s Week 27.
The two brands were followed by Horlicks which has been heavily advertising during the prime time shows. Lizol, which remained the top brand during the last few months, has now come down to the fourth position with an ad volume of 338.01 (‘000 sec).
The other top brands in the list are Vimal Elaichi Pan Masala, Amazon.In, Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, Clinic Plus Shampoo, Santoor Sandal and Turmeric and Amazon Prime Video.
MUMBAI: It’s Thursday once again, and in continuation of our Throwback series featuring prolific marketing campaigns from the past, we rewind to an ad that is sure to invoke nostalgia in most of us.
Remember the visuals of a little girl in a frilly white frock twirling to the tune of a catchy jingle? It remains one of the most enduring images from television commercials of the ’80s. Yes, we are referring to the ‘Washing Powder Nirma’ advertisement, which played a key role in catapulting an underdog, regional, barely known brand into the national limelight and in scripting its marketing success. Admit it, the song “Doodh si safedi Nirma se aayi” is already playing in your head, right? So, let’s flashback to the time when this jingle played on every television set – be it black & white or colour. But for that, we need to start from the beginning.
The homegrown detergent brand, which went on to become a household name, had a unique journey that began in the backyard of its founder. The washing powder is the brainchild of Karsanbhai Patel, who worked as a lab technician at the time, at the department of mining and geology in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, after completing his BSc in Chemistry. The year was 1969 and he was all of 24, when he started experimenting with phosphate-free synthetic detergent powder. Eventually, he started manufacturing it in his house. Packaging the washing powder neatly in a transparent pouch, he started handing out packets to people on his way to work, even selling it door-to-door.
‘Detergents’ till then were a premium product, with most average-income households using laundry soap instead. But Patel knew his target consumers well. In order to reach the masses, the product was priced low and presented sans any fancy packaging, to appeal to the target group. The packaging just had the name ‘Nirma’ with a little girl’s mascot on it. Not many know that the brand derives its name from Patel’s own daughter, Nirupama, who tragically passed away young in an accident. The image of the girl on the detergent’s pack belongs to her, as well. This also explains why the image has remained a constant throughout, upto this day.
The detergent market in those days was dominated by Hindustan Lever Ltd’s (now Hindustan Unilever) Surf, which was priced at around Rs 13 per kg. Since the majority of the middle class couldn’t afford to buy detergents at that time, it hardly had any competition. It is this market that Patel tapped into. He priced his brand at Rs 3.50 per kg. This massive price difference led to consumers opting to buy Nirma, over other pricier alternatives. Subsequently, the product sales picked up and Patel started manufacturing Nirma on a large scale. The time was ripe for a low-cost, no-frills alternative to Surf.
In the 1970s, when Nirma entered the market, the biggest challenge it faced was to make its targeted audience aware of its existence. This was the time when the available means of advertising were primarily radio, newspaper, and magazines- and only a few hours of television. This is where Nirma’s advertising strategy caused an upheaval in the detergents market.
Karsanbhai Patel collaborated with Purnima Advertising Agency for a catchy ad that would promote the product, create brand awareness and of course, boost sales. And thus, the jingle was born — “washing powder Nirma, washing powder Nirma…“
It first hit radio airwaves in 1975 and was a hit. Patel then took a chance on TV advertising, upon seeing the increasing scope of television commercials. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The ad debuted on television in 1982 with actor-model Sangeeta Bijlani as the face for the television commercial. The catchy jingle of “Washing Powder Nirma…Sabki Pasand Nirma” captured the nation’s attention, embedding it in our psyches forever.
The jingle had a desi touch with regular Indian names such as Hema, Rekha, Jaya, and Sushma being thrown in, which struck a chord with the masses. The ad by itself was not path-breaking as such. Positioning itself as a brand for the masses, it followed a similar template for long, showing young people actively enjoying- singing, dancing – and of course, washing clothes using the Nirma powder. It portrayed the act of doing laundry as a fun activity, instead of a dreary task. Focusing on pan-India reach perhaps, the ad was shot at a variety of vantage locations across the length and breadth of the country. The ad begins and closes with the ‘Nirma girl’ – the brand’s mascot- twirling onto the detergent pack.
It is probably one of those rare ads where the jingle actually outshines the visuals that accompany it. The song effectively and simply drove the brand messaging with lyrics like “doodh si safedi, nirma se aayi, rangeen kapda bhi, khil khil jaayae” (It brings the whiteness of milk to white clothes and brightens coloured ones too) and, “kam keemat mein adhik safedi laya nirma” (superior whiteness at a low price), which stressed on the low-cost factor coupled with a quality wash that basically every housewife was looking for. The campaign succeeded in dethroning the detergent heavyweight, Surf and overtaking all other big names in the market with its brand positioning.
Little wonder then, that apart from minor tweaks, Nirma retained the jingle in its ad campaign for more than a dozen years- going on to become the longest-running ad jingle in Indian advertising. The brand responded to the evolving customer tastes and times by showcasing the four characters of Hema, Rekha, Jaya, and Sushma as evolving with time, depicting them as independent-minded women actively pursuing their interests and passion, in a slight upgrade from the original ad.
By 1985, Nirma had overtaken Surf to become the best-selling detergent brand in India. And three years later, what started as a door-to-door selling brand, had 60 per cent of the total detergent market share in the country, dethroning the heavyweight brand from the house of a multinational, which had created the market in India. Also forcing HLL marketing stalwarts to go into a huddle for “Operation STING” which stood for-believe it or not-Strategy To Inhibit Nirma’s Growth!
It was a classic David vs Goliath case- that’s worthy of becoming a management case study- where the advertisement helped script the perfect underdog win. The Nirma ad goes down the annals of Indian advertising for taking on the market leader of the time. And while at it, it did what a good ad is supposed to do – tell you about the product’s advantages and make you remember it. And if an ad doesn’t tick those two boxes, all the awards in the world cannot make it work.
Mumbai: Rin, one of the oldest detergent brands from the house of Hindustan Unilever has unveiled its latest commercial celebrating the rise of India’s first woman fencing champion, C.A. Bhavani Devi. Earlier in March, Devi scripted history by becoming the first-ever Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics to be held in Tokyo next month.
The TVC dwells on the Chennai-born athlete’s journey of grit and determination through the struggles to keep her sporting dreams alive. Fencing being an expensive sport, she had no access to good equipment during her initial years. The ad conceptualised by Ogilvy India showcases the sacrifices made by her parents so she never had to compromise on her training. In the one-minute-long film, Bhavani, who is the youngest of five siblings recounts how her mother pawned her jewellery when the going got tough so that she did not have to give up on her passion for fencing.
Narrating her story, the video begins with the fencing champion addressing the viewer with a disarming question ‘Have you ever given away gold to earn gold?’ Hailing from a middle-class background and having chosen a relatively lesser-known sport of fencing, Bhavani had to endure not just financial hindrances but also gender stereotypes and jibes from society on nurturing ‘affluent ambitions’.
The film showcases Bhavani Devi clinching the gold medal in the Sabre event at the Senior Commonwealth Fencing championship 2018 held in Canberra, Australia. In the process, Devi also became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth championship.
The ‘Ab Waqt hai chamakne ka‘ (Now’s the time to shine) campaign concludes with her triumphant, but heartwarming declaration, “Dekho maa, main sona vapis le aayi.” (Look mom, I got your gold back).
The film, produced by Little Lamb Films and directed by Bauddhayan Mukherji, showcases the athlete’s stubborn confidence in herself and her ability to make it big, despite humble beginnings.
Commenting on the campaign launch, Hindustan Unilever Ltd Home Care- executive director & VP Prabha Narasimhan says, “Rin has been an integral part of Indian households for over five decades now and has stood for people who are unwilling to be defined by preset roles and have the courage to pursue their dreams, undeterred by their socio-economic backgrounds. The brand stands for supporting and celebrating the progress seeker, individuals who pursue their dreams and demonstrate courage to rescript their destiny. Through our latest campaign, ‘Ab Waqt hai chamakne ka‘, we endeavoured to showcase the glorious journey of Bhavani Devi, her mother’s sacrifices, and their collective success and in the process inspire millions of others to keep persevering in their dreams, despite the odds. The essence of our brand aligns beautifully with such extraordinary stars who have risen from ordinary lives.”
He adds, “We salute Bhavani for her dedication and wish her good luck as she prepares to represent India in Olympics 2021.”
Having booked her berth for the Olympics, the champion fencer is now all set to make her mark in the international event.
Mumbai: Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has rejigged its top management on Thursday and appointed Kedar Lele as its executive director for customer development from 1 July.
Lele, currently chairman and managing director of Unilever Bangladesh takes over from Srinandan Sundaram, who will move into a new role as executive director for foods and refreshment.
Lele joined HUL in 2004 and was inducted into the company’s management committee. Prior to his Bangladesh stint, he was responsible for leading the e-commerce and modern trade business and oversaw the customer development centre for HUL.
“Under his leadership, the Bangladesh business made great all-around progress – be it in CD coverage expansion, the transformation of our supply chain, or setting up sustainable models for market development. I would especially like to laud Kedar’s efforts towards developing talent and improving diversity in the Bangladesh business. I am certain that Kedar will take the HUL customer development function to the next level of performance,” HUL chairman & managing director Sanjiv Mehta said.
Lele moved to Dhaka in 2017 to head the Unilever Bangladesh business. He led the business operations, sales & customer development function and oversaw the go-to-market organisation involving marketing, customer and trade management, media, marketing research, and activation there.
Among the brands, RB’s Brand Dettol dominated with four products including Dettol Toilet Soap at the first position (643.18), Dettol at the second, Dettol Antisepctic Liquid at fourth and Dettol Liquid Soap at the sixth spot. Independence Day Greetings and Asian Paints Royale Glitz broke the monotony of the FMCG dominated list at number three and seven, respectively.
Rest of the list was dominated by other FMCG players, namely, Cadburys India Ltd, Reliance Retail Ltd, Brooke Bond Lipton India Ltd, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, Procter & Gamble, ITC Ltd, and Colgate Palmolive India Ltd, in that order, with the only exception being Asian Paints Ltd – at the seventh place.
