Integrated Marketing Communication

Brand - Surf Excel

Group B - Team 4
F20093 – Joel Manoj F20140 – Greeshma Merin Mathew F20150 – Nelson Babu
F20151 – Nidhina Sunny F20153 – Noel Mathew F20172 – Sreya Scaria
 Hindustan Unilever Limited
Parent Company Profile

• India's largest FMCG - with a heritage of over 75

years in India.

• Aims to create a better future every day and

helps people feel good, look good and get more
out of life with brands and services that are good
for them and good for others.

• 35 brands with 20 distinct categories

• Employees over 16,000 ; Annual turnover - Rs.453

billion (FY2020).

• Subsidiary of Unilever - world’s leading suppliers

of FMCG – located in about 100 countries.
Unilever has about 52% shareholding in HUL.
 Surf Excel
Brand Profile
Surf Excel is an Indian brand name, used for removal of
dirt and the tough strains from clothes. The brand was
launched in Indian consumer market in year 1959. The
company believes that dirt and experiences are a gateway
to unleashing human potential and encourages mothers
to push their children to learn by experience, while Surf
excel takes care of the dirt and tough stains.

USP : Surf Excel offers outstanding stain removal ability

on a wide range of stains

Product Category : Home Care – Premium Detergent –

available as Bar, Powder, Matic
Product Line - Surf excel
 Timeline of Surf excel - 'The History'

1948 1969 1991 1996 1999

Surf brought to India; Faced tough competition with Replaced as Surf Excel - in Introduced
Entry of Ariel; Surf
Aim – to become the Nirma and thus introduced line with Unilever’s global tagline ‘Jaise Bhi
underwent various
one-stop shop for ‘Lalita ji’ – character whose communication theme - Daag Ho, Surf
changes in brand
people seeking name became a household Dirt Is Good for its Excel Hai na’. ​
communication​
solutions for laundry name thereafter.​ premium detergent brands​
issues​

Thereafter,
released ad
2005 Thereafter, campaign 2016 2017 campaigns - Surf
continued with a series Excel Keep India
are stories of children Clean Watch (to
With arrival of digital – Introduction of
Introduced the getting dirty while doing promote Swachh
introduced different Liquid Matic
campaign of ‘Daag something good … Bharat Initiative),
ads in relation to for washing
Ache Hain’ – with the hence "dirt is good"​ #ReadyForLife -
different occasions machines with
famous puddle war aimed to empower
(festivals – Ramadan ad the 'Po-Rub-Po'
commercial mothers to start a
#madadekibadat, ad campaign​ parenting journey.
Share the Joy of Diwali
ad #AbLagRahiDiwali)​
 JOURNEY OF BRAND COMMUNICATION
Lalitaji "Surf ki kharidari mein hi samajdari hai!”​ (1969)
Surf introduced ‘Lalitaji’, a no-nonsense, smart, independent, prudent
homemaker, who is conscious of her budget and yet will never
compromise on the quality of products that she buys . Lalitaji became a
household name and an inspiration for other homemakers who identified
with her, making her one of the most memorable characters in Indian
advertising.

Surf Excel: PRINT ADS​ (1991)

Use of print ads showing Lalitaji was the main source of
communication used to convey the uniqueness of the
brand when compared to its then competitor 'Nirma'
Jaise Bhi Daag Ho… Surf Excel Hai Na' campaign
(1999)
Surf Excel made a splash with its landmark "Jaise Bhi Daag
Ho… Surf Excel Hai Na" campaign, burning itself into
mindspace as the single solution for a wide variety of stains.
Peace of mind was the brand promise.

Save 2 buckets of water (2004)

Focusing on issue of water shortage, HUL launched a revolutionary
product with a low foam formula which would effectively remove
stains and save 2 buckets of water.

The ad campaign "Save 2 buckets of water everyday" increased the

sales by more than 20% in water stressed areas. It saved over 30
million of water in 2 years.

The product was named as ` Surf Excel Quickwash.' The company has
roped in actress and social worker, Revathi, for launching the dual
programme - their product as well the ` Save Water Campaign.'
Daag Acche Hai! (2005)

Surf Excel believe every stain a child brings home is an

experience; a value learned in process of getting dirty and
translated this philosophy into many heart - warming
commercials over the years making "Daag Ache Hain” a common
belief across the country.
Po-Rub-Po (2016)

This campaign, similar to the Daag Ache

Hain campaign, portrays that every stain a
child brings home is an experience. It also
portrays that stains from helping someone
isn't bad. This coupled with the philosophy
into many heart- warming commercials
over the years making Daag Ache Hain a
common belief across the country.
IMC PROCESS PLANNING
 CONTEXT
While other players harped on the need to remove stains and giving spotless cleanliness,
here was Surf Excel saying that stains are good. It urged the consumers to celebrate stains
because it isn’t difficult to get rid of them. competition on the other hand, had other
detergent brands like Nirma, Tide and others which were mainly focused on the product
features and cleanliness that they brought.

CUSTOMERS
• Former customers - affluent and rich - Surf excel quick wash introduced - Priced
at Rs. 218 for 1kg
• Current customers - middle class income - later Surf excel introduced Easy each -
Priced at Rs. 144 for 1kg
• Potential customers – Introduce more fragrant option of washing liquids to
attract customers who purchase comfort and other similar products; anti-
bacterial spray – for extra feel of safety
• Competitor's customers
-> tide & ariel – attract financially forward; Nirma – attracts lower end
-> tide & ariel – for brand conscious people; Nirma – desi product catering need
of local products
COMPETITION

Communication channels Communication channels​ Communication channels

• TV​ • Hoardings • Newspapers​
• Media​ • Newspapers​ • Magazines​
• Newspaper​ • Billboards​ • Television network
• Internet​ • Magazines​ • Radio​
• Television network • Internet
• Radio​
• Internet & various sites

Promotional Strategies Promotional Strategies​ Promotional Strategies

• Tide has regularly produced Focused on the latest technology • Emotional and progressive
campaigns and taglines Always maintained that ‘seeing is approach
which have resonated with believing” - created various ad • Focus on breaking the
the public and given the campaigns to make its product stereotype of the typical Indian
brand a great recall value. visible in the eyes of the consumers. Middle-class woman​
• Blending humor with • Portrays bold woman, ready to
everyday situations faced take on any challenges.
by the common man • Catchy jingles - attracting
customers
 COMMUNICATION​
• Advertising​ : Surf excel use TVC, RDC, newspaper,
Billboard, and magazine for advertisment purpose.

• Public relation : Public relations tools are companies’

websites, media relations, social media, newsletters,
employee relations, special events, ranging from news
conferences, press tours, grand openings, hot air
balloon releases, multimedia presentations,
educational programs, etc. Unilever has a good relation
with the press and key political persons. They can
arrange a tour in winter. That will build a strong
relationship with those persons.

• Personal selling​ : Unilever has strong, well-educated,

well-trained professionals who always maintain good
relationship with customers. Actually. Salespeople not
only inform potential customers about a company’s
product or services, they also use their power of
persuasion and remind customers of product
characteristics, service agreements, prices, deals and
much more​
• Sales Promotion​ : To encourage the consumers to purchase Surf Excel, they follow some sales promotion tools. Such as,
discounts, complementary items etc​

• Word-of-mouth-marketing​

• Social Initiatives like project sakthi

• Events and Experiences​

• Interactive marketing
TARGET SEGMENT

Demographic​
Geographic
• Age-12-68
All over India; Urban and Rural​
• All family sizes nuclear and joint.
• Mostly middle-income groups to upper.

Psychographic Behavioural
• Preference - House wives, Students, service • Aware, Interested and intending to buy
holders. • Deliverance of perceived value
• Perception - performance, promised by the product
• Attitude - Have a strong belief for the
performance of this product
• Life Style - Achievers.
PRODUCT POSITIONING
How do customers perceive
Surf excel?
Surf Excel has constantly upgraded itself over
the years, to answer the constantly changing
washing needs of the Indian homemaker​

• Physique - Stainless clothes, Alluring

Fragrance, Brighter White​
• Personality - Reliable, Engaging, Excellent
Value​
• Relationship - Women Predominant,
Cheerful, Excellent & Efficient​
• Culture - Cheerful, Trustworthy,
Interpersonal relationship with family
• Reflection - Smart over Hard work, Family
focused, Less washing and more family time
• Self-Image - Consistency, Embedded with
values, Powerful
Surf excel's standing in relation to competition - PA mapping
 OBJECTIVES
Surf excel believes that “dirt and experiences are a gateway for unleashing human potential ”

• To address the values a child demonstrates in spite the presence of 'tough stains'​

• To demonstrate that every stain a child brings home is actually an 'experience'.

Focus of the campaign​

Surf Excel claims that Dirt and experiences are the keys to unlocking human potential and urges mothers to allow their children to learn by practice
while Surf excel handles the Dirt and tough stains. The company leveraged this idea into the beautiful campaign which resonated with all the
Homemakers
IMC COMPONENTS
Traditional Advertising
• Billboards
• Posters In the Print Media such as newspapers, magazines, direct
mails, outdoors, etc
• Broadcasting media television and radio (FM channels). Frequency of
ads is higher during​ the time slots 1.00pm to 3.00 pm and 9.00 pm to
11.00 pm for stronger impact on target audience​
• WOM – another source of promotion

Consumer Promotions
• Sales Promotions​​
• Sales Force of 2 types:
- General Trade (general stores, Kiryana stores, Medical and
General Stores)
- Local modern trade (super stores such as reliance fresh,
Big Bazaar)​​
• Price was fixed in every price band to fit the budget of every
consumer – Starting from 14gms sachet offered at Rs. 2 to 5 kgs
offered at Rs 500. HUL also introduced a Six Packer which
contained 6 sachets (for a week usage) for Rs 10.
Public Relations​​
• Surf Excel LI’L Star awards on STAR Plus​​
• Tied up with the movie - Chillar Party
• ​Organizes children’s festivals - Kala Ghoda 2011,
2010,2009; Anandd Mela 2007, D-Mart 2008
• 'Get Dirty for Peace' in association with Radio City
91.1 FM
• Public events on various campaigns

Media Spending
• According to the financial statements of HUL for the
year ended 31st March, 2021 - the Advertising and
Promotion spending accounts to about Rs. 4,754
crores.
• Of all fabric wash brands under HUL, Surf excel is
recorded to be the leading brand generating about
Rs.5000+ crores a revenue. (FY2021)
• Surf excel accounts to 14% of HUL's total revenue.
THANK YOU