Promotions & IMC

NIRMA Advertising

In the  1970s and 80s:

•        Since nirma was a low cost brand, it did not have sufficient funds for advertisement.

•         It started off with word of mouth and product awareness.
•       When it started gaining popularity it aired its first radio ad. 

•        With the arrival of TV, Nirma started off with TV ads as well.

Later...
•         “Dudh si safedi NIRMA se aaye, Rangin kapdabhi khil khil jaaye. Sabki pasand NIRMA”.

•         35 years and its stillthe same jingle which is used. 

•         Emotional strategy was used ot attract the customers.

Message:

•         “Get clothes cleaner” 

•         “Super Mummy” can clean any kind of dirt from clothes.

•       Hema, Rekha, Jaya aur Sushma.. Sabki pasand Nirma..

Sales promotion

•         Nirma had the money back poilcy if the customer is not satisfied with the product

•         There were free hampers given out like buckets.

Direct and Interactive marketing

•         Personal Selling

•         Product Demonstration

•         Expert Channel –Changing Washing Habits.

Improvised Look:

•       New packaging, changed the look and feel of the product

Integrated Marketing Communication

IMC according to AMA is "an approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign through a well-coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other"

Marketing Channels and Distribution

Channels:

Nirma markets everything under the name Nirma Consumer Care Limited (NCCL).

The distribution strength of Nirma is based on satisfying and mutually rewarding relationship.

Nirma operates on two parallel networks and introduced flat network system which was very unique.

Having the lowest cost for distribution channel, it has 450 exclusive distributorc

• Lowest Cost System in India 
• Speed in Distribution
• Flexibility

The Company has been successful in establishing a highest penetration in the respective product categories in the market with good urban as well as rural presence through the two distribution channels. 

Distribution:

Nirma started with selling the product door to door. 
The agents would then go to small retail shops and place their products there.

Starting with the one man’s team, Nirma has come a long way wrt distribution.

Now Nirma has

Sales Force: 350

Distributors:400

Retail: over a million

Nirma sells over 8 lakhs tons of detergent products every year and charges a 35% share of the Indian detergent market, making it one of the world’s major detergent brands.

Product Mix

Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix
The best case of - Give your consumer  where he wants and at the price he wants, selling will be done quite automatically. This is the marketing 'mantra' of Nirma. It was one of its kind when it was introduced in the market. The marketing mix can be explained with various techniques and methods. There are 4Ps, 4As and Kenichi Ohmae’s 3Cs model etc.
Relating it to my product Nirma, the 4Ps can be explained as follows:

PRODUCT:
                The product which explains the variants of Nirma can also be explained with respect to the 4As in which Acceptability is the Product.
The product as on today has different variants.

•                Nirma Washing Powder

•                Super Nirma Washing Powder

•                Nirma Popular Detergent

PLACE:
The Availability of the product plays a pivotal role in marketing. Nirma made sure it was available in all the retail stores and also in the initial stages the salesmen/distributors went door to door to sell the product. The

PRICE:
The brand was having rocketing sales and the market for Nirma grew from 0% -61.6% especially in rural areas and also amongst the lower income families. The prices are still set only for these people so that they are economically owned this product. Affordability played an important role in the success of Nirma
It entered the market with Rs.3/- while the cheapest existing detergent was Rs.13/-.
As on today the price of the cost of 1 kilo gram of Nima is Rs.35 and that of 600 gm is Rs.20

PROMOTION:

Nirma used radio, posters, banners & mobile vans as its media options to inform people about their products.

The Awareness of the product started with radio jingle in 1970s  “Doodh si safedi Nirma se aayi.. Rangin kapda bhi khil khil jaaye.Sabki pasand NIRMA”. The same jingle has been used since the last 42 years and had turned into an anthem during its time. Nirma later moved to television as well.

The above figure represents the five product levels of the Customer-Value Hierarchy. The below figure represents the Kenichi Ohmae’s 3C model and its association with the customer value hierarchy.

Product and Services Differentiation

Nirma is a non-durable product which falls under the convenience goods category. This means that the usage of the product frequent. This product is available with minimal effort at all the mom and pop stores and super markets.

The product is often measured weighing the customer cost to the customer benefit.

·         Reliability – The ability to deliver the promised service dependably and accurately. In our case the ability to was clothes with a promise of quality washing and removal of stains.

·         Responsiveness –Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. 

Pricing

The price of Nirma played a pivotal role in its success.

It not only made the non-detergent users switch to Nirma bit also converted the other detergent user to it.

Selecting the Pricing Objective: The main objective of Nirma was to gain the Maximum Market Share. Nirma penetrated throug the rural market and gained the maximum market share in 1980s.

Although now with the dominance of HUL, its using survival technique to staty in the market.

Estimating Demand: It was seen that the demand grew drastically as the price of the product was placed at a very affordable price. Surf which was the only existing brand charged Rs.13/- per kg hile Nirma charged Rs.3/-

There was elasticity of demand was high!

Cosidering the values and the benefits, Nirma places its price so that it is affordable to the lower segments of the society especially the rural market.

Nirma set different prices for its various product lines. 

Product	Price(in Rs)
Nirma 500 g	20
Nirma 1kg	37
Nirma 25g	0.50
Nirma Super 500g	30
Nirma Super 1kg	57
Nirma Popular 500g	25
Nirma Popular 1kg	48

Product Life Cycle

Product Life Cycle:

In order understand the various stages of a product with respect to its evolution in the market Product Life Cycle is a most referred model. It has four stages:

Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline.

PLC comes with a few drawbacks such: It describes the stage of the product alone and also it doesn’t give the idea about the market scenario. Therefore it is important to know how the product performs in the in the industry and how the industry functions and then come up with the chart. Thus we can extend the product life cycle stages to industry as well.

While the fabric detergent is in its maturity stage, Nirma is also in the maturity stage which comes under the popular brands of detergents. HUL leads the market while Nirma has less than 10% market share.

Nirma which started in 1969 has been in the market for more than four decades now and is still under profit.

Introduction Stage:

Nirma started with an amazing market strategy and became popular instantly. The low cost concept made it the leading brand. The existing fabric brand was Surf which was only for the premium customers. Started off as a small business which was distributed door to door it turned out to be a major success. The yellow powder which was packed in a plastic bag was the only variant available. Owing to its exclusive environment-friendly, phosphate-free formulation, the consumers converted to this brand, helping it to over-take the decades’ old brands.

Growth Stage:

Acquiring almost half of the market share in its growth stage, Nirma became the leading detergent giving a tough competition to Surf. Other brands started to enter the market with the same low cost segment strategy.

Maturity Stage

Setting off the myth that “better quality demands higher price”, Nirma introduced a new washing powder in the premium segment, in 1996. Available in 25g, 500g and 1000g packs, this product surpassed its competitor brands. Though, priced almost 40 % lesser, provided ‘value-for-money’ proposition. 

Introduction of other brands has declined the market share in the detergent industry. Although the demand of Nirma has declined over the years, it is still a brand which is widely used detergent in the rural areas and lower cost segment.

Competition and industry

Competition and industry

                                The launch of Nirma was a huge threat to Surf which had a monopoly over the detergent powder sector. Within years Nirma overtook Surf and became the leading detergent brand. Consumers relate to it as a low cost brand. As of today, the following are the competitors

-          -Surf Excel

-          Wheel

-          -Tide

-          -Arial

-          -Ghadi

-          -Local Detergents

Direct Competitors:

Wheel

Ariel

Ghadi

Surf

Indirect Competitors:

Rin (Bar Soap)

Comfort

Ujala

Surf Excel Liquid

Surf was doing very well untill Nirma was introduced in 1969

The strategy used by Nirma:-

          Surf's price was Rs.13/ while Nirma charged Rs.3/
        It eventually captured the people who did not use detergent
       Sold in plastic covers rather than Surf cartons
        Door to door delivery during initial days.

T

Consumer Buying Decision process

Consumer Decision process elements

The below figure gives a good understanding about the consumer buying process and then can further relate it to Nirma.

    Problem Recognition/Requirement:  During the times when Surf was the only detergent available in the market and it targeted only the premium segment of the society, Nirma was a brand which was available at almost one third of Surf’s price. Nirma washing powder is basically bought by the people who want to use a detergent to wash their clothes but cannot afford premium brands like Surf. They also expect a quality product for the monetary cost.

Information Search: Nirma distributed its product initially from home to home which made it popular through word of mouth. ­­_­Nirma first launched a Radio advertisement with the tagline ‘Sabki pasand Nirma’. Television advertisements also brought in the information about the product which the buyer was looking for. Then there were repeated users who bought the product or the first time user who wanted to try a new product.

Evaluation of alternatives: It was an innovative product which was of good quality at a very reasonable price.

Purchase Decision: Nirma was an instant success because of its quality and affordable price. The detergent industry was dominated by Surf which was not affordable to all classes of the society. The introduction of Nirma allowed the middle and lower middle class society to buy a detergent powder. While the price of one kilogram of Surf was at the price of Rs.13/- , Nirma charged Rs.3/- with the cash back guarantee if not satisfied. This led to people choosing Nirma over the other brands.

Post purchase behaviour: The consumers who used Nirma were satisfied with the quality it offered. It was a brand that was not only cost efficient but also a product which did not compromise with its quality. This made the consumers to buy the product again.