Assignment on Marketing Strategy of Fair and Lovely

Acknowledgement

After studying the theoretical concepts of a topic, understanding its practical implications and applications is the next step in the learning process. This Project of our International Consumer Behavior Part is last. For this report, we are asked to find out about the Marketing Strategy of consumer Behavior of the reputed brand of the world, namely Fair & Lovely.

First of all we reviled the historical background of the brand in question. We covered in details the various aspects of Fair & Lovely from its inception to its becoming the strongest brand. Next I covered the target markets of Fair & Lovely, trying to cover mostly in Bangladesh.

Introduction:

Breakthrough scientific research at Unilever’s Skin Research Centre unlocks nature’s fairness secrets to create new Fair & Lovely. Fair & Lovely, the largest-selling skin whitening cream in the world, is certainly doing well. Launched in 1978, it holds a commanding 50-70 per cent share of the skin whitening market in India, a market that is valued at over Rs 1,200 core (Rs 12 billion) and growing at 10-15 per cent per annum. HLL christened Fair & Lovely as one of its six “mega brands” and has successfully launched new product formulations from lotions to gels and soaps.

Origin of the Term Paper

This term paper has been prepared as a part of the partial fulfillment of the course “Consumer Behavior” (MKT-410) of the Business Administration Department of the EastWestUniversity. Our course instructor Md. Farhan Faruqui has assigned us this report as a part of the course “Consumer Behavior”. He has authorized the task of writing this term paper on a group basis. The term paper was assigned on 10^th July 2007 and was on due on 30^th July 2007.

Objective of the Term Paper

The objective of the term paper is to learn the practical implementations of the theories taught in the course “Consumer Behavior” (MKT-410). In additional to serve this purpose it tries to find out all the necessary information that one person needs to know about fair and lovely.

Scope of the Term Paper

In our term paper, we have given the basic ideas regarding fair and lovely. Unilever Corporation’s involvement in this technology, their pioneering steps in developing this instrument of communication, their latest activities & the image they have established in the general consumers mind etc. have been discussed. In the end there are the discussions regarding fair and lovely in the contexts of Bangladesh.

Methodology

For this term paper we have collected data and information from various sources such as websites, newspapers etc. We have conducted a research on various people (sample of 60 people, randomly chosen) based on a questionnaire. The questionnaire was used to collect information from the people about their perception regarding different aspects about themselves and fair and lovely. All the collected data used to calculate in Microsoft Excel, thus we can get a more sophisticated view of the consumer’s perception. Our course instructor Md. Farhan Faruqui approved the questionnaire.

Limitation

It is quite impossible for us to prepare a report without limitations. Lacking of information was a big factor. We have to depend heavily on the various websites. As there is not that much option for comparison with other brands that causes a problem. We conducted the survey during our ongoing course, thus facing serious time constrains. Also the surveyed people are another factor. Because almost all of them are students and they represent almost similar background that makes a pretty tiny chance of variation.

Study approach

In order to make this report we visit couple of Unilever websites and the fair and lovely websites also. Then we collect information by questioners. We make a questioner for the general people to know their perception, belief, attitudes and lifestyles. We made our all analysis by their answers of those questions. Different tables and graphs were prepared to gain a better view of the consumer’s perception. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel software are used for this purpose. After the analysis we suggest the strategies. We may also collect data by reading journals and magazine. We made our analysis of this report by questionnaire survey methods. At last we select some people and made this report.

Problem Faced With Methodology

We faced some problem with this methodology. The questionnaire was a very critical one. As a result most of the respondent made mistake to fill it. Not only has that it taken to mach time to understand the questionnaire by the entire respondent though we always try to tell the format of the whole questionnaire as easy as possible. And most of all we are working with sample. As a result the whole analysis may not be correct.

Information Need

For making this report we need the information about the profile of Unilever, their marketing and promotion strategy, their competition and competitor, on which variables they are giving much importance, their turnover, target achieved and their average net profit.

Future Plan

Unilever stands at an important threshold in our corporate history. Capitalizing on the success of the past 50 years, we are now set to put ourselves to the test of becoming a truly great leader in the global marketplace, a company that will endure for 70 years and more. To this end, we have established key priorities for 2007 – priorities that we need to carry out in order for us to gain leadership in creating customer value, and to initiate the changes of the future. In 2007, we will equip ourselves with “Passion for Customers” and “Spirit of Challenge for the Future,” overcome all obstacles, and makes fair and lovely a great company that lasts for 100 years and more. 

Sampling Plan

For getting our respondents we visited two corporate houses and an apartment building. Some of our samples come from the different professional group and other samples come from university faculties and student.

Sample Characteristics

We collected information for this report mainly from primary survey. We selected 60 peoples as sample. Among them 23 were male and rest of them are females. 28 of them fall under the 15-20 age group, 14 under the age 20-25, 7 under the age 25-30 and 11 of them are under the 30 above group.

About fair & Lovely:

 Fair & Lovely Oil-Control Fairness Gel contains real papaya extracts that help your skin glow, watermelon extracts that cool and refresh your face and triple sunscreens that protect skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays. The ingredients work together to leave you with fair & fresh skin in just 4 weeks without the oily feel of other creams.

“Fair & Lovely Oil-Control Fairness Gel is the result of deep consumer insight and cutting-edge technology, as has been demonstrated in the various new products launched under the Fair & Lovely franchise in the last three years, like Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic in 2003 and Fair & Lovely Anti-Marks in 2003. Fair & Lovely Oil-Control Fairness Gel is targeted at consumers with oiliness problems.”

The brand Fair & Lovely has been a trusted beauty product for Indian women since 1978.

Company Mission:

Fair and Lovely Foundation will continue its mission to empower the Bangladeshi women economically through education

Fair and Lovely Foundation will continue its mission to empower the Bangladeshi women economically through education by continuing the “Supplementary Education Program” for the third year running. The Fair & Lovely Foundation has signed an agreement with the Faria Lara Foundation on May 17, 2007. These tow organizations have worked together to improve the lives of rural women in Bangladesh. On this occasion Mr. Rakesh Mohan, Chairman and Managing Director of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. and Mr. Anwar Hossain Khan, Senior Vice President of Faria Lara Foundation have signed on behalf of their respective organizations.

Company Vision

The Fair & lovely is primarily focused on the Cream and fairness (such as multivitamin cream & ayurbedic cream). Not only do they represent a wide range of businesses, but they remain globally unique. Their aim is to fully leverage this uniqueness in aggressively carrying out their convergence strategy so that they can continue to emotionally touch and excite the customers.

The Founding Prospectus:

Fair & Lovely, the largest-selling skin whitening cream in the world, is certainly doing well, Launched in 1978. Fair & Lovely is formulated with optimum levels of UV sunscreens and Niacinamide that is known to control dispersion of melanin in the skin. It is a patented and proprietary formulation, which has been in the market for 25 years. Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) is a water-soluble vitamin and is widely distributed in cereals, fruits and vegetables – and its use in cosmetic formulations has been known for various end benefits. The UV components of the formulation are scientifically chosen and used at optimum levels to provide wide spectrum protection against UV rays of the sun. Specifically, this patented formulation offers a high UVA protection, which is more relevant to Asian skin than plain SPF protection creams sold in the West. All the active ingredients in the Fair & Lovely formulation function synergistically to lighten skin colour through a process that is natural, reversible and totally safe.

Introducing the Fair & Lovely fairness cream:

The cream not only gives you noticeably fairer and more radiant skin, its new 4 step holistic fairness process also helps to keep your skin free of blemishes and oiliness whilst protecting it from harmful UV sunrays. Achieve beautiful skin in only 6 weeks, the safe and natural way.

The brand today offers a substantive range of products, including Ayurvedic Fair & Lovely Fairness cream, Fair & Lovely Anti-Marks cream, Fair & Lovely Oil control Fairness Gel, Fair & Lovely for Deep Skin and Fair & Lovely Fairness Soap. The latest has been the Perfect Radiance, a complete range of 12 premium skincare solutions from Fair & Lovely.

Patented Formula – enriched with a unique blend of two fairness ingredients.

 Fairness vitamin: Vitamin B3

Natural Milk protein

Proven double Sunscreen system provides enhanced sun protection.

Clinically proven Fair & Lovely is PERFECT for ALL Skin types.

How to use Fair & Lovely Cream:

Massage the cream gently onto your face and neck. If you experience a slight tingling feeling, it’s an indication of the cream effectiveness. For Best results, apply cream twice daily.

Social Awareness of Fair & Lovely:

Fair and Lovely Foundation will continue its mission to empower the Bangladeshi women economically through education by continuing the “Supplementary Education Program” for the third year running. The Fair & Lovely Foundation has signed an agreement with the Faria Lara Foundation on May 17, 2007. These tow organizations have worked together to improve the lives of rural women in Bangladesh. On this occasion Mr. Rakesh Mohan, Chairman and Managing Director of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. and Mr. Anwar Hossain Khan, Senior Vice President of Faria Lara Foundation have signed on behalf of their respective organizations.

This program was initiated in Bamna upazilla of Barguna district. Each year the Supplementary Education Program works by giving female SSC and HSC examinees training on basic Computer skills and Spoken & Written English after they have completed their examinations. This is the third successive year in which these two organizations have worked together.

In 2007 under this Supplementary Education Program, 40 female candidates for SSC and HSC exams will be selected for Basic Computer training and Spoken & Written English. Members of the two organizations hope that that this program would have significant impact to the participants.

Empowering Women

UBL brings opportunities to women for education, career and economic advancement. In Bangladesh, like many other developing countries, women facing the same poverty issues as men are subject to additional social and policy biases. For this, they remain backward in terms of education and economic independence. Therefore their need for a guide with a sincere mission to enhance the state of the Bangladeshi women is recognized by all quarters.

Scholarship Program

Under this scholarship scheme, 200 women who have passed their HSC each received a Taka 25,000 scholarship to support her tertiary level education.

The subjects covered under this scholarship program are:

• Medicine
• Engineering
• Science
• Arts/Social Science
• Commerce
• Higher Agro-Science

As a continuation of this Scholarship Progamme, in December last year, students were once again invited to apply for the 2005 Programme. Around 2,500 applications were received from all over the country and after a rigorous screening process done by Anannya, 500 applicants were chosen to face the final interview. The interview was conducted by renowned professionals from various fields.

200 female students were finally selected based on need and merit. A certificate giving ceremony was held in July 2006 where the scholarship achievers received a certificate and the first of the four instalments.

Unilever Bangladesh focuses its voluntary social initiatives in three key areas: Health, Education and Women’s Empowerment – all aimed at improving the living standards of Bangladeshi people.

Health, hygiene & personal care

Creating products and lifestyles that make a positive contribution to health for people

Education:        

Even in the twenty-first century, Bangladeshi women’s economic empowerment is looked upon as a luxury. While the economic growth of a country is dependent directly on the level of education of its general population, it will be most unfortunate if a significant part of it is neglected and excluded from the benefits of development. It is this realization that has brought about the Fair & Lovely Foundation Scholarship Programme. Any Bangladeshi female student with good academic track record is eligible to apply for these scholarships. This programme aims at providing women with basic and higher education, as well as training and assistance. After the successful project entitled “Uttoroney Nari” in 2003 where 1,500 women students (at standard 10 level) received courses on basic IT from NIIT, in 2004, Fair & Lovely Foundation tailor-made yet another scholarship programme for women seeking higher education.

Career:

Education is like a beacon for the right career. It hints at what one is good at. Yet, with so many choices that are available, it is easy to make a wrong decision. This led to the Fair & Lovely Foundation’s Career Guidance Programme.

During its inception in 2004, the Fair & Lovely Foundation aired a 13-episode TV series in Channel i. Each episode showcased one particular career… encapsulating detailed information about its prospects, means of undertaking it, and an inspiring success story to instigate interest. Career showcased in the programme were – Law, Banking, Advertising, Defence, Graphic Designing, Engineering, Fashion Designing, Merchandising, IT, Architecture, Journalism, Medicine and Business. The programme received a huge response in terms of viewer enquiries and letters.

Enterprise:

We believe that small & medium enterprises are crucial to the economic development of a country like Bangladesh. The Fair & Lovely Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme was set up to explore the endless possibilities that lie in this sector for women. This Programme assists both urban and rural women by providing practical knowledge as well as business expertise.

Fair & Lovely Foundation:

Unilever strongly believes in the importance of empowering women in Bangladesh, because the progress of any society will be constrained if a significant part of its population is neglected and excluded from the benefits of development. It is therefore necessary that women be progressively brought into the main stream of economic activities. We believe, with economic and educational empowerment, women can become more vocal about their rights and become stronger in withstanding repression in any form.

Keeping this mind and women’s empowerment at the forefront, Fair & Lovely Foundation was set-up as a social initiative by Unilever Bangladesh Limited on 15 June 2004 under its leading skin care brand Fair & Lovely. The mission of the Foundation is to “Encourage economic empowerment of Bangladeshi women through information and resources in the areas of Education, Career and Enterprise

Media contacts

Unilever Bangladesh:

Press Office
Unilever Bangladesh
ZN Tower
Plot 2 , Road 8
Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212
Bangladesh

T: 88 (02) 9888452
F: 88 (02) 9862299

BP.Biddappa@unilever.com
SP.Ahmed@unilever.com
mononita.syedhaq@unilever.com

The 4V, S of Fair & Lovely:

Value Innovation:

Value innovation places equal emphasis on value and innovation, since innovation without value can be too strategic, too technology-driven or futuristic. Hence, value innovation is not the same as value creation. Although value creation on an incremental scale creates some value, it is not sufficient for high performance.

Fair and Lovely currently offers the following line of their products in Bangladesh market. But they frequently change their offers regarding the availability of their products in the market, as they stay up-to-date with the market trends. They are very quick to introduce their new products in here alongside their international release. Besides introducing their new product lines, they also discontinue their old products, but offer full technical support & services. Following are the latest offerings for Fair and Lovely that are available in Bangladesh-

Our range comprises:

• Fair & Lovely Fairness Cream,
• Fair & Lovely Herbal Cream,
  Fair & Lovely Facial Face wash,
• Fair & Lovely under Eye Cream,
• Fair & Lovely Menz Active
• Fair & Lovely Antimarks
• Fair & Lovely Body Fairness Milk
• Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic Fairness Cream

v  Original / Natural  Fragrance

v  Environmental Friendly

v  Completely Safe

v  Long Lasting Effect

Fair & Lovely Multivitamin Cream:

World’s number 1 fairness cream now redefines the route to fairness with the new advanced Multivitamin Fairness and Nourishment formula. The cream gives total fairness in four weeks that rivals the best professional beauty treatment, but without bleach or harmful chemicals that can damage skin.

Different people have different skin types and that is why, Fair & Lovely has a range of variants to meet the different needs:

Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic Fairness Cream:

Fair & Lovely Ayurvedic Fairness Cream brings in the fairness secrets of ancient Ayurveda that provides Nourishment, Protection and Purification. It is enriched with the magical Ayurvedic blend of Kumkumadi Oil – a mixture of 16 Ayurvedic ingredients, which enhances complexion and cures discoloration of skin.

Fair & Lovely Body Fairness Milk

Now complements and matches the fairness on your face with the fairness on your body through Fair & Lovely Body Fairness Milk. Its gentle formulation gives fairness all the year round.

Fair & Lovely Antimarks

The miracle worker Fair & Lovely now not only promises a bright radiance but also pledges a flawless skin through the Antimarks variant. It contains proven Ayurvedic ingredients including Neem, Chandan, Brahmi that creates a wonderful formulation for every mark, which helps to give a fair, clear and even-toned skin. More specifically, it reduces dark spots left from pimples, lightens pigmentation marks, reduces dark circles and lessens stretch marks.

Fair & Lovely Menz Active:

Fair & Lovely, the world’s number 1 fairness cream, now introduces Fair & Lovely Menz Active, the fairness cream for men. Fair & Lovely Menz Active is perfect for skin that is naturally touch, is regularly exposed to harsh outdoor routines, has more stubble and is more rough due to regular shaving.

Packaging:

Special Packaging Is the part of Value innovation Strategy.

A beautiful packaging can attracts more customers’ eyes and also to maintain the quality we need good packaging. Fair and lovely packaging is very good and thy use nice color in their packaging.

Value Pricing:

In this highly competitive marketplace, it can be difficult to persuade customers to buy from you when you offer a similar product to your opposition. And trying to beat competitors on price alone is a cut-throat business, very risky and not impressive. It attracts bargain hunters ready to defect to competitors for a better deal. Using a value-pricing strategy is a better proposition because it attracts loyal customers. We know that fair and lovely is one of the symbols of status of Unilever. The price is not that much higher than the competitors. According to the officials of the price are given below.

Value Delivery Chain of Fair & Lovely:

Value Delivery Chain is a strategy for interactively managing your customers and prospects at every touch point to create value, one customer at a time. But this distribution should be cost effective. In Bangladesh they have strong distribution channel. It is very easy to get any products of Unilever and fair and lovely is one of their strong products which have huge demand in our country. The target market of fair and lovely is huge. Because of strong distribution channel we can get fair and lovelies product from any retail store.

Value Proposition:

IMC (Integrating Marketing Communication) is a communication vehicle through the value proposition of a brand is positioned in the mind of the market. The main objective of IMC is to generate brand equity. IMC should activate brand awareness leading to loyalty, conviction and purchase.      The promotion strategy of fair and lovely is traditional compared to competitive brands. The local marketing campaigns are so focused on highlighting the fair and lovely functions. Before that, the promotion strategy of fair and lovely was only focused on informing the customers about the ongoing sales promotion of all the fair and lovely products. These promotions included ads on TV channels, newspapers & banners and also the billboards.

But the promotion strategy of fair and lovely is changing day by day. But their main focus is women. But now days they are trying to change their promotion also the products. Last year they launched a new products fro men. And they did their advertisement with men models which got a huge response from the customer of menz active.

Besides the newspaper & the TV ads, the following types of promotion regarding fair and lovely observed

1. The shop signs.
2. Program sponsoring (Newspaper Quizzes etc.)

Age :

Proper age positioning is critical for many products. Age carries with it culturally defined behavioral and attitudinal norms. It affects consumers self concept and life style as well as consumption. Age shapes the media marketers use, consumers shopping pattern, using products and thinking and feeling about marketing activities. From our survey we can see that, the 47% of the people are from the range of 15-20 years, 23% of the people are from the range of 20-25 years, 12% of the people are from the range of 25-30 years and 18% of the people are from 30 above. As a matter of fact the total here shows a large portion of the people are from the age of 15-20 who are mainly teen-ager.

Sex:

As fair & lovely is a non-traditional product, so it has expanded its product line successfully by producing both male and female product. Here 62% of the survey was done on female user. Rest of the 38% survey was based on the male user.

Family Member:

Targeting all the members of a family effectively and efficiently can be a successful marketing strategy. The larger of family members, the larger of the capture the market share scope.

Social Class:

A social class system can be defined as a hierarchical division of a society into relatively distinct and homogeneous groups with respect to attitudes, values, lifestyles and purchasing power. Crucial factor is their average monthly family income. Here the economy class (Less than tk. 10000 of monthly family income) represents only 11% of the participants. Lower middle class (tk. 10001 – tk. 20000 of monthly family income) represents 27% of the participants. Exact middle class (tk. 20001 – tk. 30000 of monthly family income) covers 35% of the participants. On the higher middle class (tk. 30001 – tk. 40000 of monthly family income) represents 20% of the participants. And finally the upper class (More than tk. 40000 of monthly family income) represents 7% of the participants.

Vision:

From the survey it has been found that 33% of the participants wants to be a Doctor, 13 % of the participants wants see themselves as future Banker. 8% of the participants want to be teacher. Rest of the 8% wants to see themselves in various jobs such as telecommunication engineering and etc. 8% of the participants wants to be a Lawyer, 12% of the participants wants to be a Businessman/women, 18% goes to others. None of the participants wants to be a government employee, which marks a significant social change.

External influences on the purchase of Fair and Lovely:

Cultural factors play a very important role fro purchasing any kind of product. Because culture is the distinctive way of life of a group of people, there complete design fro living.

Relevant cultural values:

They important values that affect the purchase of fair and lovely are,

• Price: Price of fair and lovely is one of the effective values of fair and lovely that has a great impact on consumer behavior of fair and lovely buyers.
• Non Traditional: In these days of technological advancement people are like to change their life style. As a result most of the consumers are highly influence by the varieties product line of fair and lovely.

Gender roles: Gender differences have got a very strong role in the case of purchasing a brand of cosmetics. From our survey we have found that fair and lovely is very conscious about gender roles.

Group influences: Purchasing cosmetics is sometimes very a group decisions and                    sometimes an individual decisions. It is also a high involvement product. Reference groups can influence a wide range of consumption behaviors. Before examining the marketing implications of these findings, we need to examine the nature of reference group influence more closely.

Type’s pf influence:  Informational influence might be present in the purchase of cosmetics goods.

Informational influence: It occurs when an individual uses the behavior an opinions of reference group members as potentially useful bits of information. This information is based on it either the similarity of the groups members to the individual or the expertise of the influencing group members.

Ad Strategy:

Marketers often position products as appropriate for group activities. Fair and lovelies ads using informational influence typically show members of a group using a product. The message generally unstained, is that ‘this types of people finds these brand to be the best, if you are like them, you will too”

Information processing of the consumers- Fair & Lovely Perception:

It is constitute of first three steps of information processing.

Exposure:

T.V:  Fair lovely has placed TV added quite frequently during the change of their product line.

Newspaper: Fair and lovely is giving their newspaper advertisement but not frequently.

Billboard: Some billboards are shown in the different areas of Dhaka city and some high ways to reminder the consumer about the product.

Magazines: Fair and lovely is giving their add effectively to some magazines.

Attentions:   Attention occurs when the stimulus activities one or more receptor nerves and the resulting sensations go to the brain for processing.

Stimulus factors:

• Size: Big billboards are the best examples of these stimulus factors.
• Color and movement: The billboards and TV ads are very colorful and meaningful according to the product.
• Position: In magazines the usual place of fair and lovely in the front page and news

Paper it shown in the middle.

Individual Factors: As it is not an impulsive product, individual factor is not a very important indicator. As a result of this direct selling is the only way to influence the buying behavior of the consumer.

INTERPRETATION:

Interpretation is the assignment of meaning to sensations. Factors effecting the interpretation of Fair & Lovely are the following,

Individual Characteristics:

Expectation: Individual interpretation of stimuli tends to be consistent with their expectations. Considering this Fair & Lovely has been decorating their packaging in such a way that is relevant with the product having an impression about the performance of the product.

Situational Factors:

Logo & Brand Name: The brand name pattern of Fair & Lovely is perfectly accurate to the product which helps the targeted consumer to make an impression about the value of the product as a whole. 

Relevant Learning Theories:

Classical Conditioning: The classical conditioning is taking place in the advertisement of Fair & Lovely especially in newspapers.

Operant Conditioning: Operant conditioning is taking place in the advertisement by highlighting its value to attract the target market.

Vicarious/ Modeling: Fair & Lovely is showing their ads and remaindering their consumers highlighting a person who have been experienced it and its after effect of using.

Characteristics of Learning:

Strength of learning:

• Importance: fair & lovely is a high involvement product. So the result is high in this case.
• Reinforcement: Fair & lovely is trying to increase the purchase by increasing the product line.
• Repetition: The number of Fair & lovely’s ads showing everyday in the TV is average. Though they are the number one toiletries of Unilever they should give more ads in TV and newspapers.
• Mood: fair & lovely is giving positive mood during the presentation of the ads.
• Massage involvement: It is involving the target market with its massage.

Stimulus Generalization: Fair & lovely is eliciting by a similar but distinct stimulus.