Brand Audit Of Lux

Introduction

Lux Soap came into existence in 1964. Lux occupies a large market share in the Pakistani
soap market as well as the international arena. The new Lux, with the sunscreen formula, is
targeted to a different market segment as compared previously to previous Lux.
Lux is the first brand to bring the sunscreen concept in soap industry. Lux plans to cater to
all these customers. "Beauty begins with Lux. "The strategy that is used by lever brother for
their lux sunscreen is on specific "product Benefits strategy" as the lux sunscreen promotes
"Sun Protection" benefit as well as "beauty" .Lux sunscreen revolves around the slogan that
is:Lux Sunscreen

BRAND NAME:

“LUX”

LOGO:

SYMBOL:

BEAUTY

CHARACTER:
GLAMOUR

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

PACKAGING:

SLOGAN:
“BEAUTY BEGIN WITH LUX”

History:

Lux Soap came into existence in 1964. Subsequently it was launched in the US in 1916, and
marketed as a laundry soap targeted specifically at 'delicates'. Lever Brothers encouraged
women to home launder their clothes without fear of satins and silks being turned yellow by
harsh lyes that were often used in soaps at the time. The flake-type soap allowed the
manufacturer some leeway from lye because it did not need to be shaped into traditional
cake-shaped loaves as other soaps were. The result was a gentler soap that dissolved more
readily and was advertised as suitable for home laundry use.[1] Lux is currently a product of
Unilever. The name "Lux" was chosen as the Latin word for "light".

Lux toilet soap was introduced as a bathroom soap in the US in 1925, and in the UK in 1928
as a brand extension of Lux soap flakes. Subsequently Lux soap has been marketed in several
forms, including handwash, shower gel and cream bath soap.

Lux soap was launched in India in 1929. The very first advertisement in 1929 featured Leela
Chitnis as its brand ambassador. It was branded in India as "the beauty soap of film stars'.

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

Delight to the senses:

Everything about the brand – from the look and feel of the products and packaging to the
subtle fragrances – is a delight to the senses. In fact, Lux has been making waves since 1924,
when it launched the world's first mass-market beauty soap at a fraction of the cost of some
expensive brands.

How it all started

Lux was first introduced as a toilet soap in 1925. Produced by Lever Brothers, it
arrived in the UK in 1928, offering people a chance to pamper themselves for a
modest price.

From the 1930s right through to the 1970s, Lux soap colours and packaging were
altered several times to reflect fashion trends. In 1958 five colours made up the
range: pink, white, blue, green and yellow. People enjoyed matching their soap with
their bathroom colours.

In the early 1990s, Lux responded to the growing trend away from traditional soap
bars by launching its own range of shower gels, liquid soaps and moisturising bars.
Lux beauty facial wash, Lux beauty bath and Lux beauty shower were launched in
1992.

In 2004, the entire Lux range was relaunched in the UK to include five shower gels,
three bath products and two new soap bars. 2005 saw the launch of three exciting
new variants with dreamy names such as “Wine & Roses” bath cream, “Glowing
Touch” and “Sparkling Morning” shower gels.

Did you know?

Since the 1930s, over 400 of the world’s most stunning and sensuous women have
been proudly associated with Lux advertisements. Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot,

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

Demi Moore and, more recently, our own Catherine Zeta-Jones, have all been part
of the Lux glamour story.

The name Lux means ‘light’ in Latin, however the name was chosen for its play on
the word ‘luxury’.

Advertising

In 2004, Sarah Jessica Parker featured in the Lux 'Brings Out the Star in You’
advertising campaign. Best known for her über-stylish and spirited character as
Carrie from Sex & The City, Sarah Jessica Parker epitomises the modern Lux
woman: comfortable and confident in her femininity, experienced in the ways of the
world and understands how style and beauty really work.

Lux has been widely advertised in Pakistan ever since the brand was introduced.
Pakistani models including Reema Khan, Meera, Aaminah Haq, Babra sharif and
various other leading models and actresses have been "Lux models" from time to
time. Lux remains the leading soap brand in Pakistan, representing the stylish class
of Pakistan. Things started with a TV show called Lux Style Ki Duniya, now with the
country's leading models and actors taking part in the annual Lux Style Awards
every year. Ali Zafar the famous Pakistani Singer has become the first male model
for Lux

Celebrity Endorsements:

Hollywood

Since the 1930s, many well-known Hollywood actresses have marketed the soap to women
as a beauty enhancer. Advertisements have featured Dorothy Lamour, Joan Crawford,
Laurette Luez, Judy Garland, Cheryl Ladd, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Taylor, Demi Moore,
Sarah Jessica Parker, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rachel Weisz, Anne Hathaway, and Marilyn

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

Monroe, among others. The first male to star in a Lux advertisement was Hollywood actor
Paul Newman.

Bollywood

Today, the brand is still heavily advertised in India using Bollywood stars.Madhubala, Mala
Sinha, Hema Malini, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Karisma Kapoor, Rani Mukerji,
Aishwarya Rai, Amisha Patel, Kareena Kapoor and Tabu have all been past brand
ambassadors. Priyanka Chopra is the present brand ambassador of Lux. In India Shahrukh
Khan was the first male in a Lux advertisement.

Pakistan

Lux has been widely advertised in Pakistan ever since the brand was introduced. Pakistani
models including Reema Khan, Meera, Aaminah Haq, Babra sharif and various other leading
models and actresses have been "Lux models" from time to time. Lux remains the leading
soap brand in Pakistan, representing the stylish class of Pakistan. Things started with a TV
show called Lux Style Ki Duniya, now with the country's leading models and actors taking
part in the annual Lux Style Awards every year. Ali Zafar the famous Pakistani Singer has
become the first male model for Lux.

Other countries

Lux soap is very popular in Nepal and the brand appointed Nepali model-turned-actress
Jharana Bajracharya to be the Lux Girl in the Summer of 2003. After that, she appeared on
many TV commercials. Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji appeared as the face of Lux soap
in 2004. Two decades earlier, singer Patti Boulaye had been Nigeria's face of Lux. In Norway
during the 1950s and 1960s, Lux advertisements featured fictional Italian actresses. Lux soap
is also a category leader in Pakistan, the brand being synonymous with glamour. While
initially it was also marketed as the beauty soap of the film stars, recently it is focusing more
on bringing out the star in ordinary people. Current brand ambassador is Iman Ali.

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

Brand Category:

LUX falls under the category of toiletry as a beauty soap.

Market Segmentation:

The company claims that LUX is the highest selling beauty soap in Pakistan. Moreover some
survey reports also reveal the same result.

Though LUX is the highest selling beauty soap in Pakistan, it does not go for traditional mass
marketing. Moreover as a beauty soap LUX does not even segment its market according to
gender.

The population of the country is segmented into three parts which are urban, sub urban and
rural area consumers.

The SEC divides the population in five segments starting from A to E, where A categorizes
the highly educated and high income earners holders, and sequentially in descending order E
categorizes the opposite.

Urban
Rich

Urban and Sub Urban Upper

Rural Poor

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

Target Market:

Urban and sub urban middle class, and rural poor people are the largest part of Pakistan
population. A research carried out by Unilever Pakistan reveals that urban rich people are
more likely to buy imported and expensive products. Moreover rural poor people tend to buy
cheap products even without evaluating its quality. However urban and sub urban upper
middle and middle class people tend to buy affordable and quality products.

LUX is not a highly expensive but an affordable product. That is why the company targets
urban and sub urban upper middle and middle class people who are the second highest
population of segment of the country. From the segmentation of customer according to SEC
they target category A, B and C, because they are assumed to be financially well-off and can
afford to buy LUX.

Brand Positioning:

lux obtained a good position in the buyers’ mind through better product attributes, price and
quality, offering the product in a different way than the competitors do. The company offers
improved quality of products in the industry at an affordable price with high branding, which
ultimately helps to position the product in the buyers’ mind as the best quality beauty soap.

The market share of the company in the beauty soap industry is somewhere around
43%.Since in the beauty soap industry all products are of same price Unilever cannot provide
its consumers with better price but it is in a great position in reference with its packaging,
fragrances and product designing.

Product:

LUX is an internationally renowned beauty soap brand of Unilever. Though manufactured in

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

an international quality for the product. Formula given by Research and Development
departments in foreign countries, LUX is produced in Pakistan from imported raw materials
like sodium soap, glycerol and different extracts according to flavors, coming from Unilever
plants situated abroad.

LUX is offered in Pakistan in six different flavors which are: LUX Energizing Honey, LUX
Golden Glow, LUX Nature Pure, LUX Orchid Touch, LUX Almond Delight and LUX Aqua
Sparkle. Taking into account the convenience of its customers, the company manufactures all
flavors of LUX in three different sizes, 40gm, 80gm and 120gm.

Price:

Though Unilever Pakistan gives its LUX customers a lot in terms of the product itself, it
cannot provide a better pricing. This is due to some constraints in the beauty soap industry.
Beauty soap is a product with a vulnerable demand in Pakistan. A change in price has a high
risk of creating price war among the rivals which will eventually cause a loss of profit. Its
prices are almost equal to its competitor.compares Lux’s price with its major competitor.
Company carries out research on competitors’ price and brand loyalty when it feels extreme
necessaity of chaging price. The brand loyalty test is an exploratory research which is known
as Brand Health Check-Up (BHCU).

Place:

Unilever Pakistan Ltd. has a huge distribution channel for LUX all over the country as its
sales reach more than 10 million pieces a year. The company has six huge warehouses, one in
each division of Pakistan, where the product goes after they are manufactured at Kalurghat
factory. shows the location of its six warehouses in Pakistan.

The company does not use its own fleet of transport for distributing its product. However, it
has outsourced its distribution process to various third party distributors, exclusively
dedicated to Unilever Pakistan Ltd. These distributors then supply the product all over
Pakistan to a huge number of retailers. Even though LUX targets the urban and sub urban

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

middle and upper middle class people they are distributing their products all over Pakistan
because of a recent increase in demand of its product to all segments of the population.

Promotion:

Unilever Pakistan undertakes huge promotional activities to promote LUX which has topped
the beauty soap industry of Pakistan. It spends almost 20% to 25% of its Net Proceeds from
Sales (NPC) of LUX for promotional activities for LUX 1

It’s certain annual promotional campaigns like LUX Channel i Superstar and LUX Channel i
Annual Cinema Awards has made the product a part of the glamour world. Since the 1930s,
over 400 of the world’s most stunning and sensuous women have been proudly associated
with Lux advertisements. They do not only promote LUX in Pakistan for the beauty
conscious females, it also promotes the brand for males and the company proved that, by
including world famous male celebrity Shahrukh Khan for their advertising campaign.

Unilever Pakistan Ltd spends a huge amount of money for promoting LUX through TV
commercials, newspaper advertisements and billboards. Moreover it also undertakes small
promotional campaigns at different schools, colleges, universities and recreational parks with
winners of its Zonal Beauty Contests. Till now promotional activities of LUX has always
been successful which has made it a household common name and helped it reach almost one
billion taka sale value in the year 2004 2.

Market Share:

The beauty soap industry in Pakistan consists of only seven major producers. Unilever
Pakistan Ltd is operating in the industry with its world famous brand LUX. Out of these giant
companies Unilever Pakistan Ltd is the market leader with a share of around 43%.

Other companies in the industry are not as big as Unilever Pakistan Ltd but they are posing
threat to the company by a tendency of a gradual increase in their market share. Kohinoor
Chemicals which is operating with the brand name Tibet is an extremely famous brand to the

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

rural segment of the population and possess a significant share in that segment which is the
largest population group in Pakistan.

45
40
35
LUX
30
Rexona
25
Palmolive
20
Capri
15
Tibet
10
5
0

COMPETETIVE POSITION

Almost every industry includes companies that specialize in serving market niches and Lever
brother is one of them. Instead of perusing the whole market or even large segments it targets
subbasements.Lever brother has chosen nicher strategy because they believe that the market
nicher ends up knowing the target customer group so well that it meets their need better than
other firms that casually sell to this niche.
As a result lever brother can charge a substantial markup over costs because of the added
value. Where as the mass marketer achieves high volume, lever achieves high margin.

Conclusion

The beauty soap industry of Pakistan consists of a few producers in the industry. The
demand for this product is very much vulnerable in terms of pricing. Unilever Pakistan is
providing LUX. at a price which is affordable to most of the people in the country. Beauty

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 Brand Audit Of Lux

soap is an uprising product in Pakistan as a greater portion of the population, both male and
female, are now getting more beauty conscious. As a multinational company Unilever
Pakistan with heavy promotional activities, has been able to penetrate the market.

With six different fragrances, three different sizes, international standard and high quality
design, as a product, LUX has been highly successful over the years. Its distribution process
is highly efficient. Its promotional activities, like the beauty contest has been a milestone in
attracting a huge number of customers. Overall with its marketing activities LUX has been a
successful brand.
The only place where rival companies are progressing is in giving customers redemption
offers. Research revealed that Pakistani customers are highly attracted to this sort of offers.
These offers are not sustainable in the long run but still it takes away a considerable part of
LUX’s sale in the short run.

Recommendation

In this chapter the team would suggest some recommendations to Unilever Pakistan Ltd. to
adopt more successful operation in Pakistan. Since a huge portion of the rural poor people is
demanding LUX in recent days, Unilever Pakistan Ltd should expand their target market also
towards the rural people. They should also conduct different promotional activities in rural
fairs and socially responsible promotional activities to attract rural consumers and social
awareness .Because Lux has different skin type soap so now if they provide different types of
beauty soaps for male and female soapunder the same brand name i.e. LUX it might increase
their sales. Lastly, as Pakistani culture children have a huge say in shopping so they should
also promote the product to children like their another brand “Dove”. These are the
recommendations suggested by teem members to Unilever Pakistan Ltd. to adopt for a more
successful operation in Pakistan with large market share.

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