Abstract:
Change in consumer tastes forces the century-old brand to take a hard look at itself. For years, the Pakistani soap industry was familiar with only three categories. Premium, popular and carbolic .In mid 1990s, this structure altered a bit when vegetable oil prices slid 40 to 50 percent, giving manufacturer a huge cost advantage. The result this was the creation of the "Discount segment", which offered soaps 10 to 15 percent cheaper than the popular segment. By the passage of time consumer preference has shifted way beyond lifebuoy. In the past consumers less aware of soaps, had limited needs like a basic clinic soap and had fewer to make in the marketplace. This was even true in rural areas which contributed to more than 70 percent of Lifebuoy's sales. Importantly, it was the man in the household who took the decisions with respect to the purchase of toilet soap and his obvious choice was the "masculine Lifebuoy".
Amidst this situation Lifebuoy had only two options either to re-launch or to die. It opted for the better option that was re-launched. This study basically explores the pre-launch and the after-launch conditions of the brand. The revival effort through the re-launch can be termed as one of the biggest re-launches ever. Through which the whole image of the soap was totally changed. Lifebuoy was one of the most coveted brands, not least because of the huge equity it enjoyed in rural Pakistan. And Unilever simply could not have let it die like this. The post re-launch conditions have proved that it was a good choice by the company.
