Brand Update : Axe finally respond to competition through Axe Signature

So finally a response from HUL to competition. After being relegated to No.3 in the deo market by Fogg and Wildstone, Axe finally launched its answer to the competition- Axe Signature Collection Deo.

It was surprising that HUL which is supposedly the best marketing machine in India took so long to respond to competition. Its almost a replay of the Nirma- Surf episode where the market leader was slow in responding to local competition eventually to find itself dethroned as  the market leader. HUL (in my opinion ) was very slow in reacting to Fogg's entry into the market with the No-Gas proposition. The result is that Axe has been beaten down to number 3 in the market.

Now HUL has responded with a variant branded as Signature Collection. The basic USP is the variant is 3X times more perfume. The brand has the tagline " Don't Fade Away" 

Axe Signature is running its campaign across the channels. The television commercial retains the seduction proposition but is now subtle with that message. The message the new variant is pushing is the long-lasting fragrance. 

Watch the ad here : Axe Signature

The " Don't Fade Away " proposition is smart because that idea is different from the current market leader Fogg's no-gas USP. So Axe is now telling the consumers that it is better than others because other fragrances fade away. The packing resembles Fogg Black Collection cannot be wished away as a coincidence.

Although the message is nothing new, Axe has executed the campaign nicely.

Priced at Rs 225, Axe has priced this variant lower than the competition. 

The entry of Axe into the no-gas segment has market as shift in the market dynamics. The no-gas segment is now growing at 30% and is already worth around Rs 250-300 crore in the Rs 2500 crore deo market. This segment which is now named as body-perfume segment is where all the action is. 

The launch of Signature is expected to arrest the growth of Fogg and Wildstone. Since this is a launch from Axe, old loyalists are bound to try it. Rest is all dependent on the delivery of the promise. 

Positioning Sharing : Axe Signature's long lasting fragrance proposition is not new, the brand Set Wet deo already has the same positioning ( Watch the ad). 

Long-lasting is a widely used positioning. Across various categories brands has been using this positioning and the novelty and believe-ability of this positioning has come down drastically. Pepsodent ( dishum-dishum) , Amaron ( lasts long really long) Colgate Total are some of the brands that share the same positioning. 

Brand Update :Fogg outsmarts Axe

In the cluttered Rs 2100 crore deo market once pioneered by axe now has a new leader -Fogg

Brand Update : Axe disappoints with Ranbir doing a Ben Affleck

Axe deo is facing the fiercest competition  in its life in India with local and MNC deo brands breathing down its neck. According to certain reports that came in ET Now's Brand Equity show, the brand had lost its leadership position in the Indian market to the new entrant Fogg.

One of the reason for the trouble is that Axe's positioning has been under threat. almost all deo brands has been aping the positioning theme of Axe thereby diluting the brand's uniqueness in the Indian market. Axe was not able to do much about it and continued with its strategy of frequent launches of new variants and importing ads from its global markets.

For a change, Axe decided to go local in its promotional strategy and roped in the current Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor to endorse the brand. The news came as a surprise since Axe never ( in my knowledge) ran a campaign using a celebrity in India.
Axe launched its new variant Axe Blast with the new celebrity endorsement . The ad is currently on air.

Watch the ad here : Axe Ranbir Ad

What was shocking is that the ad is the exact copy of an older ad ( more than 7 years) of Axe Clicker which is a variant available in markets outside India. The Axe Clicker brand featured Ben Affleck .

Watch the ad here : Axe Ben Affleck

Now if the brand Axe can afford to bring Ranbir to the fold, why did the brand chose to just copy an old theme and present it in the Indian market ? 

Its so cheap a strategy to adopt in an era where information is available to everyone. And its a totally a wrong move when the competition is eating away the share. Ranbir will get eyeballs and may in the short-run help the brand to reinforce the existing awareness.The  current approach is sending warning signals regarding the laziness of the marketing department in attempting to find an easy way out rather than brainstorming on developing a differentiation strategy to take on the competition.

Brand Update : Axe Extends to Soaps

Axe deo , the market leader in the Rs 1000 crore Indian deo market has extended itself to soaps. In the typical Unilever style of experimenting with successful brands the current guinea pig brand is Axe. The rationale is very simple  a) The soap market is witnessing a growth while deo market is now full of competition

b) With Cinthol brand becoming unisex, there is a vacuum for a men's soap brand and Axe is the best fit for filling the gap.

c) The lure for incremental profits from an established brand.

Indian soap market is around Rs 6500 crore and the men's grooming market is around Rs 1500 crore ( Economic Times). The brand may be looking to become an umbrella brand endorsing multiple products across the men's grooming category. The big question is whether these extensions will make the original deo brand vulnerable ? 

I think so.

I wonder why Axe is being extended when there is so much competition in the deo market. Axe is now attacked both on positioning front as well as on product attributes front. The Axe positioning is aped by most of the deo brands to the point that everything is so predictable and boring. Now HUL is further diluting the brand by its extension into a different category. 

The new extension carries the same positioning as the Original Axe brand . Axe bathing bar has the tagline " Engineered for Guys ". The ad campaign follows the same theme as the Axe Deo brand.

Watch the ad here : Axe Deo

Priced at a premium of Rs 35, Axe expects the brand loyalists to be the early adopters for this brand. HUL will be leveraging on its huge distribution strength and its reach to make sure that Axe Bathing Bar is available across the markets. To be fair to this experiment, Axe globally also is extended to various categories like Body Wash, Talcum powder etc but none of the extensions has been as successful as the original product. The same will be the case in the case of Axe Soap also. 

Denim : For the man who doesn't have to try too hard

Brand : Denim
Company : Hindustan Unilever

Brand Analysis Count : 515

Denim is one of the oldest deodorant brands in India. Although the brand's original launch date is not known, the brand is in existence even before Axe deo's launch in 1996. The brand had a fair share in the Indian market before being eclipsed by Axe Deo. 

Axe deodorant's launch was the event that triggered the near annihilation of Denim brand in India. Axe virtually captured the entire male deodorant market and Denim was left in the sidelines. 

HUL felt that there was no need for two brands with almost similar brand personalities and decided to choose Axe as the major focus area.During that time, there was a brand rationalization exercise code named " Power Brand" strategy where Levers decided to prune the number of brands in its portfolio.

How ever Denim had a small but loyal customer base ( like me). There was something innate for the brand which forced HUL to retain the brand but not as a standalone brand. In 2002, Denim was merged with Axe . Denim had a reasonable presence in the men's grooming market with Talcum Powder ( 4% share) , After Shave ( 18%) and Shaving Cream (8%). The deo was retained as a Product Line Extension of Axe and other products were axed. 

From then on, Denim was staying in the Indian market as a variant thus satisfying many loyal consumers who ware initially charmed by the fragrance, brand name and the character of this brand.

In early 2012, HUL began to turn its attention to Denim . Without much promotion, Denim was  again relaunched as an independent brand. Denim was heavily pushed at the retailer shelves as a low priced deo and Axe endorsement was removed. When most of the deos were at Rs 130 -200 price point, Denim was retailed at Rs 100. Now the company have started promoting Denim through television campaigns. 

Watch the ad here : Denim Deo ad 

The brand retains the original positioning and the classic tagline " For the man who doesn't have to try too hard". 

The Denim brand has moved from an Independent brand to a Line Extension and then to an Independent brand. The brand name has moved from Denim to Axe Denim and to Denim. Where in the marketing textbook we see such a branding strategy !!! We can see these kind of funny experiments only from HUL which houses the best marketing minds of India. In a span of ten years a brand being repositioned twice and brand name changed twice !!

One thing needs to be appreciated is that even though Denim was migrated to Axe, HUL made sure that Denim's brand character is not lost by retaining the brand elements like the color. This has helped the firm to relaunch Denim as an independent brand without confusing the consumer. 

Denim is now the low priced flanker brand for Axe. Denim will protect the Axe brand from the low priced local brands which is nibbling away Axe's share by imitating the positioning. Denim also stands a chance to develop volume from the loyalists and also those looking for a VFM deo brand. 

As a consumer who loved the brand, I am happy that Denim had regained its individuality.Beyond price, there is some powerful brand elements like the brand name , fragrance and a character that still have potential to make this a worthwhile player in the deo category.