CASE STUDY SEMI-FINAL
Vim Lime Case Study: Indian women on an average spend a mind-blowing 6 hours every day on household chores, out of which they spend ~50 minutes a day doing the dishes. Dishwashing as a chore is the most hated household chore across markets, beating chores like cleaning toilets & unblocking drains & sinks, as it a recurring, icky, effort consuming & thankless task. Therefore, the key consumer need is time and effort reduction. The Indian Dish-Wash (DW) market is currently Rs ~2600Cr in size & is expected to double in the next 7 years. The main target group is 25+ married females due to high incidence of dishwashing (quantity and frequency). The market is split into 3 price segments: Mass segment operates an RPI of 71, Popular at an RPI of 96 & Premium segment at an RPI of 227. The movement of price segments over time is given below. The category comprises of 4 formats Liquids, Bars, Tubs & Powders. The category penetration is still not universal (~60%) and is increasing due to adoption in Rural Households across Central & Eastern parts of the country. Vim is the dominant category leader with more than 50% market share & high Brand Equity, Unaided Awareness and Value Weighted Distribution. It has been consistently voted the most trusted Household Care brand in various forums across the last few years. By the virtue of having created and dominated the category, Vim is a brand that straddles the entire socioeconomic pyramid & the entire country. As the category penetration is increasing, Vim s core business has come under pressure as new brands have adopted the codes set by Vim like Colours (Green/Yellow), power of lemons & claims on superior degreasing. Vim has built its franchise by making strong functional claims and demonstrating the same to consumers through a challenge. However, as a category leader, it has yet not developed a purpose and this represents an important opportunity for the brand to differentiate itself. The task at hand involves: 1. Finding a relevant emotional consumer need/insight that the brand can address authentically & build as a purpose 2. Crafting the purpose statement 3. Bringing it alive through a sample creative execution 4. A deployment roadmap for the next 12 months The key points to keep in mind while developing the same include: a. Is it universal? Does the insight hold true across socio-economic groups and most regions in the country? Can it be effortlessly executed across both traditional and digital media? b. Does it help build emotional engagement and loyalty with existing Vim consumers? c. Is it Vim (Fit with the brand)? Is it authentic? Is it befitting the stature and position of the brand as a category leader? Is it well integrated with the functional promise of the brand? d. Does it create a point of differentiation for Vim as a brand? Is it something that can only be owned by Vim? Is it difficult for competition to imitate/replicate? e. Does it allow the brand to become more modern and aspirational?
APPENDIX 1: CATEGORY OVERVIEW: VIM CASE STUDY
APPENDIX 2 BRAND EVOLUTION Launch, 1993 Vim was launched in the latter part of 1993 with the primary aim of upgrading users of proxy substances such as ash, coal and crushed bricks. Correction of value perceptions, 1996 The communication in 1996 clearly demonstrated the superiority of the Vim Bar over ordinary powders in terms of value provided. Vim as the category gold standard, 1998 Home and public challenges in North and South India to show Vim as vastly superior in the category and the brand is confident of that. Greater power that gives greater value, 2000 Vim s next campaign drove home the proposition that you ll require even lesser than just a little for clean vessels. This was the cut scrubber challenge, which went to all parts of the country and included a torture test in Sarvana Bhavan. Cut Scrubber Challenge
Sarvana Bhavan No More Khar Khar, 2002 The no more khar - khar campaign that showcased Vim s ability to clean the toughest of stains. Removing jootha, 2004 Vim stands for superlative performance and removes all traces of jootha from utensils. The Polycoat Campaign, 2004 Unilever s R&D team came up with an innovation that drastically reduced sogging of bars a polymer coating. Launch of Vim Liquid, 2006 Vim Liquid TVC (2014) - Vim Liquid Faster Degreasing, 2010 Vim cleans the toughest grease, fastest because it has the power of lemon juice.
Sabse Tez, 2011 Introduced the power of 100 lemons for the first time, to communicate superiority. Antibacterial and Vim Monthly Tub, 2012 Launch of Vim Neem bar, with antibacterial properties. Fastest degreasing for the world s largest family, 2014 World's Largest Family The Best Ever Vim, 2016 Introduced the Best Ever Vim that cleans the 5 toughest stains the fastest.
APPENDIX 3 - COMPETITION LANDSCAPE When Vim was launched in 1993, it was the only dishwashing bar in the market and the main task was to upgrade from proxies. By 2000, there were 24 dishwashing bars in the market with almost parity performance and at 30-50% discount. The need was to battle discounts. Currently, there are roughly 400 new brands entering the market every year, mainly makers of laundry powders attracted by the higher margins on offer in this category and enabled by the similarity of manufacturing processes. Key Competitors: Exo: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cwuphbgdhy) Launched in 2001, Exo claimed that it kills bacteria since it has the chemical Cyclozan. Through the years, this proposition has remained consistent, until the launch of Exo Tubs with a unique round shape that is claimed to minimize wastage. In 2015, Exo was relaunched with an improved product at a lower price point. Xpert : (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzfswne3mm) Launched in 2008, Xpert has spoken about its superior product using a play on its name. It has used Madhuri Dixit and Priyanka Chopra as brand ambassadors in the past. Pril : (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsr4yrsj0i4) Pril was launched in 2005 with the proposition of cutting smell. In 2007, Pril moved into liquids.
APPENDIX 4: PURPOSE OF THE JOURNEY SO FAR ENABLER OF CELEBRATION, 2015 Vim leveraged festivals to drive brand association during which frequency of dishwashing goes up since family & friends get together for celebrating the occasion. Vim asked people to focus on celebrating the festival and to leave the dishwashing worries to Vim. Independence Day Janmashtami Dussehra Follow this link for more info: https://www.facebook.com/vimindia/ ENABLER OF FREE TIME, 2015 Vim launched a campaign Free Time for Moms Sponsored by Vim on Mother s Day wherein the communication focused on Every mother has some passion / hobby but she is unable to follow it because of the paucity of time. Vim becomes an enabler by letting the Mother follow her passion and thereby not worrying about the uncleaned dishes. The announcer film was promoted to get entries from consumers. There was large participation from consumers and lucky few consumers got a chance to meet and learn the specifics from Chef Vicky Ratnani, Bollywood Make-up Artist etc. who are the specialists in their domain. Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40aayn0x5os https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pstrbgkkfw
#Changebeginsathome, 2016 In this series, which has seen two executions (Afroz & Bhayravi), Vim is focussing on unlocking women s potential by allowing them to focus on things that matter, not on dishes. Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdyvqjyedj4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbhry3xzhms