Monday, November 22, 2010

Comparative ads back to the fore in FMCG category

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Comparative advertising is on the rise in the FMCG category with the latest Rin versus Tide commercial based on comparing ‘whiteness', being aired extensively across prime time on television since last weekend.

According to Mr Gopal Vittal, Executive Director, Home & Personal Care, HUL, “There has been a pressure on shares but the maximum shares have been hit in the detergent category where consumers have been downtrading. But now we are seeing a gradual recovery in shares.”

In spite of HUL's volume shares growing sequentially by one per cent in the laundry segment during the December quarter, overall it faced a 2.4 per cent decline in share in the soaps and detergents during the same quarter. Today its value share in the Rs 12,000-crore detergent category stands at 34.6 per cent with brands such as Surf Excel Blue, Surf Excel, Rin and Wheel.

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According to The Nielsen Company, in January, the value shares of Tide (8.8 per cent) was almost double that of Rin (4.8 per cent). While last year in January of 2009 the gap between the two brands was less when Tide enjoyed an 8 per cent value share and Rin was behind at 5.1 per cent value share.

To combat the fall in shares, HUL in January did drop prices of Rin Powder (1kg) from Rs 70 to Rs 50. In its latest ad, the price cut is being prominently displayed (Rs 25 for 500 gm) for the Rin Pack while Tide Naturals is pegged at Rs 20 for 500 gm. Considering both the FMCG companies are on the board of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), it is P&G that has been more responsible in its advertising compared to HUL, claim industry observers. According to an ASCI official, the last time the two companies got into a spat of this kind was in 2004 when the comparative advertising was based on the whiteness proposition where the competitor's brand was blurred.

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