My article review

Age is all About Numbers!
The Battle of The Anti-Aging Cosmetics Market has seen Hul & P&G go Ballistic with Product Enhancements and Promotions. Who is winning The Battle?

Hul launched its ponds age miracle in 2007. When L’Oreal, Avon, Oriflame and Garnier were already established players in the then Rs.50 crore market. To initiate the fight, they started off with a vox populi launch format, which was based on the feedback of women from all walks of life about the product. For six months; their television commercials stressed on romance revival in the lives of married women after using Pond’ Age Miracle.

Just when Pond’s was floating in the anti-ageing pond with its adverts portraying husband-turned-chef trying to bring back romance in their married life, Procter & Gamble entered the fray with Olay Total Effects, an anti-ageing cosmetic that promised to fight the seven signs of ageing – wrinkles, sagging skin, uneven skin tone, age spots, pores, dullness and dryness. Though Olay was available in the grey market for a long time, the official launch happened around August 2007, and by then, Pond’s Age Miracle already had had a good enough six months’ stint. 

With its strong research, P&G may have gathered that the information that hiding the signs of ageing was more predominant in working women as compared to the home-makers; and hence they chose to bring in the ‘independent minded’ Sushmita Sen. The idea worked in Olay’s favour and it began to get a grip over the market. 

Pond’s Age Miracle doled out its one of a kind ‘7 days’ challenge’ in late December 2007. The challenge was to try the product for seven days and if one didn’t feel significant changes, the company promised to give their money back!

The growing logic was that when a consumer hears such claims, she is bound to believe that it must hold some value.

Just when the seven day challenge was about to become successful, Olay donned its marketing hat yet again & offered a moisturiser exchange scheme for its consumers. Without getting into the details, let’s just say that for a half used moisturizer priced above Rs.50, you were getting The New Olay Total Effects worth Rs.599, absolutely free.

Quite quick in retort, Pond’s Age Miracle also started a ‘Swap Activity’ in January 2008, whereby its customers could swap any of their creams worth Rs.400 or more for a Pond’s Age Miracle at their year old Pond’s Miracle Boutiques. In all probability the exchange offer from Olay was far more lucrative, and thus had more footfalls at the P&Gs.

But Pond’s Age Miracle was still going strong with its ‘7 Days’ Challenge’ and, to counter that, Olay roped in cine-star Tisca Chopra to handle what was called Olay’s ‘Total Proof, Total Challenge’. This initiative that started in February. 

If you closely look at the choice of brand endorsers that P&G had made for Olay, you could easily conclude that  They were  carefully selected women meant to allure a particular section of their market and that too at the right time. Ponds also bring in meher rampal former miss india to endorse its product.

In that respect, the fiery players had a correct mix of ladies who were either on the verge of their 30s or had already crossed that mark and they still managed to look vivacious and graceful.

And if that was not satisfactory, Olay brought in Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Soha Ali Khan to promote the Olay Beauty Challenge! It was the slight mid of 2010 and the war between Pond’s Age Miracle and Olay’s Total Effects was still on and brazing. Olay had captured about 37% of the Rs.220 crore anti-ageing Cosmetics market, while Pond’s Age Miracle had only 17% of the total pie. Olay was on a brawling spree and it was roping in celebrity after celebrity to heighten the brand’s image and its market share. Soon kajol also joined the race for olay.

Both the brands are also trying luck outside india. If Pond’s Age Miracle began a blind trial program in China, Olay Total Effects started by giving away free samples in Malaysia to gain attention.

HUL that has the edge of the so called ‘proof of performance’. But then the numbers prove otherwise. Olay, a late entrant in the market, occupies the highest share of the segment at present.