fall of lyril brand

1. Which direction
should the brand
take?
-Liril

2. CASE SUMMARY
• Liril, an expressive brand, positioned as freshness soap occupied about
14% in the mid 1980s in the Indian Toilet Soap industry. The main target
segment was Indian women owing to their desire to become more
expressive and free.
• It enjoyed high brand awareness, thanks to the Liril Jingle, and the
sensational ad with Karen Lulla posing under a waterfall.
• Over the time variants like Icy mint and Orange were added to the product
line making it more confusing, and also much distant of its original
positioning.
• Also the much aware Liril jingle and the waterfall which was the essentials of
the brand's positioning were consequently moved away from the corporate
communications.
• Consequently the brand's market share plummeted to 1.3% in July 2005.
During late 2009 Liril was repositioned as Liril 2000. The positioning was
changed from 'freshness' to 'rejuvenation', and targeted as a family soap. It
remains to be seen if this repositioning would help Liril gain its lost market
share.

3. LIRIL

4. STP
• SEGMENT- Personal Care Bathing Soap
• TARGET -Younger Generation
• POSITIONING-Makes every part of your skin
“come alive with freshness

5. IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS
• The brand was a top performer in the toilet soaps category until
1995, when it began to lose market share
• During this period, the brand lost big volume- over 35%- & its
market share slid to below 5%.
• The excitement & innovation created by the brand could not be
sustained
• Many other brands focused on lime
• Brand’s original customers who grew up with it were aging
• Need structure was shifting from experience & emotional delivery
to functionality
• The important issue facing Liril was how to resurrect the once very
strong brand & regain its strong glory
• The advertising initiatives & line extensions failed to infuse any
energy into brand’s performance.

6. SOLUTIONS
• Liril should shift its focus back to women
customers.
• The target age group should be 20+
• The profile of its customers should be a working
woman who is very busy balancing her household
as wel as career.
• A separate marketing plan should be chalked out
to promise the new Liril on the digital platform
• Liril has to reposition itself & highlight other
benefits of lemon & aloe vera which no other
brand is offering

7. STRENGTHS WEAKNESS
• Liril is one of the oldest&
popular soap brands
• Has been consistent in
bringing alive freshness
• Liril has managed to create
breakthrough advertising
over the years
• Excellent distribution
network across India
• The end of the glamour girl era
for liril& the move from
“freshness” to “rejuvenates
2000 body parts” is perhaps
an indicator of its troubled
status
• The renaming to ‘liril 2000’ is a
move to blend it with the
international brand ‘lever
2000’
• Intense competition in the
soap market
SWOT ANALYSIS

8. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
• The brand renaming offers a
newer audience & generation
as the target market, as
compared to older name
• Make use of the existing liril
legacy & the current blend
with the international brand
can be used to tap into the
market further & increase
market share
• Better & smaller packaging to
target new markets & tie up
with hotel chains & corporate.
• Highly competitive industry
with many competitors
offering similar products @
lesser cost
• Internal competition from
brands like Lux & Lifebuoy
• Market share has fallen
from an earlier 14% to a
mere 1.3%

9. Competitors 1. Lux
2. Fiama Di Wills
3. Cinthol