Summary
No More Half Truths - Systematic approach exposing reality of phenyls
Challenge
The Challenge - 25 years after its launch in India its overall penetration was stuck at a mere 7%.¹ Because of India's refusal to give up one of the foulest smelling cleaning products- phenyls. Research after research with phenyl users had revealed that the strong smell was its most polarizing feature. People said it made their eyes water, it made them gag. So as any good marketing textbook would recommend, Lizol created a range of fragrant floor cleaners to cater to this needgap. But it still didn't help the brand grow. STRATEGIC CHALLENGE: Lizol's strategy to compete with foul smelling phenyl with its better smelling floor cleaner range wasn't resulting in growth.
Objective
How do you break India's blind faith in a smell? This case is a testament that even something as irrational as blind faith can be broken through a systematic approach. India loves foul-smelling phenyls. Lizol thought it can enter phenyl using households with its better smelling floor cleaner. But its penetration was stuck at 7%. Because of an irrational faith – phenyl's foul smell was perceived to be an indicator of efficacy. Armed with this insight, Lizol set out to systematically break phenyl's efficacy equity. Resulting in brand's highest ever market share and 18% penetration increase in strong phenyl markets.
Strategy
INSIGHT: FOR INDIA, THE FOUL SMELL OF PHENYL IS THE SMELL OF CLEAN. We had to de-link this perception of efficacy from the smell of phenyls. Our campaign - No More Half Truths We understood we needed a systematic approach, instead of a conventional approach of TVC and digital amplification. That is why we chose the most credible media channel - print, to kickstart the conversation on germs. While choosing influencers too, we looked out for relatable, credible names, known for their family-centric content. STEP 1 : We did not start with attacking phenyls head-on. Instead, we started with creating a dissonance among phenyl users. We amplified already published research report by CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) about the extent of germs present in the different areas of our home – majorly in bathroom, living room and kitchen. We published the report in major dailies like The Hindu, News 18, ANI and Times of India. STEP 2 : Next, we roped in credible influencers like Neha Dhupia, Sameera Reddy and Gurmeet Choudhary and armed them with the results of CSIR report. Through short video content on digital, they highlighted how phenyls kill only 50% of germs in our home and posed a question to phenyl users – Is your phenyl good enough? The influencers further asked people to share #NoMoreHalfTruths with others so that more and more phenyl users can be made aware of the ineffectiveness of phenyls. STEP 3 – Now that phenyl's efficacy had been questioned, we presented Lizol as the most effective floor cleaner through our film on television and digital. The film extended the challenge to phenyl users to try Lizol and experience more effective cleaning. STEP 4 Lizol collaborated with Akshya Patra and took responsibility to clean 20000 schools in India.
Data
The last campaign done by brand was 8 months before launch of this campaign. No other brand activity was live at the time of this campaign, hence, all results can be singularly attributed to this campaign.
Solution
Results
Lizol had to break India's blind faith in phenyl for it to enter phenyl using households. With the campaign, Lizol achieved its best ever business and brand growth. - Increase in value offtake by 22%1, achieving highest ever market share for the brand. We grew 4x more than the growth projected, and outgrew the floor cleaner category. - Lizol took on phenyl with 18% growth in penetration %, growing 3x more in its phenyl's strongest market - East. During the same time, phenyl grew only 6% in penetration % and category declined by 1%. - We achieved highest growth in Lizol consideration post campaign in phenyl strong markets. 10% increase and 5% increase in consideration and advocacy respectively in East. 7% increase and 4% increase in consideration and advocacy respectively in South. - The campaign became a movement breaking India's blind faith in phenyl: 1.1B+ impressions on digital, 30 Mn+ engaged with anti-phenyl content, 69% increase in google search for Lizol post campaign.
