Saffola Case
Saffola Case
Saffola Case
Brand communication
Marico had the first mover advantage since it pioneered in bringing branded products
in the market.
Used its “higher PUFA” fact in its advertisements and portrayed it as an oil that is
healthy for heart.
Able to command a premium over other competitor and garnered good sales.
Healthy heart promotion was made by through an ad campaign communicating “there
are many things that affect your husband’s heart that you cannot control but there is
one thing you can do – switch to Saffola- the cooking oil with the highest PUFA
content that actually reduces cholesterol build up – Saffola cooking oil- its life
insurance.”
Unique marketing strategy where they identified doctors and specially cardiologists as
key influencers to promote their product.
Challenges
Sales had begun to stagnate.
Sundrop increased its marketing expenses.
There was an increase in competition. Sun drop being the market leader and Gold
winner provided products at lower price points and gave Saffola tough competition in
the southern market.
Strong perception of consumers regarding it as a prescription based oil i.e. mainly for
people having heart related problems and not meant for people who do not have any
such issues.
Brand perception
High brand recall.
Light, refined and healthy cooking oil.
Viewed as problem solving product.
Expensive brand
Medicinal in nature and not meant for children
Low brand recall for new variant Saffola Tasty, it was considered as a cheap
alternative for Saffola oil.
Brand position was strong but in a narrow segment.
Measures taken
Targeted new demographic segment primarily women/couple with age group 25-45
and living in metro cities.
Introduced saffola gold mainly targeting young consumers to maintain a healthier
lifestyle.
Applied 360 degree marketing approach in daily soaps like Jassi jaisi koi nahi and
astitva since these shows defined their target audience.
2. Price
Expensive product
Many customers used it for family members who had heart problems since they could
not afford it for the whole family.
3. Place:
Retail outlets
4. Promotion
Ad campaigns
Healthy heart promotion
Sports clubs and gyms
Doctors as key influencers
SWOT
Strength Weakness
Higher brand recall Prescription based perception
Higher PUFA which resulted in Premium price
low cholesterol Target audience not clearly
Loyal customers defined
Strong brand value Rural market is not the approach
of the brand
Opportunity Threats
New target segments High competition
New variants Campaign failures
Health conscious people are Threat of substitute
increasing Threat of low price competition
Perceptual map
TASTE HIGH
SUNDROP
LOW HIGH
HEALTH
SAFFOLA
LOW
Recommendation