Background note of rin

Rin was launched in a bar form in a test market in 1969 and extended nationally in 1970. It was launched as the
first detergent bar at a time and in a scenario where there were stringent rules imposed on the organised sector
manufacturing laundry soaps. It was also realised at that time that powders would never completely replace laundry
soaps.
Initially, the brand was positioned as - 'Rin is not a soap, it is a totally new idea for washing clothes'. The benefits
clearly outlined that the bar had concentrated cleaning power hence washed 50% more clothes. Moreover, it
washed whiter than any other bar.
The memorable baseline 'Whiteness strikes with Rin' was introduced and a strong brand property - the mnemonic
of the lightning flash was developed.
Once the detergent bar category was created and the consumers made aware of the functional superiority of Rin
bar, the subsequent task then was to build emotional equity for the Rin brand. To meet this objective, Rin was
positioned as the only way to get superlative whites. Based on the powerful consumer insight of 'human envy' the
creative execution of 'white - off-white crossover' was developed. The idea being that 'with Rin you get striking
whites that others can't help but envy'. This route was hugely successful in establishing a superior brand image in
the consumer's mind.
In the late 1980s, Rin faced its first real competition with the launch of low-price discount detergent bars. At prices
60% lower than Rin, they were positioned as a low sog product. They adopted a challenging note in their
communication and took on the perceived negatives of Rin bar. To counter their threat, the power and economy of
Rin was emphasised. Its communication now boldly stated that 'just a little of Rin' achieves superlative whiteness.
The advertising campaign 'Zara sa Rin' went on to become a 'white - off-white crossover' was developed. The idea
being that 'with Rin you get striking whites that others can't help but envy'. This route was hugely successful in
establishing a superior brand image in the consumer's mind.
Thanks to the entry of Rin Shakti powder a highly aspirational brand was now available at a very affordable price.
Proof of performance in the communication was depicted in the form of a wash-rewash test where the brand
claimed to remove dirt from clothes washed with ordinary bars. Since then a continuous programme of product
innovation and improvement has taken place on the brand.

Rin positioning update : Rin

It has been quite a while since I wrote about Rin. The brand was moving through various
experiments in extensions and positioning. The brand merged one of its extensions with
Surf Excel and withdrew some others. Frankly it was a real mess.

The brand was also experimenting with its promotional messages. Rin is positioned on its
" Whitening " ability. The brand has remained focused on its core brand promise. But Rin
was experimenting a lot with the communication of this promise. The brand could not

find a tagline that was po werful enough to convey the

brand promise.

In 2008, the brand came up with the promise of Double Whiteness. Rin adopted the
tagline "Duguni Safedi, Duguni Chamak" .
Watch the tvc her Rin
The ad was catchy but somehow for me, a connection with the tagline, the theme and the
brand was not strong. Rin was trying to ladder up to a higher level need but the
connection couldn't be established.

This year , Rin came with another advertisement with a new tagline " Chamakte Rahna "
( meaning Keep Shining).
Watch the tvc here : Rin Chamakte Rahna

The brand has finally found its right positioning statement. Chamakte Rahna is a
wonderful tagline with immense potential and possibilities for new campaigns. The
tagline has a strong connection with the brand promise and at the same time helped the
brand to ladder up . The ad is also very nicely made .
Chamkte Rahna is a tagline that gives the brand new opportunities to communicate with
the consumers. The core idea that the tagline conveys is " to realize one's potential " . Rin
has already started promoting its new found positioning theme during the Dance Premier
League where the contestants are made to say the tagline. The brand is celebrating the
tagline quite well.

Growth stage
Today Rin has three variants: Rin Supreme bar, Rin Shakti bar and Rin powder. Rin Supreme and Rin Shakti
operate at two distinctly different price points. While the Rin Shakti proposition is superior whiteness vis-à-vis
mass- market, the Rin Supreme proposition is superior performance to give whites that look like new.

In keeping with the brand’s philosophy of continuous innovation the Rin Supreme bar was launched in 2002 as the
‘No mud’ bar. While ordinary bars have up to 40% mud-like ingredients, New Rin Supreme is made with patented
Pure Clean technology ‘to keep clothes looking white like new’ – for longer. Like a true leader, Rin has been
successful in implementing a technical breakthrough even in the otherwise staid detergent bar market.
Early 2004 saw the advent of a brand new Rin Shakti powder. Rin Shakti paved the way with a brand new
proposition of double whiteness along with a powerful innovation of ‘No mitti powder’ – as it dissolved thoroughly
in water as opposed to ordinary powders which left behind a mud-like residue. The suffix ‘Shakti’ has now been
dropped from the powder pack

. Maturity stage
Rin is facing its toughest competition in the form of Tide from P&G. The brand which
came to India as a detergent powder brand has extended to bar category. Tide is
positioned on the same whiteness platform with similar communication.

HLL is known for its obsession with market shares. It never compromises on the
market share and is not stingy in investing in brands. 2005 saw one of the boldest
marketing initiatives for Rin. None other than Amitabh Bachchan was roped in as
brand ambassador (model) for the brand. The ads were trying to reinforce the
positioning of Rin as the premium detergent soap. I was surprised seeing Big B
endorsing such a brand.

There are reports that Surf Excel is extending to bar soap category and will be
replacing Rin Supreme at the premium end. The logic is that Rin has a firm image of
whitening bar while Surf has the strength of being a stain remover. HLL is trying to
have Surf Excel to extend its leadership in the entire detergent soap category.
Rin has always tried to create the brand excitement alive by launching new variants
or new promotions or some innovations. For example in 2002, the brand came out
with a direct comparison with other laundry bars telling the customer that the soap is
mud-free. The positioning was focused on pure clean technology that makes the
brand mud-free.

2006 was another innovation of launching a cover for the soap that will prevent
wastage of the soap. Although this innovation may be trivial, the brand is kept alive
in the mind space. And that is the strength that has helped this brand to manage its
product lifecycle.

Surf Excel has come out with a new campaign 10/10 ( pronounced 10 on 10). The
campaign is aimed at raising fund for the educationally challenged poor kids. Every
Surf Excel will have a piece of stained cloth. When washed, this cloth will reveal a
number out of 10. SMS this number to 455 and that amount goes to a NGO that
works in the field of education for poor. The campaign is set to collect Rs 25 lakhs for
the underprivileged.

These types of campaigns are aimed at making the brand more humane. The brand
gains from the positive attitude created by such campaigns. Some theorist calls this
Corporate Social Responsibility. But as Drucker said, “The main purpose of business
is to make profit” and as we say to create wealth for stakeholders. The problem is
that only a management student understands such a concept. An ordinary person
will view business as some thing that makes profit for a select few. Hence corporate
are forced to display some actions to justify that they mean good to the society.

The latest Surf campaign also intends to do that. The brand is trying to ladder up to a
higher level than just the cleaning ability. Lifebuoy also has successfully taken up the
cause of preventing diarrhea thorough its Swasth Chetana campaign. The brands
like Surf and Lifebuoy uses children in the advertisements. There are some people
who consider themselves as “Moral Policemen” whose main job is to make the life of
marketers difficult. These campaigns act as a preemptive measure to silence those
critics.

It is a laudable effort from HLL to take such initiatives for the brand. The brands
benefits immensely by associating with such activities through the positive vibes
created by such campaigns. Another brand from HLL , Fair and Lovely also has
taken up such initiatives to contribute to the cause of women empowerment.

2006 saw a unique marketing move from HLL. Rin Supreme bar is being migrated to
Surf Excel. Although the decision is made in 2006, the ads are being aired more
frequently in 2007 (I have only recently noticed this after one of my students pointed
out this).I was wondering why HLL is messing up their successful detergent brand
like Rin?

Indian Detergent market is valued at around Rs.5100 crores ($1.2 bn).Detergent bar
market makes up for 43% of this market .HLL commands 38% of the fabric wash
market.

The latest move comes in the wake of the high profile launch of Tide detergent bar.
Tide and Ariel always created problems for Surf and Rin. The migration of Rin
Supreme bar to Surf Excel bar is aimed at countering Tide.
While Rin is heavily positioned on the whiteness platform and Surf Excel on the stain
removal platform, the new Surf Excel detergent bar is aimed to take both these
attributes. The ad is already on air featuring kids conveying “Good News and Bad
news" to their mothers.

It is true that the detergent bar market is important for HLL because in India,
homemakers use a combination of bar, detergent and whiteners on their clothes.
Hence any move from competitors should be seriously dealt with. But this migration
initially did not make sense with me. Why spend money migrating brands? Does HLL
gain by migrating Rin to Surf Excel?

But I feel that the logic behind the migration is to protect Rin and its USP of
whiteness. It is true that Rin Supreme can counter Tide bar because both have
whiteness positioning. Had HLL used Rin to counter any competition other than Tide,
it will have to focus on the Whiteness Platform alone and any additional attribute may
affect the parent Rin detergent powder brand. While having Surf Excel detergent bar
will help HLL to counter competition not only from Tide but other competitors since
Surf is known for its stain removal property. There will not be any dilution in the
equity adding attribute of whiteness to Surf unlike Rin. My conclusion is Surf Excel
has the ability to be a generalist than Rin. Is it good news or bad news?