Lux : Celebrating Beauty

Brand : Lux
Company: HLL
Agency : JWT

Brand Count :190

Lux is a super brand that celebrated beauty across the world since 1925. The soap which
was endorsed by the beautiful film stars came to India in 1929. Lux has been the largest
selling personal wash brand in the country.

Lux has effectively managed its PLC through careful brand building and changing the

pro duct in line with the changing consumer. The brand is

being positioned as the favorite soap of Film stars has been consistent interms of
communication and positioning. The brand is also the classic example of successful
celebrity endorsement. The first celebrity to endorse the brand was Leela Chitnis . From
Leela to Aishwarya , From Madhuri to Madhubala, Lux has been endorsed by more than
50 film stars ( a sort of record isn't it). But in all these communications, the celebrity
never shadowed the brand.

Lux was always changing with the times. Whether it be interms of the product or interms
of promotions, the brand kept the consumers excited. Lux has two basic extensions
interms of segments. Lux beauty soap and International Lux.

Lux was initially a premium brand. Lux was being projected as an aspirational
brand and the endorsements by stars further reinforced the positioning. The increasing
competition in the soap category forced Lux to rethink on its targeting strategy. The
brand had a choice either to compromise on market share and uphold the premium
positioning or to retain the market share and dilute the positioning. Lux wanted to ensure
that the brand be positioned as premium but also did not wanted to compromise on the
share. Thus born International Lux which is the premium variant and the affordable
segment was catered by Lux beauty soap.
Lux beauty soap is available in Four variants : Exotic Flower Petals,Fruit
Extracts,Almond and Sandal. Lux has a common ingredient of Milk cream in all the
variants.

Although the brand enjoyed success and has sustained its leadership position, of late this
brand has been facing issues of stagnation. The stagnation is caused by the plethora of
brands competing for the market share and the scope for differentiation has reduced to
almost nil. Together with the rush for celebrities to endorse anything from salt to cars,
Lux is finding it difficult to sustain growth in this cluttered market.

In 2005 Lux celebrated its 75th anniversary sparking of a controversy. Deviating its
tradition of roping in Bollywood Divas , this time none other than Shah Rukh Khan
endorsed Lux. The ads created instant controversy with marketers discussing whether the
brand has suddenly become MALE.Paul Newman also has endorsed Lux soap which
shows that Lux makes such stunts to excite the market. Whatever be the controversy, the

brand again succeeded in creating excit ement in the market. Some

argue that HLL was testing a new positioning to appeal to male users while others say
that it was a one time endorsement to break the clutter. For marking the 75th year Lux
came out with a celebration range endorsed by Kareena Kapoor . The Celebration range
too created news because of its variant :Chocolate Seduction. These innovative products
created lot of excitement that ensured that Lux remained in the top of mind of the
consumers. Another variant which I like personally is the Lux with Orchid which looked
cool in terms of packaging and looks.
Over these years, the positioning of Lux also evolved. Earlier the brand used the
positioning " Beauty soap of Film stars" . But as the customer evolved, the positioning
lost its charm because customers began to doubt whether the film stars actually used this
brand. Taking a cue from the customers, Lux changed the positioning appealing to the
need for becoming a star. The new positioning is communicated with the tagline " Bring
out the star in you".Although worldwide the brand is being endorsed by film stars, the
actual package usually contains picture of international models and not film stars.

While Lux beauty soap is sticking to the age old positioning, Lux international has
moved from being a soap brand to a skin care brand. Lux International has the tagline "
Not Just Soap, Its Skin Care". Under the Lux umbrella brand, HLL has introduced variety
of personal wash products like body shampoo,hair shampoo etc.
Lux is the classic example of HLL's marketing genius. The brand will experiment and
explore more in the days to come....

A delight to the senses

Everything about the brand – from the look and feel of the products and packaging to the
subtle fragrances – is a delight to the senses. In fact, Lux has been making waves since
1924, when it launched the world's first mass-market beauty soap at a fraction of the cost
of some expensive brands.

How it all started

• Lux was first introduced as a toilet soap in 1925. Produced by Lever Brothers, it
arrived in the UK in 1928, offering people a chance to pamper themselves for a
modest price.
• From the 1930s right through to the 1970s, Lux soap colours and packaging were
altered several times to reflect fashion trends. In 1958 five colours made up the
range: pink, white, blue, green and yellow. People enjoyed matching their soap
with their bathroom colours.
• In the early 1990s, Lux responded to the growing trend away from traditional
soap bars by launching its own range of shower gels, liquid soaps and
moisturising bars. Lux beauty facial wash, Lux beauty bath and Lux beauty
shower were launched in 1992.
• In 2004, the entire Lux range was relaunched in the UK & Ireland to include five
shower gels, three bath products and two new soap bars. 2005 saw the launch of
three exciting new variants with dreamy names such as “Wine & Roses” bath
cream, “Glowing Touch” and “Sparkling Morning” shower gels.

Did you know?

• Since the 1930s, over 400 of the world’s most stunning and sensuous women have
been proudly associated with Lux advertisements. Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte
Bardot, Demi Moore and, more recently, our own Catherine Zeta-Jones, have all
been part of the Lux glamour story.
• The name Lux means ‘light’ in Latin, however the name was chosen for its play
on the word ‘luxury’.

Advertising

• In 2004, Sarah Jessica Parker featured in the Lux 'Brings Out the Star in You’
advertising campaign. Best known for her über-stylish and spirited character as
Carrie from Sex & The City, Sarah Jessica Parker epitomises the modern Lux
woman: comfortable and confident in her femininity, experienced in the ways of
the world and understands how style and beauty really work.

For more information on Lux products contact our customer careline on 0800 032 1336
in the UK and on 1850 404060 in Irelan
Brands : Personality ; : Beauty,softness

Lux – identity ;Beauty bar for young women

Lux ndorser stands for certain favorable values of the brand such as performance,
style and reliability etc.

Personality of the brand and celebrity should complement each other. Reliable
celebrity ensures instant awareness, acceptability and positive attitude towards the
brand, which is precursor to buying.

The core values of the brand, pride, passion, precision and perfection closely
matches with the personality.
Introduction:
This project discusses the "Brand Identity of Lux". The main objective of this project
was to find out the brand identity of a particular brand through consumer research and
compare it with what the company wants to project.
The brand chosen by me was Lux. In order to find out what is the perceived brand
identity, a detailed study was undertaken which included in-depth interviews with the
consumers. The sample size chosen for this study was 50, which included women of
various age groups and occupations. The respondent profile according to age group and
occupation is given in the chapter on research methodology.
Each respondent was interviewed with the help of a non-structured, disguised
questionnaire to find out what the respondent feels about the brand.
The main findings from the study were:
1. Nourishment to the skin, and not the price, is the most important factor that people
today consider while buying soap.
2. For housewives, presence of natural ingredients plays an important role while buying
soap. However, although price does play an important role in the purchase decision,
today more and more housewives are conscious about skin nourishment. Also, many of
them buy the brand mainly because of it has been used in the family for years together.
3. In case of students in the age group 15-25, brand name, besides nourishment and
natural ingredients, plays an important role. Lux has the aura of “the cine star’s soap”.
This aura of aspiration and achievement makes it irresistible for them.
4. For working women, nourishment, freshness and fragrance play a vital role. They look
for a soap that provides complete skin care and protects their skin from the harmful
effects of pollution and dirt, as they do not have the time for a regular skin routine.
5. Presence of natural ingredients is an important factor considered while purchasing
soap. Consumers today prefer natural products to those containing chemicals.
6. Lux scored high on all parameters like fragrance, lather, packaging, availability,
variety and nourishment of skin. The only factors on which it did not score very high
were freshness and price. Consumers think that soaps like Liril score better on freshness
than Lux.
7. Brand personality of Lux: feminine, caring, dependable, pure, sensuous, serene, and
mature.
8. According to the respondents, Lux is a soap for quality-conscious women, especially
those belonging to the middle class. It is generally used by those who are conscious about
their appearance and want to look good. It is used by those who respect the brand and
have been loyal to it for years.
9. Most of the respondents feel feminine, mature and cared for on using Lux. They feel
confident and also superior, as they think that they are using a premium brand.
10. Lux evokes a feeling of pride and security in the minds of the consumers. They feel
that they are using the best and most trusted brand available in the market. They have a
feeling of hope that by using Lux they will achieve what their favorite filmstars have –
soft, glowing and beautiful skin. Since Lux is used by celebrities, who are role models for

many young consumers, using Lux fulfils their aspirational needs

.