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Executive Summary: Sunsilk Is A Hair Care Brand, Primarily Aimed at Women, Produced by The Unilever

Sunsilk is Unilever's leading hair care brand sold in 69 countries. It is strongest in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, holding the number one position in several countries. A survey of 25 respondents in Bangalore found that while Sunsilk has high brand recognition and relevance, it is seen more as a mass brand than a premium brand. The survey also revealed Sunsilk's top competitors and strengths in different brand attributes. Sunsilk has evolved its products and brand positioning over decades to remain contemporary to changing consumer preferences.

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Karishma Saxena
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3K views

Executive Summary: Sunsilk Is A Hair Care Brand, Primarily Aimed at Women, Produced by The Unilever

Sunsilk is Unilever's leading hair care brand sold in 69 countries. It is strongest in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, holding the number one position in several countries. A survey of 25 respondents in Bangalore found that while Sunsilk has high brand recognition and relevance, it is seen more as a mass brand than a premium brand. The survey also revealed Sunsilk's top competitors and strengths in different brand attributes. Sunsilk has evolved its products and brand positioning over decades to remain contemporary to changing consumer preferences.

Uploaded by

Karishma Saxena
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Executive summary

Sunsilk is a hair care brand, primarily aimed at women, produced by the Unilever
group. Sunsilk is Unilever’s leading hair care brand, and ranks as one of the Anglo-
Dutch conglomerate's “billion dollar brands". Sunsilk shampoos, conditioners and
other hair care products are sold in 69 countries worldwide.
Sunsilk is sold under a variety of different names in markets around the world
including Elidor, Seda and Sedal. The brand is strongest in Asia, Latin America and
the Middle East and is the number one hair care brand in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia,
Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Sunsilk is one of the world's most popular hair care brands and is currently marketed
in more than 50 countries. It was launched in India in 1964 .Over the decades it has
been revamped, constantly keeping it contemporary with the changing times and
consumer preferences.

Objective:
To enable brand image measurement of Sunsilk.

Methodology:

instrument of data collection: Questionnaire


Sample size : 25 respondents

Instrument of data collection Laddering/ depth interview


Sample size 8 respondents

The results of the survey and study conducted

The survey revealed that shampoo is a product in which consumers care about their
choice between different brands. As per the analysis, Sunsilk’s competitor brands are
Clinic Plus, Garnier, Pantene and Fiama Di Wills.

Knowledge: Sunsilk comes second in knowledge with an 80 percentile. Clinic plus


enjoyed the top position because of its mass appeal and the association of Clinic
(Clinic All Clear with anti dandruff.).Sunsilk is high on knowledge because of various
reasons. It is an old brand; it is a product of Unilever. Sunsilk has always taken many
initiatives to reach customers like the Sunsilk Gang of Girls, promotional campaigns
like ‘life can’t wait’. Customers were offered free hair care and styling consultations
by Sunsilk hair experts Jawed Habib and Samantha Kochhar. Thus, Sunsilk is high on
knowledge. Presently, Sunsilk is trying to move up the value chain by being a mid
premium brand and not a mass market brand. But our survey reveals that
respondents still view Sunsilk as a mass market brand.
Esteem: Sunsilk is not very high on esteem, enjoys third position with a 60 percentile.
The reason probably could be it is seen more as a mass product and lesser as a
premium product. Shampoos like Garnier are seen more as a premium product.

Differentiation: Sunsilk is second on differentiation with an 80 percentile. There are


a variety of reasons due to which Sunsilk enjoys differentiation. It does different
things like the gang of girls, offers expertise of hair care experts like experts Jawed
Habib and Samantha Kochhar.

Relevance: Sunsilk brand is highest on relevance. This could be on account of


various reasons. Sunsilk is a
popular brand, a Unilever product, used since many decades. It is a quality product at
affordable price.
Moreover, it has wide variety of variants to cater to different consumer preferences.
The product is relevant
among wide masses because of its quality, affordability and constant innovation

conclusions derived from the survey and study conducted

Sunsilk is more towards a leadership brand. When we see Sunsilk’s Brand Stature, it
is second highest in knowledge, but not high on esteem. When we see Sunsilk’s
Brand Strength, it is second highest in differentiation and highest in relevance. Thus
the brand has high growth potential.

History and evolution of Sunsilk over time


Sunsilk was launched in the UK in 1954, and by 1959 it was available in 18 different
countries worldwide. At the time, Sunsilk had an advantage over other shampoos in
the market as it only needed one application, and so meant washing less natural oils
from the hair. Sunsilk cream shampoo for dry hair was launched in 1956.
In 1958, a new transparent polythene tube for the liquid shampoo was introduced as
an alternative large size pack to the bottle. Sunsilk was also available in such tubes.
In 1960, Sunsilk Tonic shampoo was launched, containing skin healing ingredient
Allantoin – designed to help keep the scalp free from infection.
In 1961, Sunsilk Liquid shampoo was re-launched to Sunsilk Beauty, because
‘Liquid’ in the name, originally used to distinguish the product from powdered
shampoos had become meaningless as the majority of shampoos were now in liquid
form.
In 1962, Sunsilk was marketed as a range of shampoos for different hair types.Sunsilk
significantly improved product formula and launched new variants in 1966: the first
major shampoo to contain olive oil, which acted as conditioner to make hair soft and
manageable; shampoo for dull hair, which restored hair’s natural shine; lemon
shampoo for greasy hair with deep cleansing ingredients.
Sunsilk hair spray was first launched in 1964 to enter an expanding hair-spray market,
but in 1966 a new product formula was developed which gave hold, even in damp
weather whilst still caring for hair. The hair spray contained a French perfume and
could easily be removed by brushing or shampooing it out.
In 1969, all Sunsilk shampoo was re-packaged in new PVC bottles, which were larger
than traditional glass bottles for the same price.
Sunsilk conditioner was launched in 1971 with three variants for dry, normal and
greasy hair. In 1973, Sunsilk launched an aerosol dispensed setting lotion. An
economy size shampoo bottle was introduced for Sunsilk in 1974.
In 1975, Sunsilk became the biggest name in hair care with 1,000,000 packs being
sold every week.
In 1980, the whole Sunsilk range was re-launched, with improved formulations and
packaging design to bring the brand into the 1980s.
In 1985, Sunsilk styling mousse was launched and 2 years later a conditioning mousse
followed.
In 2001, Sunsilk moved into the hair colourant market for Asian-type dark hair,
offering a range of seven permanent colours from natural black to copper with purple,
red and gold tints.

In 2003, Sunsilk launched a new range of shampoos and conditioners, which were
developed to meet women’s hair needs and reflect the way women think about their
hair. The fake institute (a trademark by Sedal[1]) "Elida Hair Institute" developed the
products in response to market research. Each product contained a unique formulation
of ingredients, combining the best from natural and scientific worlds to help combat
common hair problems.

The brand has constantly evolved, innovated and changed with the times. Sunsilk as a
brand has metamorphosed from being a plain hair beauty brand into a customised hair
care brand. The concept of brand ambassadors originated with the panel of Sunsilk
Hair Experts. Many leading hair experts have endorsed the brand: Naina Balsaver in
the 1980s, Coleen Khan in the 1990s and the latest team of experts, Samantha
Kochhar and Jawed Habib. What separates the Sunsilk panel from any other is the
fact that the panel of experts do not merely endorse the brand, they also share the
Sunsilk experience with consumers and interact with them and help seek solutions to
their problems. Sunsilk communication has been true to its values. The brand
demonstrates a perceptive and sympathetic understanding of women, how she feels
when she is faced with hair problems and how elated she feels at the end of the
conflict. The communication idea has always been to capture the 'emotional drama' in
a girl's life that results out of a particular hair problem
Sunsilk sponsored Femina Miss India 2003. On July 17, 2006, Sunsilk launched Gang
of Girls (GoG), an online social networking website. GoG was open only to girls and
had various features including blogs, expert advice on hair care and fashion. Sunsilk
attempts to represent the woman of today, one who is erudite, spirited and in with the
times. While Sunsilk is rooted in nature, it is a young and modern brand which
connects with the woman of
today and her aspirations and dreams.

Board of directors
Louise O. Fresco
Ann M. Fudge
Paul Walsh
Safe Harbour
Advertising
Sunsilk began advertising in 1955 with a campaign that focused on specific hair
"issues". In the UK, the campaign focused on shiny hair. During the 1960s, a
television commercial of Sunsilk featured a tune composed by John Barry, “The girl
with the sun in her hair”, which proved so popular that it was subsequently released as
a pop single.
Sunsilk radio commercials were aired in 1969 featuring Derek Nimmo to support the
new Sunsilk Herb shampoo for problem hair called “Hairy Tales”. In the early 1970s,
Sunsilk was advertised with the slogan “All you need is Sunsilk”.

Milestones

% 1954 – Sunsilk first launched in the UK.


% 1955 – First advertisement of Sunsilk appeared on TV.
% 1964 – Launch of Sunsilk hair spray.
% 1968 – Sunsilk shampoo re-packaged in PVC bottles.
% 1971 – Launch of Sunsilk conditioner.
% 1975 – Sunsilk became the biggest name in hair care.
% 2003 – Sunsilk glossy magazine launched in Argentina.
2008 – Social networking site Gang of Girls was introduced in India.

Instruments of data collection


The method of data collection, which was followed, was through questionnaires,
which were distributed along 25 respondents in the city of Bangalore, which ages
varying from 18 to 35.
The questions contained various aspects about the consumers preferences about the
type of sunsilk they use and why they prefer it over other brands.
The respondents filled the questionnaire on the given spot and were clarified of any
doubts they had about any questions in the survey questionnaire

The first stage includes the


data collected from various sources regarding the following:
1. The Origin, History of the company, its growth, The board of Directors,
Operation units in India and abroad
2. The three closest competitors in the hair products industry

3. Information about the 4 P’s of marketing – Product, Price, Place and Promotion in
the country

Model used Brand asset valuator model


Instrument of data collection Questionnaire
Sample size 25 respondents

In the questionnaire, Sunsilk’s competitors are - Clinic plus, Pantene, Garnier, and
Fiama di wills.

Co creation collaboration
From 2009 Sunsilk started working with a number of professional hair "experts" to
develop new and improved products. Each hair “issue" variant links to an "expert”
with the relevant specialist hair knowledge. For example, Dr Francesca Fusco, a New
York dermatologist, co-created a “hairfall” variant for the brand. The line up also
includes: Jamal Hammadi for Black Shine, Rita Hazan for Vibrant Colour, Teddy
Charles for Plumped Up Volume, Thomas Taw for Damage Reconstruction and Yuko
Yamashita (known for Japanese hair straightthe dataening) for Perfect Straight.

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