So, did Fogg kill Axe?

So, did Fogg kill Axe?

Fogg has garnered an all-India (Nielsen) value share of about 13% as of October this year. The market share of Axe, which was the leader so far, is just about 8% now. A year ago, Axe commanded a higher share of about 18-19% of this now highly fragmented market.

It's a case study in itself on how in certain fast-growing emerging categories the sweepstakes are so different that a younger brand bears the ability to overtake the market leader in a short span of time. Fogg is owned and marketed by Darshan Patel, the entrepreneur who, prior to setting up Vini Cosmetics, was the former promoter of Paras Pharma which was later acquired by Reckitt Benckiser.

Positioning Sharing : Axe Signature's long lasting fragrance proposition is not new, the brand Set Wet deo already has the same positioning. 

Long-lasting is a widely used positioning. Across various categories brands has been using this positioning and the novelty and believe-ability of this positioning has come down drastically. Pepsodent ( dishum-dishum) , Amaron ( lasts long really long) Colgate Total are some of the brands that share the same positioning. 

Industry experts said Fogg's unique proposition - more sprays in a bottle - has helped the brand break through the clutter, considering that all brands are priced quite   competitively.

Market Potential

The market seems to have tremendous potential for growth. The category will grow among men as penetration goes up. Women's deo will also show good growth. Rural, though small, is growing at around 30% p.a. and will become sizeable after 5 to 10 years. Looking at this potential, Marico, Emami and ITC have entered the category in the last few years apart from a plethora of local players. The market has around 500 brands and 986 variants as per one news report.

While Axe is among the first few brands which created the deodorant category in the country in 1999, Fogg was launched only two years back. Axe could not retain its leadership position in the category despite roping in celebrity Ranbir Kapoor in June this year.

When contacted, an HUL spokesperson said: "As a policy we do not comment on market shares."

differentiation

Fogg did many things differently.

1. Different product. They launched a no-gas product. Fogg only has perfume liquid. Hence it lasts longer.

2. Different communication. They did not talk about attracting women. They went functional. Use Fogg and get more value for your money. You get 800 sprays by using a 125 ml bottle (MRP Rs. 170 at launch). They communicated what made them stand apart.

3. They targeted both men and women and hence went for a bigger pie of the market. When Emami launched HE in June 2014, they only targeted men.

4. They launched their product 15% costlier than competition. Even then they were a value for money product. Fogg was costlier but had much more perfume inside.

Interestingly, ITC's Engage deodorant brand, which launched a range for both men and women in April this year is one of the youngest brands in the category. It too has managed to grab a chunky piece of the market pie. Engage has garnered a share of about 5-6% in the Rs 2,100 crore deodorant market as of October this year.

"ITC personal care's entry into the deodorants market with Engage has received an extremely encouraging response," said Sandeep Kaul, divisional chief executive of ITC's personal care products division.

The " Don't Fade Away " proposition is smart because that idea is different from the current market leader Fogg's no-gas USP. So Axe is now telling the consumers that it is better than others because other fragrances fade away. The packing resembles Fogg Black Collection cannot be wished away as a coincidence.

Although the message is nothing new, Axe has executed the campaign nicely.

Priced at Rs 225, Axe has priced this variant lower than the competition. 

Why did Fogg succeed and what lesson other brands can learn from this?

What can other brands, especially new brands learn from this? Will this success last? We hope so, but we will not get into that today.

The reasons for success are already mentioned above. Let me repeat it with lessons a new brand should take.

1. Launch a differentiated product - if you can. It is never easy. Fogg launched a no gas deo (after market research revealed that people felt the deos did not last long).

2. Communicate something new and something that furthers your cause. When every one was talking about babe magnet, Fogg talked about value for money; wastage when you buy deos with gas. Point one, if a brand shows sex appeal the consumer watching the ad will not notice much. He might even attribute the ad to Axe. He has seen it a hundred times. Fogg stood out.

Point two, Fogg had a differentiated product and when you have that you need to communicate the difference in a manner that catches attention. Fogg went functional and talked about 800 sprays and value for money. It clicked. Finally, the product seems to have delivered on the promise.

As a new brand, if your product is differentiated go ahead and talk about it. If not, at least do not follow the leader. Differentiate your packaging, your communication and your overall strategy. Be different somehow to get noticed.

3. Fogg did not limit the scope to men and targeted the entire market. As a new brand, try to go for the biggest pie. Why leave out a good 30% of women consumers? Fogg must have asked itself. Interestingly, Emami did not ask this when they launched HE while ITC did launch Engage for both men and women.

4. Fogg priced the product above Axe. A bold move. As a new product, if you have a different product and you charge more, you create a positive impression. If you are a me-too product, it will be difficult to justify the premium.

5. Fogg built a good distribution network. There are two battles in marketing. One fought in the minds of the consumer and the second in the market. No brand can grow without good distribution. It has to be your focus always. Fogg was lucky 75% of its market was in top 20 towns. Even then it would have been tough for them to build a good distribution so fast.