“BRAND PROMOTION &

PRODUCT PLACEMENT OF

KARA SKINCARE WIPES IN

LUCKNOW”Summer Training Project Report

Submitted in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Post Graduation Diploma in Management

AtJaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow

ByAbhishek Prabhakar JIML-10-004

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am glad to render gratitude to all the persons who had come under the way and inspired me for successful completion of the project work. I do sincerely thanks Mr. Divyankar Goel ,R.S.M, North Region for giving me an opportunity to undertake the project in his generous guidance throughout the project, which led to the successful completion of the project.

I convey my regards to Mr. Surya A.S.M, Mr. Pradeep Mishra for their kind help during of my project work.

At the outset I also express my hearty gratitude to my institute for their total support, which helped invaluably in shaping the form and content of this summer training project.

Date PLACE: LUCKNOW (ABHISHEK PRABHAKAR)

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I am Abhishek Prabhakar I did my Summer Training with Aditya Birla Grasim (http://www.birlacellulose.com) from 26th April 2011 to 15th June 2011.

I was assigned the task of BRAND PROMOTION & PRODUCT PLACEMENT OF KARA SKINCARE WIPES IN LUCKNOW.

Problem faced by KARA:

It was very difficult to position the product due to new concept of product for Lucknow. Especially women are too loyal of exiting brand and KARA’s brand equity is very less. Low level of Brand Awareness due to lack of advertisement made difficult to position the product in the market. Price factor also raises concern for the retailers due to lesser margin compare to competitors. Due to availability of cheap wipes in the market customer don’t attract towards KARA wet wipe.

Key Result Area came out after the marketing activities are as follows: Due to sampling and free demo, now people have no doubts related to quality. Demand of the product is increased. Advertisement not only attracts normal people only but they also attract retailers and also helped to develop brand image in the market.

Ram Bank Chowk, Aasiyaana Chowk, Power House Chawraha, Vivek Khand, Patarkaar Puram, & Kapoortala aliganj markets have very potential. Ram Bank Chowk, Aasiyaana Chowk & power House Chawraha have very few stores covers large market. At Ram Bank Chowk, only 3-4 retail stores cover the large market. Nakhad near Akabari Gate, Chowk, Kota Bazaar, Aalambagh, Aalambagh Chauraha, Aalambagh Chandan Gate & Aalambagh Parag Dairy has not too much potential. Aasiyaana Chowk has only two cosmetic stores have been covering mass market. At Vivek Khand, there two cosmetic stores like Vaivabh Deppartment & Niharika stores have very good potential in the market. Patarkaar Puram has very high potential market and cover mass market of gomti nagar. Kapoortala has also six- seven cosmetic stores cover very large market. Nakhad near Akabari Gate, Chowk, Kota Bazaar, Aalambagh, Aalambagh Chauraha, Aalambagh Chandan Gate & Aalambagh Parag Dairy has not too much potential. Segmentations of these areas belong to lower middle class customers who are looking cosmetic at the cheapest price, So there is no demand of Kara in these market and therefore, it was very difficult to convince the retailers. The important thing came out from these area is that if Kara is supplied to cosmetic stores which are consecutive creates a sense of competition among them because people belong to this area has bargaining power and finally continuously less margin would discourage in future to keep the product.

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Suggestions: Company should start the TV commercial at the beginning of summer season. So that product should create awareness at right time and push the sale.At low budget company can place KARA dangles in concerned retailers. Company can organize event on mother’s day and women’s day which is on 8th march to create the awareness to promote the sale of KARA. Company should increase one more distributor and divide the areas between them so as to cover whole Lucknow. Company should get into strategic alliance with reputated transporters to speed up the delivery of product. Company should increase the margin of retailers to compete with its competitors or brand promotion activities should be done to increase the sale. Opportunity came out for KARA in different sectors like hotels, restaurants, beauty parlor, gyms, travel agency

Reporting: I reported to Area Sales Manager who acted as the delivery head for this particular project.

Team Constitution: The core team was made up of four members in trade management area covering Lucknow. The two management trainee, one Sales Officer and Area Sales Manager were involved in Trade Management.

I applied my learning at JIML: During the project my learning in classroom (case studies, free wheeling discussions) proved to be very useful. At times I referred to my marketing book for brand promotion & distribution channel of KARA. Basically all the marketing communication tools for brand promotion and different distribution channel for placing the KARA to retailers are applied in the field came from my marketing knowledge. This comparison pushed me to revisit the plans/ strategy thought out by me. This was of immense help in improving the quality   of my inputs.

Learning during ST: I learnt a lot during the project. Firstly it provided me much needed corporate exposure like working   with team, business communication, prioritizing work. Secondly I bush up my sales & marketing skills Though continuously given inputs on soft skills and business communication during summer internship program; but there is no better place to hone these skills than the workplace.

Preparation/Achievements/Recognition:  I began preparing my inputs for the project even before I joined, that helped a lot. The report I took along was appreciated a lot and created the back bone of the team's future work. During an informal discussion with the member of creative team, I came up with new business line of business for the product, it has boosted the sale more than three times.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement……………………………………………………….…...2 Executive Summary……………………………………………………….…3-4 Table of contents………………………………………………………….….5

Chapter 1: Introduction & objective of study…….………………………………….6-19

Chapter 2: Problem faced by product………………………………………………...20-21

Chapter 3: research Methodology…………………………………………………....22-23

Chapter 4: Job Profile & its Output………………………………………………..…24-28

Chapter 5: Porter’s five forces……………………………………………………..…29-31

Chapter 6: SWOT Analysis……………………………………………………….…32-36

Chapter 7: Brand Analysis……………………………………………………...…..37-38

Chapter 8: Marketing communication mix of KARA……………………………….39-48

Chapter 9:Finidings from marketing activities……………………………….….….49-54

Chapter 10:Suggestion………………………………………………………………55-57

Chapter 11 : Biblography……………………………………………………………..58

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CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

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COMPANY’S PROFILE

ADITYA BIRLA GROUP

Vision:To be a premium global conglomerate with a clear focus on each business. Mission:To deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders, employees and society at large. Values: Integrity Commitment Passion Seamlessness Speed

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A US$ 30 billion corporation, the Aditya Birla Group is in the League of Fortune 500. It is anchored by an extraordinary force of 130,000 employees, belonging to 30 different nationalities. In the year 2009, the Group was ranked among the top six great places for leaders in the Asia Pacific region, in a study conducted by Hewitt Associates, RBL Group and Fortune magazine. In India, the Group has been adjudged the best employer in India and among the top 20 in Asia by the Hewitt-Economic Times and Wall Street Journal Study 2007.

Over 60 per cent of the Group's revenues flow from its overseas operations. The Group operates in 25 countries - India, UK, Germany, Hungary, Brazil, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Australia, USA, Canada, Egypt, China, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Philippines, Dubai, Singapore, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Malaysia and Korea.

Globally the Aditya Birla Group is:

:: A metals powerhouse, among the world's most cost-efficient aluminium and copper producers. Hindalco-Novelis is the largest aluminium rolling company. It is one of the three biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia, with the largest single location copper smelter

:: No.1 in viscose staple fiber

:: The fourth largest producer of insulators

:: The fourth largest producer of carbon black

:: The tenth largest cement producer globally, and the largest in India

:: Among the best energy efficient fertilizer plants

In India:

:: Largest premium branded apparel company

:: The second largest producer of viscose filament yarn

:: The second largest in the chlor-alkali sector

:: Among the top five cellular operators

:: Among top 10 Indian BPO companies by revenue size

:: Among the top five asset management and private sector life insurance companies

:: Among the top three supermarket chains in the retail business

Rock solid in fundamentals, the Aditya Birla Group nurtures a culture where success does not come in the way of the need to keep learning a fresh, to keep experimenting.

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Beyond business

Transcending business for over 50 years now, the Group has been and continues to be involved in meaningful welfare driven initiatives that distinctly impact the quality of life of the weaker sections of society in India, South-East Asia and Egypt.

In India, the Group's social projects span 2,500 villages. It reaches out to six million people annually through the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, spearheaded by Mrs. Rajashree Birla. Its focus is healthcare, education, sustainable livelihood, infrastructure and espousing social causes.

The Group runs 42 schools, which provide quality education to over 45,000 children in India's interiors. Of these 18,000 children receive free education. An additional 8,000 students receive merit scholarships. Likewise at its 18 hospitals in India, more than 500,000 patients are given extremely subsidised medical care.

The Group transcends the conventional barriers of business and reaches out to the marginalised because of its conviction of bringing in a more equitable society.

Grasim Industries Limited is the brightest feather in the cap of the Aditya Birla Group which one of the biggest private sector companies in India.

Grasim Industries was set up with the sole purpose of textiles manufacturing in the year 1948 but the company has entered into several commercial activities at a steady rate. Grasim Industries is numero uno in many of the sectors where it operates.

In order to enter the Indian cement industry, Grasim Industries took over a big chunk of the total shares and also the control of the management of the UltraTech Cement Limited, which was merged with the Larsen and Toubro Cement Company in 2004. Within a very short span of time, the company was able to penetrate a big portion of the market in India. Grasim industries, including its subsidiaries, operates 7 split grinding units, 11 composite plants, 4 bulk terminals, and 10 ready mix concrete units.

The divisions of Grasim Industries:

Viscose staple fiber: This division of the Aditya Birla Group is the biggest producer of viscose staple fiber worldwide. It fulfills the demand of the domestic market for the viscose staple fiber.

Cement: This division is ranked 11th in the international arena and 7th in Asia. It is further divided into two grey cement and white cement.

o White cement products Birla White GRC Birla White Kool N Seal Birla White Textura Birla White Wallcare Putty Birla White Levelplast

o Grey cement products

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Rajashree Cement Vikram Cement Grasim Cement

Aditya Cement Sponge iron: The sponge iron division is the biggest Indian commercial producer

of sponge iron Chemicals: Grasim Industries owns one of the biggest caustic soda manufacturing

unit Textiles: With the campaign 'the power of fashion' the company is very well

positioned in the domestic Indian market. The premeire brands of the Grasim Industries textile division are the fabric range of the Grasim and the Graviera

The Group's products and services offer distinctive customer solutions worldwide. Its 85 state-of-the-art manufacturing units and sectoral services span 20 countries — India, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Philippines, Egypt, Canada, Australia, China, USA, UK, Germany, Hungary, Brazil, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Malayasia and Korea.A premium conglomerate, the Aditya Birla Group is a dominant player in all of the sectors in which it operates. Among these are viscose staple fibre, metals, cement, viscose filament yarn, branded apparel, carbon black, chemicals, fertilisers, insulators, financial services, telecom, BPO and IT services.The Group has been adjudged the best employer in India and among the top 20 in Asia by the Hewitt-Economic Times and Wall Street Journal Study 2007. Globally the group is:•A metals powerhouse, among the world’s most cost-efficient aluminium and copper producers. Hindalco, from its fold, is a Fortune 500 company. It is also the largest aluminium rolling company and one of the three biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia, with the largest single location copper smelter•No.1 in viscose staple fibre•The fourth largest producer of insulators•The fourth largest producer of carbon black•The eleventh largest cement producer and the second largest in India•Among the best energy efficient fertiliser plants•Among the world's top 15 and India's top three BPO companiesIn India, the Group holds a frontrunner position as:•A premier branded garments playe•The second largest player in viscose filament yarn•The second largest in the chlor alkali sector•Among the top five mobile telephony players•A leading player in life insurance and asset management•Among the top three supermarket chains in the retail businessBeyond businessA value-based, caring corporate citizen, the Aditya Birla Group inherently believes in the trusteeship concept of management. Part of the Group's profits are ploughed back into meaningful welfare-driven initiatives that make a qualitative difference to the lives of marginalised people. These activities are carried out under the aegis of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, which is spearheaded by Mrs. Rajashree Birla.

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Grasim Industries Limited was incorporated in 1948; Grasim is the largest exporter of Viscose Rayon Fiber in the country, with exports to over 50 countries. This, along with Aditya Birla Nuvo can be considered as the flagship companies of the AV Birla Group. Grasim is headquartered in Nagda

Global footstepsIndo-Thai Synthetics Company Ltd was incorporated in 1969 in Thailand, started operations in 1970, this was Aditya Birla Group’s first foray into international venture. Aditya Birla Group incorporated P.T. Elegant Textiles in 1973 in Indonesia. Thai Rayon incorporated in 1974, this was the second company in Thailand, operating in Viscose Rayon Staple Fiber. Century Textiles Co. Ltd. is taken over by Aditya Birla Group in 1974; this company is a weaving and dyeing plant manufacturing and exporting variety of synthetic fabrics. PT Sunrise Bumi Textiles incorporated in 1979, it produces yarn exported over 30 countries in 6 continents. P.T Indo Bharat Rayon incorporated in 1980 produces Viscose Staple Fiber in Indonesia to become a dominant player in the domestic arket as well as export markets. Thai Polyphosphates and Chemicals was started in 1984 in Thailand to produce Sodium Phosphates, presently merged with Thai Epoxy and Allied Products Company Limited (1992), Thai Sulphites and Chemicals Company Limited (1995) to form Aditya Birla Chemicals Ltd. This company supplies to sectors such as food, textiles, electrical and electronics, composites, leather, plastics and automobiles. PT Indo Liberty Textiles was incorporated in 1995 to manufacture synthetic spun yarn.

Focus of Growth Post MFAIn late 1990’s and later, the focus was the textile business because of the end of Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) which opened a host of opportunities to Indian exporters. In this period, Aditya Birla Group took a three route strategy for growth.•Rapidly enhance existing capacities •Acquire and Build Garment brands for local and international markets Jayashree textiles was acquired by Aditya Birla Nuvo (formerly Indian Rayon), is a leading producer and exporter of yarns and fabrics to 50 countries with a turnover of $413 million. It acquired Madura Garments in 2000 to enter the branded garments business. Has brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Peter England, Allen Solly, SF Jeans among others and also a global supplier to global buyers such has Marks & Spencer’s, Polo etc.•Vertical integration to get cost advantage AV Cell Inc., a joint venture between Aditya Birla Group and Tembec, Canada, established operations in 1998 to produce softwood and hardwood pulp for the purpose of internal consumption among different units of the Group.Together, Aditya Birla Group and Tembec, Canada have acquired AV Nackawic Inc., which produces dissolving pulp, as a further step to integrate. Grasim industries Ltd. is a leading player in the Viscose Staple Fiber (VSP). The Aditya Birla Group's VSF manufacturing plants straddle Thailand, Indonesia, India and China. At each of these locations, further capacity expansions are under way — in Thailand by 31 ktpa; in Indonesia by 37 ktpa; in India by 64 ktpa and in China by 30 ktpa. These brownfield expansions, slated to be completed by the second quarter of 2008, will further notch up the Group's VSF production from 566 ktpa to 727 ktpa and entail an investment close to

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US$ 260 million.Grasim wants to follow a strategy of backward integration, right from plantation stage to the final VSF stage. The Group's VSF business operates through its three companies — Grasim Industries in India, Thai Rayon Corporation in Thailand and Indo Bharat Rayon in Indonesia, which also oversees its Chinese operations at Birla Jingwei Fibres, China.

Joint venturesThai Rayon Promoted in 1974 by the Aditya Birla Group, Thai Rayon is the sole manufacturer of Viscose Rayon Staple Fibre (VSF) in Thailand. More than 50 per cent of Thai Rayon's VSF throughput is directly exported to more than 20 countries worldwide. The VSF meets the stringent quality expectations of customers in USA, Mexico, Europe, Turkey, Canada, Israel, Australia, South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.PT Indo Bharat Rayon Marketed under the brand name of 'Birla Cellulose', the company produces a wide range of VSF in engineered specifications for textiles and non-woven applications. The company's strong focus on environmental protection is reflected through its investments in a sophisticated state-of-the-art waste-water treatment plant and scientific waste disposal systems.

Sources of competitive advantageCost Grasim is the lowest cost producer of VSF in the world. It is the most integrated fibre producer with the chain stretching right from Forest to Pulp to Fibre to Yarn. All most all the intermediate inputs are captive. Besides, their in-house engineering division enables us to grow in a most cost effective way.Technology On technology front, they produce all the three generations of man made cellulosic fibres from an in-house developed capability through research and development. Their research and development efforts are not limited to fibre stage alone but extend to entire textile value chain. While the plantation and related activity is carried out at Grasim Research Institute (GFRI, Harihar, India), the Product innovations are carried out at Birla Research Institute (BRI, Nagda, India). For value chain related activities, a state of art “Textiles Research & Application Development Centre” has been established at Kharach, Gujarat-India to entire textile value chain from yarn to fabric to garments.Markets On marketing front, their reach extends to the entire globe, through marketing offices. On a global level, their major strength is in spun-dyed fibres and now other specialities such as Non-woven, Modal and Excel have started penetrating in global markets. Their brand “Birla Cellulose” is firmly entrenched in the market. Their value added marketing services comprising of technical, logistical, financial, marketing and informational support have enabled us to emerge as the most preferred supplier of VSF in world.Our offerings whether from India, Thailand, Indonesia or China are all marketed under the mother brand “Birla Cellulose” and sub brands Birla Viscose, Birla Modal & Birla Excel. An umbrella brand has enabled us to create a common identity for our product across the globe irrespective of its production origin and creating of awareness and consumer pull.u have to come in kiet.

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FORAYED IN TO FMCG SECTOR

Birla Cellulose: Birla Cellulose is the Aditya Birla Group's umbrella brand for its range of cellulosic fibres. It comprises versatile sub-brands; Birla Viscose, Birla Viscose Plus, Birla Modal, and Birla Excel. These brands offer a wide range of functional benefits such as soft feel, high moisture absorbency, bio degradability and comfort to the wearer. These fibres have multiple applications including apparel, home textiles, dress material, knitwear, non-woven etc. Fibre is one of the oldest businesses of the Aditya Birla Group that commenced in 1954. Birla Cellulose is a world leader in viscose staple fibre (VSF). Its production is spread across six countries, viz. Canada, Thailand, India, Indonesia, China and Laos. The Group independently fulfills India's entire VSF requirements.With a strong focus on Research and Development (R&D), the Group's R&D initiatives span the entire value chain. •Grasim Forest Research Institute — pulp to plantation research •Birla Research Institute for Applied Sciences — pulp to fibre research — value chain from fiber to garments / made"Nature is the genesis of all that surrounds us, therefore, what other than nature could be the origin of Birla Cellulose." Nature is the source of Birla Cellulose and herein lies the inspiration of their logo.

'Fibres from Nature'is the theme and the message:Leaves fall and grow all over again, they are a renewable resource of nature. Birla Cellulose is much like these leaves and is made from the same trees. The floating leaves symbolise the key characteristics of Birla Cellulose which are "comfort and lightness". The vibrant green indicates that Birla Cellulose can take on vibrant colours. The circle signifies the cycle of nature and sustainability.Nature remains the underlying theme for all the brands:•Viscose is symbolized by the fresh green of summer•Modal is symbolised by the burnt orange of autumn•Excel is symbolised by the deep pink of springBirla Cellulose is:•Natural - Soothing, comforting and elevating, Birla cellulose exhibits all qualities of its source — nature.•Stylish - The drape and fall of Birla Cellulose with its natural inheritance is a fashion statement.•Timeless - Just like nature, Birla Cellulose, is timeless and shall always remain in vogue.•A fashion catalyst - A hint of Birla Cellulose in your wardrobe brings in the glamour that differentiates between mundane and fashionable•Versatile - Birla Cellulose combines the best properties of all fibres. It is extremely blendable hence enhancing the realms of possibilities in clothing.

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The characteristics:Viscose is a 100 per cent natural fiber sourced from wood pulp, a natural and renewable resource. Over the years it is being widely recognized as a 'Fibre of choice' by fabric producers.

Birla Cellulose - Fibres from Nature : Contributing to a green worldPreserving our environment has always been the inspiration behind Birla Cellulose. It has successfully achieved this goal through the following initiatives:

Nurturing and building the green cover Over a million plantlets are being produced from identified superior clones for development of clonal orchards and plantations.Land conservation

Efforts are on to encourage tree-farming practice on marginal, sub - marginal and fallow lands to the best advantage of the country. The yield of Viscose is seven times that of cotton for the same land area. Thus significantly contributing to conservation of land, and reaping maximum results from this limited resource.

Water conservationBirla Cellulose Viscose is highly environment friendly. Every kilogram of viscose produced saves 200 buckets of water when compared to cotton. Thus it preserves one of the most valuable natural resources.Zinc free productResults in, manifold benefits through the value chain due to the unique cross section.

Process friendlinessThe process being followed for production is environment friendly and green due to the following advantages: •Non toxic effluent as a result of replacement of zinc by alum•Less solid waste generation due to reduced lime consumption•Reduced risk of fouling biological microorganism in reactorSpunShades This variant is environment friendly and results in conservation of water throughout the value chain. It is Okeo Tex certified, i.e. it meets the ecological requirements set for baby articles. Birla Cellulose - The Fibre of Choice benefits

Heavy metal free Viscose Plus: Cross section differentiation Zinc freeDespite its known toxicity, zinc has remained an indispensable input to VSF

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Birla Cellulose is the only heavy metal / zinc free viscose with the following green properties:•Reduced effluent load•Improved fibre properties•Reduced production cost•Technological adaptability

Birla Cellulose : The perfect blendBirla Cellulose fibres are the perfect blend with all types of fibres. The benefits of using Birla Cellulose as a blend are as below:

Birla Cellulose blends Benefits of blending with Birla Cellulose Birla Cellulose-cotton Makes cotton soft and supple Improves fabric uniformity Imparts sheen and colour brilliance Birla Cellulose-wool Improves wear properties Imparts softness Enhances skin friendliness Adds shine and luster Birla Cellulose-silk Maintains sheen of silk Improves comfort Economical and fashionable Birla Cellulose-synthetics Improves comfort, breathability, lustre and skin friendliness Birla Cellulose-

elastane Offers excellent sheen, comfort and stretch

Vision and values:To be the world leader in man-made cellulosic fibre The company believes in value-creation for all its stakeholders, through innovative research and development initiatives which in-turn develop the market for man-made cellulosic fibres. Companies and units:

An integrated outlookBirla Cellulose is growing by leaps and bounds through both organic and inorganic route. The efforts towards integration and self sufficiency are as follows:

•Backward integration into pulp and plantation •Captive power plant at all locations •In house manufacturing of all major chemicals and auxiliaries used in VSF manufacturing. In house engineering division that caters to new project implementation

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PRODUCT PROFILE

The Aditya Birla Group Company, Grasim Industries had launched in 2007, face wipes under the brand name of ‘Kara’

Range of products

Skin Care Wipes Refreshing wipes in two variants Toning Moisturizing Deep Pore Cleansing Make up Remover Sunscreen

Baby Care Wipes Complete Cleaning Wipes Germ Shield Wipes Nourishing Wipes

Home Care Products Prim

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Variants of the KARA

• REFRESHING FACIAL WIPES: Kara Refreshing wipe is enriched with Aloe Vera for skin nourishment and Mint Oil for effective freshening. It ensures effective cleansing to remove dirt, excess oil and grime from the face and neck and also leaves a lingering fragrance.

•DEEP PORE CLEANSING WIPES: Kara Deep Pore Cleansing is a gentle, effective way to clean your skin of dirt, grime and excess oil. Enriched with Jojoba and Avocado extracts, it unclogs pores, detoxifies and thoroughly exfoliates dead skin cells.

•MOISTURIZING WIPES: Kara Moisturizing wipes is enriched with the goodness of Almond and Honey for beautiful radiant and glowing skin. It is also fortified with vitamins for skin conditioning and is suitable for use right throughout the year.

•TONING WIPES: Kara Toning wipes is enriched with Rose and Thyme extracts that tighten the skin and maintain the normal pH balance.

•SUNSCREEN WIPES: Kara Sunscreen wipes has a formulation of SPF 20* which protects the skin from the adverse effects of UVA and UVB sunrays. It is enriched with antioxidants like Plum extract & Vitamin E that nourish the skin and Aloe Vera extract that keeps the skin moisturized.

MAKEUP REMOVAL:Kara Makeup wipes is effective way to remove all makeup from the face. It is enriched with lavender extract which cleanses.

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PRESS RELEASE

The Aditya Birla Group today announced the launch of Kara skincare wipes for the first time across India.

The Kara range included refreshing, sunscreen, deep pore cleansing, toning and moisturizing wipes for a complete skincare regime, Chief Marketing Officer, Vijay Kaul said in a press release here.

''Compactly packaged and pre-moistened Kara skincare wipes give a hygienic, convenient and effective skincare solution to the consumers on the go. These wipes are easy to carry and use,'' he said.

Kara wipes were highly effective with unique formulations having natural ingredients that nourish the skin. They are alcohol free and dermatologically safe. Kara is made from 'Birla Cellulose', a fibre that is 100 per cent natural and biodegradable, he added.

The products were an outcome of the in-house research and development at the Aditya Birla Centre for Science and Technology, Taloja, Maharashtra, he said.

In India, the market for wet wipes was gradually picking up with changing lifestyles and the fast pace of life among the young and upwardly mobile population with higher disposable income.

''Kara skincare wipes fill up the lacuna in this segment as there is lack of availability of quality products at appropriate price in the Indian market.''

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OBJECTIVE OF TRAINING

Challenges faced in brand promotion & product placement of KARA

being as new product in Lucknow market.

To understand retailer perception & expectations and behavior towards KARA.

To study the perception of consumers and their behavior towards KARA skincare wipes sthrough sampling

To make people aware about KARA skin care wipes

How Kara is substitute of cosmetics and to make KARA wipes as habit in Indian market.

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CHAPTER 2

PROBLEMS FACED BY THE PRODUCT

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PROBLEMS FACED BY THE PRODUCT

•Now what has happened in the market is that the product is launched with a new concept, and any new concept takes time to establish itself in the market. Especially in terms of a skincare product, consumers prefer the products which are already established in the market and are little hesitant to use a new product for their skin. •Consumers especially women, prefer buying the products of brands like L’oreal, Dove, Pond’s, Himalaya, etc. But in facial wipes, there are just the refreshing wipes which are being marketed as well as sold in the market. Only facial wipes till now known were, Fresh Ones, Dove wet wipes, Nivea Wipes, L’oreal Refreshing and Cleansing wipes.

•Since Kara Skincare wipes have been launched recently, and the only company providing a wide range of variants in wipes like sunscreen, moisturizing, toning, deep-pore cleansing, Consumers are not much aware about the product.

•Due to very less advertising of the product by the company, the awareness about the product has not spread among both retailers and consumers. So it was very difficult to convince the customer

.Due lack of infrastructure, company could not able to explore the market effectively

•It is important to make it clear to the consumers that it is not just another refreshing wipe but it is the entire skincare range of wipes.

•Retailers are not well aware about the product and are unable to explain the details about the product to the consumers, as they themselves do not have the complete understanding about the product.

• Due to transportation problem, Retailers are not very keen on having the stock and demand the advertisement on air i.e television ads’.

•Convincing the consumers and retailers is the main issue.

•Marketing and placing of the product in the markets of Lucknow is more of a “Door-to-Door” selling with a difference that it is happening in relation with the retailers.

•Price factor also persists in terms of Kara Sunscreen Wipes, and the reason is lack of awareness about the technicalities of the product.

•Price factor also raises concern for the retailers due to lesser margin compare to competitors and due to availability of cheap wipes in the market customer don’t attract towards KARA wet wipe.

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CHAPTER – 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

My project title of summer internship program is Brand Promotion & Product Placement of KARA.

This has been done primarily by studying the company and its product profile through the available secondary resources like company’s internet sight. Primary data has been collected during my summer internship program under the guidance of Sales Officer of Lucknow.

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CHAPTER – 4

JOB PROFILE & ITS OUTPUT

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Department where I am engaged

1. Sales department2. Visual merchandising department3. Brand Promotion department

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Responsibilities assigned in Aditya Birla Group

1. To create the market for KARA Wet Wipes basically targeting cosmetic stores and general stores.

2. To audit the sale and take reorder of KARA Wet Wipe from the retailers 3. To merchandise the KARA Wet Wipe to promote the sale.4. To create awareness about KARA Wet Wipe through free sampling & conveying

information about the product to customers & retailers.5. To take orders from the retailers & report it Sales Officer.

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The areas which were sampled to consumer to create the awareness during summer internship.

1. Near New button house, bhootnath2. Good Bakery at nishanth ganj3. Make Up store. At aminabaad4. Pratap market at aminabaad5. Gabarjala market at aminabaad6. Ram Medical at lal bagh

The area which were explored during summer internship programme

1. Ram Bank Chowk 2. Nakhad near Akabari Gate 3. Chowk4. Kota bazaar5. Aalambag 6. Aasiyaana Chowk 7. Power House Chawraha8. Aalambagh Chauraha9. Aalambagh Chandan Gate10. Aalambagh Parag Dairy11. vivek khand 12. vineet khand13. Patarkaar Puram14. kapoortala aliganj market

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Interpretation

Ram Bank Chowk, Aasiyaana Chowk, Power House Chawraha, Vivek Khand, Patarkaar Puram, & Kapoortala aliganj markets have very potential. Ram Bank Chowk, Aasiyaana Chowk & power House Chawraha have very few stores covers large market. Nakhad near Akabari Gate, Chowk, Kota Bazaar, Aalambagh, Aalambagh Chauraha, Aalambagh Chandan Gate & Aalambagh Parag Dairy has not too much potential.

At Ram Bank Chowk, only 3-4 retail stores cover the large market.

Aasiyaana Chowk has only two cosmetic stores have been covering mass market.

At Power House Chawraha, there is only one cosmetic store & one genral store. The genral store is a name of Sanmatti has very high customer base. Sanmati Department near power house chawraha deals with grocery, beverages and cosmetic items under one roof. All cosmetic items are merchandise properly in one section.

At Vivek Khand, there three cosmetic stores like Vaivabh Deppartment & Niharika stores. Niharika Store at Vivek Khand is very good opportunity for Kara because what lady owner advices people go for it. She offers the product to customers by understanding the need & expenditure power of customers.

Patarkaar Puram has very high potential market and cover mass market of gomti nagar.

Kapoortala has also six- seven cosmetic stores cover very large market.

Nakhad near Akabari Gate, Chowk, Kota Bazaar, Aalambagh, Aalambagh Chauraha, Aalambagh Chandan Gate & Aalambagh Parag Dairy has not too much potential. Segmentations of these areas belong to lower middle class customers who are looking cosmetic at the cheapest price, So there is no demand of Kara in these market and therefore, it was very difficult to convince the retailers. The important thing came out from these area is that if Kara is supplied to cosmetic stores which are consecutive creates a sense of competition among them because people belong to this area has bargaining power and finally continuously less margin would discourage in future to keep the product.

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CHAPTER– 4

PORTER’S FIVE FORCES

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PORTER’S FIVE FORCES

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Threat of New Entrance

When Aditya Birla Group came with its cosmetic wipes range and no other company’s wipes were available in the market and the company was enjoying a monopoly in Lucknow but now the scenario is changed. Now the competition is available in the market. The major threat is wipes like lotus, clarus, purple turtle, Etiquette by Built are available in the market. These companies are giving high margins to the retailers and providing to the customer at low cost. So the product price elasticity is affected by substitute products. New entrants are coming to get and increase the market share which is increasing the rivalry.

Threat of Substitute

There is no substitute of this product.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

There is no bargaining power of distributor against the retailers due to new product in the market.

Bargaining Power of Customers

For distributors, cosmetic stores and other general stores are the customers. They have very strong bargaining power because the weakness points of company like low margin, low level of awareness etc so they have bargain on payment conditions.

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CHAPTER – 5

SWOT Analysis of KARA Wet Wipes

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SWOT Analysis of KARA Wet Wipes

Strength

1. The name Aditya Birla Group means a reliable product

2. Segmentation of specific wipes for specific purpose

3. Availability in seven variants which is maximum number of variants compare to competitors

4. Alcohol free product

5. Convenient for customers to use in busy and any situations.

6. Hassle free application of lotion without using cotton balls.

7. Portable – It can easily carry

8. 100% Natural and Biodegradable product & hygienic

9. Dermatological Safe

10. The product is made up of pure viscous which has a 10 times better absorbing power than cotton.

11. Best Brand – Compactly packaged and pre-moistened Kara skincare wipes gives a hygienic, convenient and effective skincare solution to the consumers on the go. These wipes are easy to carry and use. They are highly effective with unique formulations having natural ingredients that nourish the skin. They are alcohol free and dermatologically safe. Kara is made from Birla Cellulose, a fibre that is 100 percent natural and biodegradable.

12. Free promotion – Kara wet wipes have partnership with spinz deorant. Sipnz deorant is the most in demand so customer get free trial on purchase of spinz help to promote it.

13. Company has been focusing merchandising of KARA at potential stores like Papu Stores, Big Bazaar, etc.

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WEAKNESS

1. KARA hasn’t been spending much on advertisement which leads to low level of awareness in market.

2. No infrastructure in Lucknow obstacle in operation.3. Retailers margin is far less. 4. High Price as compared to competitors. 5. Irregular follow-up by the salesman is hindering the sales to go up.

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OPPURTUNITY

1. Lucknow is the fastest developing city. It is second fastest growing city of U.P after Noida. Due to which there is a lot of potential in the market.

2. Lucknow has one of the highest consumer expenditure for cosmetic market. Standard of living, status symbol & life style have been on rise thus pushing up such demand. Growing market of skin care products in Lucknow.

3. Hotels have been on rapid rise in Lucknow. Demand of wet wipes is high in hotels.

4. Restaurants can provide KARA wet wipe to their customers for refreshment.

5. Beauty Parlor - Opportunity came out for KARA isrefreshing wipes and makeup removal could be used in beauty parlor operations like facial, makeup, cleansing, body spa, massage etc could add value to customer and in some of operation they could charge more from customers. KARA can target local branded beauty parlors.

6. Gyms – KARA could be use in GYM for refreshment purpose of customer after exercise.

7. Travel agency – KARA wet wipes is mostly used during traveling so travel agency can be targeted.

8. People are gradually getting acquainted with the western concept of wet wipes.

9. Huge untapped market.

10. Climate of India is favorable for such products.

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THREATS

1. Stiff competition from lower priced Chinese wipes.

2. High level of competition from main rivals like Mystique, Dove, Fresh Ones.

3. The Chinese wipes have always gained a lot of popularity and it is very difficult to remove their mark from the customer mind.

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CHAPTER – 6

BRAND ANALYSIS

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BRAND ANALYSIS

Kara Skincare wipes is a new product to hit the India market. The brand is now running heavy print campaigns announcing the launch. Kara Skincare wipes can be called as “India's first branded skincare wipe product”

Skincare wipes are popular in the west but in India the category is a new one. Although Indian consumers are familiar with the products which are imported, its the first time that an Indian company has entered in this segment.”

Kara means care”The brand also marks Aditya Birla Group's foray into the Indian FMCG market.According to reports, Wipes market is worth around Rs 30 crore ( source : Ginni filaments website).Kara Skincare wipes is positioned as an essential skincare accessory. The brand is being launched in six variants –•Refreshing•Deep Pore Cleansing•Toning•Moisturizing•Sunscreen Wipes.Makeup Removal

The brand should target the young lady professionals who often need to meet a lot of people and have to work in outdoors.

The brand aims to create a new category of wipes in India . Hence the challenge is to educate the targetted consumers about the usefulness of this product. This task is cut out for Kara since the targetted consumer is already exposed to such products. The only task is to inculcate the habit of buying and using the wipes. The product is relevant in the Indian market for two reasons - One is the climate which necessitates such a product and second is the growing number of lady professionals .The brand has the tagline " At your best always" which clearly communicates the core brand positioning. The brand is being promoted as the anytime solution to look good. Kara has a good potential to create and own a new category. The brand already has the first mover advantage. But the category does not have much entry barriers. It can face stiff competition from cheap imports. But Kara has the financial backing of Birla group and the investment in building this brand will pave the way for another successful marketing story.

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CHAPTER – 7Marketing Communication Mix

of KARA

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The Marketing Communication mix strategy adopted by KARA Wet Wipes

1. TV Commercial2. Free Sampling to retailers & customers3. Word of mouth4. Sales Promotion5. POP

The main objective of these activities is to create awareness in the market, as the customers don’t know much about the Kara. By giving advertisement on TV and free sampling to customers & retailers and posters helps to create the level of awareness attracts many customers. Activities help the company to capture market share and to compete with the competitors in the market. As there is many Chinese wipes are available which are very cheap as compared to the Kara so there is a need to educate the customers. The activities like free sampling gives free demo to the customers. Consumers come to know about the product and its usage through these activities. It helps to develop a brand image in the mind of consumer.

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TV COMMERCIAL

Benchmarking – to number of spots and GRPs

Sharman Joshi and Anushka Sharma are the brands ambassadors of Kara wet wipe who are advertising the product in TV commercial. The Kara television plan have been done after benchmarking with visible brands. On studying visible campaigns / launches  namely – Five Star (Ramesh- Suresh);   Garnier ; Indigo Manza (No Tanasuka commercial); Olay White

Each of these brands have approximately 6000 spots a month or 1500 spots a week and 200 GRPs a week (A GRP is the measure of eyeballs – which means the total number of people who are watching the commercial X the number of times they watch it. This is measured by TAM people meters placed in sample homes by AC Nielson. This is the industry standard of measuring visibility) A brand like Idea/ Vodafone have much higher visibility but that is unique to the category. Plan matches that of campaigns like 5 Star. Garnier White, Indigo Manza  Kara Refresh Plan deliveries

The plan is for 8 weeks. It starts from Mid May 6, 2011 From Mid May to end May, iot will run on a lower frequency/ lower visibility.

The plan will peak from 1st June. The entire month of June it will be high. It will start tapering from beginning July and finish off in mid- July The total plan will deliver – 1400 GRPs;  which is approx 200 GRPs in peak period of  6 weeks (starting June to mid July) and 100 GRPs in the low period (from mid may to end may). The plan will also deliver 11,000 spots

Channel Selection and Mix

The plan has the top two / three channels in each genre of viewing General entertainment – StarPlus, Colours and Zee TVMovies – Star Gold, Max and UTV MvsHindi News – Aajtak, Star NewsEnglish News – NDTV, CNNIBN, Times NowMusic – MTV, 9xMEnglish Movies – Star Movies, Movies Now and Pix

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Chennai – Sun TV, Vijay TVAP- Gemini, Eenadu, and Zee TeleguKarnataka – Udaya TV and ETV KannadaBengal – Star Jalsha and Zee Bangla(the plan does not have Kerala as yet in it- if saving permits we will plough it in) 

Wk 1

Genre Channel#

Weeks#

SpotsSpots/Day

GECStar Plus 6 300 9Zee TV 6 319 9Colors 6 75 2

Hin MoviesStar Gold 8 612 17Max 8 578 17UTV Movies 8 450 13

Hin NewsStar News 8 769 22Aajtak 8 655 19

Music & Entt.MTV 8 1000 189XM 8 1050 30

Eng NewsCNN IBN 8 398 11Times Now 8 360 10NDTV 24X7 8 375 11

Eng MoviesPIX 6 404 12Star Movies 8 1000 21Movies Now 8 1000 25

Mar Sat Star Majha (Bonus) 8 425 12

Tam SatSun TV 6 221 6Vijay TV  8 262 7

Telugu SatGemini TV 6 144 4Eanadu TV 6 151 4Zee Telugu 8 215 6

Kannada SatUdaya TV 6 186 5E TV Kannada 8 218 6

Bengali SatStar Jalsha 7 158 5Zee Bangla 7 118 3

         Total     11444 305

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SamplingThe free sample were given to customer & retailer for trial purpose to have experience of KARA Wet Wipe. The main objective was to create the awareness of the product.

Word of Mouth The customer who liked the product does free advertisement for the company. Word of Mouth considered as most effective tool for advertisement because the reference & suggestion of product from acquaint promotes sale free of cost.

Sales PromotionThe retailer were offered 2% cash discount to promote the sales. Apart from it company offers to retailers free Purreta Baby wipe caries MRP Rs 90 on purchase of twelve packets KARA refreshing wet wipes. Basically company has adopted push strategy.

POPPoster were placed near point-of-purchase for advertisement.

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How market research supports the new product development process

Introduction:

Market research is the process by which businesses find out about customers’ needs, wants and desires. It makes possible the successful development of new products. This study shows how an international company, combines market research with new product development to provide exciting new products that better meet consumer requirements. Aditya Birla Group – Birla Cellulose has a clear goal - to be as close as possible to consumers, regardless of which country they live in. Developing superior consumer insights is fundamental to the continued future success of the company and its products with viscose staple fibre. These are the result of more than 60 years of experience in research and development.

Aditya Birla Group has launched many new brands and products into a variety of countries and categories. Being an innovation leader has allowed the company actively to shape its markets and set new trends. These product launches have led to long-term global growth.The key stages of market research and new product development:Market research involves the systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data about customers, competitors and the market. This links marketers to consumers by supplying essential information to solve marketing challenges and help with marketing decisions.Market research helps a company create and develop an up-to-date and relevant portfolio of products. For example - Beiersdorf’s international Market Research team is based at company headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The team’s objective is to be the voice of the consumers within the organization. High-quality market research has helped secure the long-term future of the business. Analyzing and understanding the data gathered on consumers’ behaviors, needs, attitudes and opinions minimizes the risks involved in making marketing decisions.Market research in a global organization needs the help and support of the company’s overseas affiliate companies. Most affiliate companies (in the UK for example) have dedicated Market Research Managers. They help the central research team in gathering and interpreting consumer views. These views provide information or insights that ultimately result in the development of new products suitable for a global market. This case study follows the development of a new product KARA skincare wipes aimed at young women. This case study will give you a clear picture of how market research has helped New Product Development (NPD)

Identifying consumer views and product needs – where to start?Market research should start with the consumer and serves two purposes:1) To inform companies about consumer needs and desires. What are the trends in the market? What do consumers want?2) To give consumers the opportunity to talk to the providers of products and services so that their views are taken into account. Businesses exist in a fast-moving world with increased consumer choice. It is essential that a company knows its market and its consumers before developing any new product. Lots of questions need answering:

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•Who is the target market? •What do they exactly need out of the product? •Is there a gap between the products available and consumer needs? •What is the competition doing?•What position do we have in the market?Consumer insights drive New Product Development. This information takes into account their behaviors, attitudes and beliefs. It is an expression of their wishes and desires. Businesses use consumer insights to create opportunities for their brands. It is the starting point that enables brands to fit meaningfully into consumers’ lives. Across countries, consumers are different in terms of culture and lifestyle. In terms of products concerning personal care there’s a challenge to find similar insights among the consumers, which can be further used to optimize product development.If we take on the deodorant category, NIVEA used many secondary research sources to discover consumers’ views and their need for deodorants. These related to different markets and were supplied by local country market researchers. These included : i) A consumer Usage and Attitude study. This had been conducted a few years earlier across various markets (UK, France and USA).ii) An external study by Fragrance Houses. This covered the importance of scent and fragrance to people’s well-being and mood.The research team felt therefore there was not enough recent knowledge about the consumer in the secondary research. They commissioned some primary qualitative research in key markets (Germany, France, UK and USA). This was aided by the local Market Research Manager.Now similar research needs to be done for KARA Skincare Wipes as the aim here is to understand the motivations for using skincare wipes amongst the female consumer.

Primary research is used when there is no existing data available to answer your questions. The research involves small discussion groups of females. This helps researchers understand the beliefs and motivations of this group.

There were several main findings:

• There is steady growth in females for their skin. They wanted to look after their skin in the most convenient way.• Women cared increasingly about the condition of their skin.• Women desired attractive, neat skin. This symbolized sensuality and femininity.• The skincare segment remained focused on functional rather than beautifying products.The market research revealed an unexplored market potential for the brand. No direct competitor was offering a product to meet these needs. So there was a clear opportunity to develop a new product. This would fit across different markets and with the current Skincare wipes range.

Turning consumer insights into product concepts:

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Consumers showed a need for an ‘anytime solution to look good’. The team generated ideas on how to address the consumer need.From these ideas the marketing team created ‘product concepts’. These describe the product benefits and how they will meet the consumer needs. Several concepts were written in different ways. These explained and expressed unique product attributes.The company needed to know which concept was preferred by prospective consumers. It carried out market research to test whether the concepts would work. The research was conducted amongst the desired target market. For Kara Skincare wipes, the desired target market was 18-35 year-old women, both college going and professionals who were beauty-orientated, followed fashion and looked for products with extra benefits.Quantitative research on the concept was carried out in the test markets. An international company like Aditya Birla must test products in more than one market to assess properly the global appeal.The concepts were tested monadically. Monadic testing means that the respondent of the test is only shown one concept. This stops the respondent being biased by seeing many variations of the same product concept.A number of criteria were used to test the concepts :

1) Skincare wipes category performance measures. These included wetness, dryness, and fragrance. The new concept must deliver generic core benefits.2) Product attributes specific to the new product and company’s core values. The new product has additional benefits to a ‘regular’ facial wipes. For example, it has different variants for different purposes, like sunscreen, moisturizing, toning, deep-pore cleansing and additional USP like it leaves your skin feeling silky and gives you beautiful you, anytime, anywhere. Consumers needed to understand and see these benefits.3) The product needed to be relevant and motivate a consumer to purchase it. Next, the research team tested various name ideas for the product and developed different designs for the packaging. Packaging design plays a very important role in helping to communicate the image of the product. Kara Skincare wipes needed to communicate femininity and sophistication. Different variants got different colors, Pink was a natural color choice for the packaging for toning wipes with rose and thyme, Sky Blue for refreshing wipes, Chrome for deep-pore cleansing wipes with jojoba and avocado, Peach for moisturizing wipes with honey and almond, Orange for sunscreen wipes. Various design ideas were tested using quantitative market research. In addition, this helped to predict the volume of the new products that would be sold, the optimal selling price and the level of switching from existing products and competitor products. Though Kara Skincare wipes in Indian market are one of its kind, though there is existence of cheap imports in this segment and other established brands in terms of refreshing wipes only.

Testing the product, brand positioning, and advertising:The stages described so far produced a product concept that consumers felt will be relevant and which they will be willing to buy. The next stage was to test the product on actual customers.Many product launches fail, despite great advertising. A big reason is because the product fails to live up to the promises made. The Market Research Team conducted a product usage test. A de-branded sample of the proposed new product was given to the target consumer of females in several places.De-branded means the wipes

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were in a blank package so that the consumers did not know who made the product or what type it was. Very often consumers form opinions about products and services from advertising and packaging. This can sometimes be very strong and creates a bias in what they think of a product before trying it. The consumers were asked to use the new product for a week. They kept a diary of when they used it and scored the performance of the wipes against a list of criteria.

These included:• Did it keep you dry all day?• Did you have to reapply it?• Did you like the fragrance?• Did it last all day?

• Was the wipe reliable?Consumers applied the ‘de-branded’ wipe on their right cheek and continued to use their current wipe on their left cheek. This helped the users gauge if it was as good as or better than the brand they normally used. This gave a measure of how likely the consumer would be to swap brands.The results of the test were very positive. Most consumers loved the fragrance and the feel of the product on their skin. They felt it performed well. Most said they would swap their brands after trying the product. Now the marketing team had a new product idea that consumers liked. It had a name and packaging design that were well received. They now needed to check how this fitted with the rest of the brand positioning and range. The brand position is the specific niche in the market that the brand defines itself as occupying.The Kara Skincare wipes adds a touch of feminine sophistication and elegance to the brand’s personality. This built on the core wipes positioning. It made Kara skincare wipes more appealing, modern and unique to trendy, young female consumers.The next stage was to brief an advertising agency to develop communication to support the launch of the new product. Through market research the team could check whether the advertisements positively supported and communicated the new product. The company conducted qualitative research on some advertising ideas amongst various groups of the target consumers. It presented ideas in the form of ‘storyboards’ of what a TV advert could look like. The objective was to evaluate which were the best ideas in terms of:• Did they stand out as exciting or different?• Were they relevant to the consumer?• Did they communicate the right things about the new product?• Did they persuade the consumer to want to purchase the product? Once the product is launched and the consumer can actually purchase it, the research process does not stop. Continuous consumer tracking can be carried out to find out consumers’ views of the new product. This involves interviewing people every day to find out whether they are using the product, what they think of it and why they would purchase it for example, Beiersdorf uses other, secondary data sources such as consumer panel data and EPOS (electronic point of sale) data. These monitor the sales effectiveness of the product throughout the launch phase and through the product life cycle

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Customer research is for discovering what people want, need, or believe. It can also involve discovering how they act. Once that research is completed, it can be used to determine how to market your product. Customer research is a form of applied sociology that concentrates on understanding the behaviors, whims and preferences, of consumers in a market-based economy, and aims to understand the effects and comparative success of marketing campaigns. Thus Customer research is the systematic and objective identification, collection, analysis, and dissemination of information for the purpose of assisting management in decision making related to the identification and solution of problems and opportunities in marketing. The goal of Customers research is to identify and assess how changing elements of the marketing mix impacts customer behavior. Consumer behavior is the behavior of the consumer towards the various products, brands, stimuli and etc through its learning, perception, motivation and etc´. In other words we can say that, it is a mental and emotional process along with the physical activities of the people who purchase and consume goods and services to satisfy their needs.

Behavior of the consumer can be easily get influenced by family, environmental factors, friends, peers, relatives, social and reference groups and etc. Grasim industries limited has come up with new division i.e. Consumer Product Division and they have launched skincare wipes and to find out how far their concept of such product is acceptable in the market they have given me 3 objectives: a) Understand the perception & behavior of consumer. b) Understand the reaction and behavior of retailer and distributor. c) Impact of advertisement on awareness This report is the premier source of market intelligence for the competition in the skin care wipes segment and also includes: 1. Comprehensive analysis of the skin care wipes market 2. The reason behind the current status of the market situation and the responsible features of the brands that make them what they actually are. 3. Ways to challenge the market leader and cut the competition. 4. Strategies to overcome the present market leader through making amendments in the present processes. A survey of 100 people was done using a sampling to customer & retailers to understand and analyze the exact situation of the market.

Result showed that concept of the product is very new in the Lucknow market and people are need to be educated more especially middle level people about this new concept through extensive promotion activities. Product is easily acceptable in the market as by high class people and moreover Grasim has already established brand name in the market. Also the customers are quite price sensitive, they consider wipes to be a non-essential item and are not willing to spend a lot of money on such a product.

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CHAPTER–8

FINDINGS FROM THE MRKETING ACTIVITIES

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FINDINGS OF PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES

1. Due to sampling and free demo, now people have no doubts related to quality.

2. Demand of the product is increased.

3. Advertisement not only attracts normal people only but they also attract retailers also.

4. Helped to develop brand image in the market.

5. Work closely with your local agent on a win-win basis. Make sure that channels of distribution are closely supervised. To the extent possible, protect your agent against parallel imports.

6. Actively contact retailers directly, not only through importer or agent.

7. Product is highly meant for the high class people in order to meet the middle class market some catalogues along with the samples should be circulated as free sampling to educate the entire class of people.

8. Better to introduce wipes according to skin types with required pH balance.

9. There is huge competition from the Chinese wipes so it requires to do aggressive advertising, campaigns, samplings in order to attract the customer and to capture the maximum market.

10. Retailers getting very high margin from the Chinese wipes so company should also take care its retailers expectations so that it will fulfil its needs and keep him satisfied.

11. In order to beat the market of Chinese wipes company should educate the people that what is good for them and what is bad by organizing the campaigns at different places.

12. It is generally a product of high class people and is beyond the thinking of middle class people so regular message to educate them should be done through broad casting media.

13. Regular contact should be maintained with the retailer directly so that they can give their feedback to the company regarding to the consumer reaction rather than through the agents.

14. Some schemes on time basis should be get introduced soon in order to attract the customer and to tell them about the quality of the product

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FINDING of PLACING KARA WET WIPE TO RETAILERS

Ram Bank Chowk, Aasiyaana Chowk, Power House Chawraha, Vivek Khand, Patarkaar Puram, & Kapoortala aliganj markets have very potential. Ram Bank Chowk, Aasiyaana Chowk & power House Chawraha have very few stores covers large market. At Ram Bank Chowk, only 3-4 retail stores cover the large market. Nakhad near Akabari Gate, Chowk, Kota Bazaar, Aalambagh, Aalambagh Chauraha, Aalambagh Chandan Gate & Aalambagh Parag Dairy has not too much potential. Aasiyaana Chowk has only two cosmetic stores have been covering mass market. At Power House Chawraha, there is only one cosmetic store & one genral store. The genral store is a name of Sanmatti has very high customer base. Sanmati Department near power house chawraha deals with grocery, beverages and cosmetic items under one roof. All cosmetic items are merchandise properly in one section. At Vivek Khand, there two cosmetic stores like Vaivabh Deppartment & Niharika stores. Niharika Store at Vivek Khand is very good opportunity for Kara because what lady owner advices people go for it. She offers the product to customers by understanding the need & expenditure power of customers. Patarkaar Puram has very high potential market and cover mass market of gomti nagar. Kapoortala has also six- seven cosmetic stores cover very large market. Nakhad near Akabari Gate, Chowk, Kota Bazaar, Aalambagh, Aalambagh Chauraha, Aalambagh Chandan Gate & Aalambagh Parag Dairy has not too much potential. Segmentations of these areas belong to lower middle class customers who are looking cosmetic at the cheapest price, So there is no demand of Kara in these market and therefore, it was very difficult to convince the retailers. The important thing came out from these area is that if Kara is supplied to cosmetic stores which are consecutive creates a sense of competition among them because people belong to this area has bargaining power and finally continuously less margin would discourage in future to keep the product.

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FINDING RESEARCH As per the marketing research it’s been concluded the following observation:

1. Quality of the wipes is being appreciated by most of the customers (mainly fragrance and material).

2. High competition from other brand of wipes as they are providing schemes at very low prices.

3. People are getting more conscious regarding brands, quality, and hygienic thing.

4. Most of the people are aware of wet wipes but not about the whole skin care regime in the format of wet wipes.

5. Retailer are not much interested in Kara as they get very low margin as compared to other Chinese wipes

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PERCEPTION OF THE CONSUMERS

1. Quality of the product is superior to other wet wipes.

2. Offer and schemes should be provided

3. Concept is totally new and don’ get understand easily.

4. Customer feels that it can be used only while traveling

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PERCEPTION OF THE RETAILERS

1. Margin is very less, get more in Chinese wipes.

2. Totally a new concept needs to take time to educate people about Kara.

3. Great competition from the other brands like L'Oreal, Dove, Clarus as prices 4. are relatively less and easily acceptable by customers

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CHAPTER–9

SUGGESTION

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SUGGESTION

1. To create the BRAND AWARENESS, the following points should be taken into consideration

a) Company should start the TV commercial at the beginning of summer season. So that product should create awareness at right time and push the sale.

b) At low budget company can place KARA dangles in concerned retailers. Dangles are very effective marketing communication as it makes customer’s eyes to see on hanging dangles. Even at low budget company can stick the KARA tape to rakes where product is placed can increase the awareness of product.

c) Company can organize event on women’s day which is on 8 th march to create the awareness. The sale of KARA will increase as summers starts in March-April. Even mother’s day which lies in may is best month for demand for KARA. So company can also organize event in popular stores like PAPU STORE, Big Bazaar e.t.c.

2. Currently there is only one distributor which enables to serve whole Lucknow and even distributor could not able to visit regular to retailers so company should increase one more distributor and divide the areas between them.

3. Company should get into strategic alliance with reputated transporters to speed up the delivery of product.

4. Company should increase the margin of retailers to compete with its competitors or brand promotion activities should be done to increase the sale.

5. Company should acknowledge the customers about the quality of product and pursues them that product is worth in terms of price.

6. Hotels have been on rapid rise in Lucknow. Demand of wet wipes is high in hotels.

7. Restaurants can provide KARA wet wipe to their customers for refreshment.

8. Beauty Parlor - Opportunity came out for KARA is refreshing wipes and makeup removal could be used in beauty parlor operations like facial, makeup, cleansing, body spa, massage etc could add value to customer and in some of operation they could charge more from customers. KARA can target local branded beauty parlors.

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9. Gyms – KARA could be use in GYM for refreshment purpose of customer after exercise.

10. Travel agency – KARA wet wipes is mostly used during traveling so travel agency can be targeted.

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Bibliography & References

Marketing management, 13th edition, by Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, and Abraham Koshay.

Consumer Behaviour Analysis (critical perspectives on business and management) by G.R Foxall, Published by Routeldge Publishers.

www.adityabirla.com www.birlacellulose.com www.adityabirla.com/birlacellulose www.google.com Ginni filament site. www.wikipedia.com

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