Teenage Product Marketing : a case study

Disposal of Sanitary napkin is the major problem polluting the environment.

Product : sanitary napkin.

Branding : The research for an "effective name" becomes difficult, as most of the target audience would shy away from answering questions on personal issues related to reproductive healthcare. However, branding for personal hygiene products has been mainly on the product benefits and attitude.

* For instance, a name like "Stayfree" or "Carefree" clearly denotes the functionality of the product, thereby to a great extent leveraging the brand. Stay outside freely or remain carefree for complete day during menstruation.

* The females can identify with the name "Whisper" (most possibly because of the undertones in which sanitary napkins have always been spoken about in our country). It is sold wrapped in paper or black plastic bag and always kept hidden in the cupboard.

* A name like "Kotex" may signify that product is based on cotton material. Also washable pads are also made up of cotton textile fabric, which are used by many.

Brand name should be easy to remember. The pronunciation memorizes itself with the users. It justifies the use. Some uniqueness has to exist. Pricing Consumer market is very price sensitive. Price becomes a very important factor that the users should be able to pay. Consumer mentality has always been that 'Branded' Sanitary Napkins are more expensive. So, if possible, better use washable cloth pads.

This attitude is now changing, as more companies are heading towards competing on the low price factor? Price Promotions is the key to sustain oneself in this marketplace. Companies introduce different brand extensions in different price categories. Also different unit packaging are used for users capacity to pay at a time. This way they keep market retention in premium as well as economic segments. For instance the concept of three rupees per unit is an effective way of breaking down the price to the bare minimum so that it doesn't seem to the consumer that she is spending more. Local brands have low overheads and compete in low price segments.

Packaging : Packaging plays a major role in branding the product. Package makes the visual identity to the consumer. At retail point of purchase through window-shopping, a good attractive pack can get the attention for the product. 'Kotex' recently changed their package, which now easily catches the eyes of user audience.

Positioning : The way a sanitary napkin is entrenched in the woman's mind is a crucial aspect towards effective brand-building. For instance, Whisper has been aggressively positioning itself as a brand that breaks the traditional norms, giving a chance to the young woman to express herself and her needs. The idea of using cloth or fabric only for curtains or bed-sheets or gowns and not to use as a sanitary towel comes across very strongly, thereby placing Whisper as a brand that "sets you free" from the traditional orthodox attitude. Therefore, positioning in itself can distinguish one brand from another, also sometimes creating a niche, which results to a best practice. Communication Strategies How does one communicate such a product is very crucial to its success. The message hence communicated must be in accordance with the consumer attitudes and thoughts toward the product category. Communication as a best marketing practice would necessarily have to understand the behaviour induced in consumers by the product. What does a sanitary napkin evoke in a woman's mind? What are her inhibitions and apprehensions when it comes down to using a branded napkin? These issues must be seriously considered and then a campaign must be built addressing them keeping in mind your positioning ground. While communicating, channel/media selection is a very important factor. To what kind of audience do you want to reach out? This question can be answered with ease once the right media mix is in place. For a product like this, it is most often the time slots for viewing the ad that have to be kept in mind. When will the teenager/her mother have the time to view the ad? Therefore, it came as no surprise when MTV and Star Plus were both have popular serials. The idea was to reach out and hence gain the exposure.

Rural Marketing : However message of sanitary napkins is a must, but do rural females have purchasing power?

pics teen girl panty inside cotton bulky sanitary napkin

pics sanitary napkin tight fit inside red color panty

pics teen girl printed cloth saniraty pads

pics sanitary napkin inside panty front & back view

How would a marketer reach this target segment is the question that needs to be considered? For further Marketing Consultancy send details of your requirement by

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There has been a vast difference between the rural markets and urban markets, within the rural areas also-- between regions, states and districts. There is a difference in the media reach due to the education levels, their culture and the type. This divide is expected to increase. The marketing strategies are entirely different, that is the reason many multinational companies failed to reach in villages. The Indian villages are highly heterogeneous in nature. That is why many marketing bigwigs sitting in metros are unable to understand the mindset of different villagers across Indian land.

The difference is in celebration of festivals, birthdays, occasions like marriage etc.. There is a vast difference in the lifestyles of the people in the two regions. The kind of choices of brands that a urban customer enjoys is different from the choices available to the rural counterparts. The difference is also in the way of their thinking. Their purchasing power and purchasing time are mainly agriculture related and get affected due to rain and seasons. The strategy revolves around what attracts the rural customer to a product.

For example - Packaging. The rural customers are usually daily wage earners and they don't have monthly incomes. So the packaging is in smaller units and lesser-priced packs that they can afford. The unit pack size has to be small. The shampoos in sachet pack became hit due to price to be paid whenever the rural females wash their hair. Then a thing like the colour choice that attracts is entirely different. Another important factor is convenience of use. Colgate came out with tooth powder packaging. First sachets were introduced to match their income level. Second- to cap this sachet for convenience of storage while use. There is also a difference in the kind of media mix that is used to convey the messages to the rural customers. Product availability again has different strategies. There the concept of weekly Haats is more prevalent.

There is lack of any research into the consumer behaviour of the rural areas. The research required regarding : who is the influencer, who is the buyer, how do they go and buy, how much money do they spend on their purchases, etc.. Some people have spent time in the rural markets, carried out studies and have understood the rural behaviour, but their works is not utilised by the industry as it is expensive.

One of the grey areas that needs attention is the retailer, who plays a very big role in rural sales. The rural customer goes to the same shop always to buy the things. And there is a very strong bonding in terms of trust between the two. The buying behaviour is also such that the customer doesn't ask for the things by brand. The retailer pushes whatever brand he wants to push as they can influence the buyer very easily and very strongly on the preferences. The retailer is a chief influencer in the buying decision. In the rural markets there are three sources of water - wells, handpumps and ponds. These becomes mass awareness points of purchase. Special stickers can be put on the handpumps, the walls of the wells. The idea is to advertise not only at the point of purchase but also at the time of consumption. The customer can also see the brand message when he was bathing or washing. The customers who purchase the brands get a sense of satisfaction by seeing their choice being advertised in the places while a question was put in the minds of the customers who had bought other brands. So this is one of the innovative strategy that may work quite well.

Therefore to understand the way the rural markets work -- we need to go to these markets and spend time there in understanding them. We live in surroundings where the things are completely different from what the rural customer experiences. And we can't understand, unless we go and spend time there. Things like what time does he get up, etc need to be studied and customer needs to be understood. Also these studies need to be sold so others can also benefit. We need in depth studies of the market, the medium, the message and the rural customer in center of all these to understand the rural markets completely.

The target audience for any product or service marketing is made up of several groups. In order to adapt the approaches to each group, it is necessary to differentiate between these groups.

Vulnerable Groups and Target Groups : It is important to differentiate between the vulnerable and target groups for intervention. The vulnerable group may in fact be the same as a target group of a communication, but this may not be always true. For example a vulnerable group at risk for personal hygiene consists of adolescents between 11 to 15 years. The personal hygiene care, reducing this risk will not be directed at the adolescents, but rather at all those involved in the care of them. An effective communication strategy takes into account; activities at all these levels. Each target group, especially the primary one must then be divided into its "segments" a term often used in marketing. Within the target audience there are primary, secondary and tertiary target groups.

The primary target group is composed of persons whose behaviour/habits/attitude is to be modified. These persons could be the parents of adolescents. In that case the aim would be to modify the manner in which they communicate or care for them.

The secondary target group is comprised of people who will be used as intermediaries to get the message across to the first target group. They could be health workers or teachers. It all depends on what the communication networks are existing in the society.

The tertiary target group is made up of people who can facilitate the communication process and behaviour change. They include administrators or celebrities, but also those persons close to the parents or adolescents and the extended family.

This implies that the approach will vary for segments differing in terms of educational level, socio-economic status, etc. We need to differentiate between the mothers who constitute the target group and between the various segments of the target group mothers, which will each benefit from a specific strategy. The media and support materials used to reach mothers who are functionally illiterate and living in rural areas will differ from those directed at more educated mothers living in urban areas.

Example: The communication on personal hygiene, the target groups may be defined as follows:
VULNERABLE GROUP: Adolescents
TARGET POPULATION: persons caring for these children.
Primary target group: mothers of the adolescents.
Segment A: illiterate mothers living in rural areas.
Segment B: illiterate mothers living in urban areas.
Segment C: literate mothers. Etc.

Secondary target group: social workers and teachers in school, journalists from the local radio station / print media /TV media.

Tertiary target group: administrative officers from the education department, fathers of the adolescents, celebrities.

We must not forget that target groups should be participants in the process of social communication and not mere receivers of information. A one-way communication system for personal hygiene education would defeat our aim for an effective approach. Also, the target groups must themselves play a role in transmission of messages to other groups and to the "promoters" of the intervention. Influential people in the community should also play an important part within the secondary and tertiary target groups. This group is a catalyst in social communication.