How could the fairness soaps segment be made more relevant? B. R. Rejoy Kurup PGP Student, D - 0913 Niche - The Marketing Club Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

For a long time, the concept of fairness products was limited to creams, lotions and home-made products such as "multani mitti" and so on. Cross categorization as a trend took shape with the introduction of the Godrej Fair Glow line of fairness soaps.

Before venturing into a discussion on the fairness soap segment per se, it is imperative to analyze Soaps as a category in itself. The functional benefit that a bar of soap provides is cleanliness. However, this benefit is more intangible than it may otherwise appear. No consumer could say with certainty whether a certain X brand of soap leaves them cleaner than brand Y. Thus most marketers go further and differentiate their products using fragrance and lather, the idea being that if a consumer comes out of a bath smelling fresh and nice, he/she feels cleaner. Hence fragrance is used as a manifestation of cleanliness.

This is where the fairness claim could act as a key differentiator. Due to the years of conditioning and colonial hangover, most Indians equate "fair" with "clean and spotless", which are in fact the functional attributes of soaps. Therefore, fairness in conjunction with secondary benefits such as fragrance could act as a logical manifestation of cleanliness. However, as the market evolves, the aspect of fairness in this particular category would soon become an implicit "hygiene factor" and not a differentiator. In such a scenario, the players will have to come up with something more in order to create a niche for themselves. Just positioning oneself as a single benefit "me-too" brand would not cut ice with the consumers.

The course of action through which the fairness soaps segment could be made more relevant is by having an integrated fairness solution rather than discrete fairness products. At present, a fairness soap and a fairness cream are being sold as totally unrelated products leading to cannibalization of sales for companies that are operating in both the categories. What is more prudent is to position the fairness cream as a reinforcing agent that adds further value to the benefits provided by the fairness soap. They could be positioned as a package, which together provides a complete fairness solution.

No discussion on the issue of fairness products could be complete without a mention of the often controversial communication strategy. My take is that fairness products should be positioned as matter of "choice" and not "compulsion". Buy fairness products because you want to be fair by choice. Not because you (and by this, I mean both men and women) are compelled to do so else you would not get a job as an air hostess, cricket commentator and so on. Much like there is a sizeable population in the West that pays good money to get a tanned body, simply because they want to and not because fair people are discriminated against. I know this will require a change in the cultural outlook of most Indians but it may not be as tough as it seems.