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Entering a complacent market, Paras' DermiCool had only
one advantage - that of giving a cool feeling from the discomfort
of prickly heat. Mudra exploited that advantage to gain
a strong foothold in the market…
Gaining
a toehold in a seasonal market led by war veteran Nycil
was a major challenge for the fledgling DermiCool.
Mudra's inhouse research had showed that by the time DermiCool
from the Paras Pharma stable launched in 1999, Nycil had
a whopping 65 per cent market share despite complacent advertising,
Shower To Shower came a distant second with 17 per cent
share and an indifferent BoroPlus existing on schemes and
offers.
Armed with a pre-launch research finding that consumers
need a cooling sensation to mitigate the feeling of burning
and pricking caused by prickly heat, Mudra decided to creatively
exploit the instant and unique cooling
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sensation
that DermiCool provides for relief. The imaginative use
of the DermiCool van on television commercials helped the
brand garner an eight per cent volume market share in a
declining market in the first year of its launch. The following
year, the company launched a variant - Sandal, with a new
TVC in which cooling was the focus. In that year, the brand's
market share grew by four per cent, making DermiCool the
third largest brand in the category while Nycil lost market
share (65 per cent to 54 per cent) for the second year in
a row.
2000-1
also saw market dynamics change with new launches like BoroPlus
Ice, DermiCil by Cipla and Dr Smyle by Kopran, and promo
offers and price offs by the leaders. The communication
task for 2001 then was making 'cooling sensation' the evaluative
parameter by establishing that it was vital for relief from
the suffering of prickly heat. The new TVC had focused on
executives, housewives and children as all suffering from
the problem and getting deliverance from the heat through
DermiCool.
As a result, by 2001, DermiCool's market share increased
to 14 per cent, becoming the third largest brand in its
category. Nycil and Shower to Shower, claims Mudra, are
further losing market share despite dropping their prices
while BoroPlus and Dr Smyle too have not made much headway.
In the prickly heat powder segment, then, the heat is still
on.
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