Breaking into the conservative coconut hair oil market with a premium product that promised problem free hair was a challenge the agency took on with the launch of Dabur's Vatika oil in 1995. Armed with a consumer insight that regular hair oil users face premature hair problems like fall, graying and dandruff and combat them with traditional solutions like henna, amla and lemon, Mudra set out about the task with a communication objective of creating awareness of a product that provided herbs along with oil.

The agency says the brand hit Rs 100 million during the first year of launch, prompted reigning leader Parachute to come up with a similar product (which it eventually withdrew) and contributed to a dip in Parachute's fortunes for the first time in the decade. By 1997, however, the agency realized that although awareness had peaked, trials for Vatika were still low. Mudra countered this by introducing the concept of the Vatika Woman, personified by actors Mandira Bedi, Sudha Chandran and Shefali Chhaya, who were perceived to have an extra edge in their identities. This helped to connect the extra property of the brand over other coconut oils while encouraging trials by word of mouth publicity.

Mudra claims that the next three years saw Vatika emerge as the market leader, successfully branching off into a conditioning shampoo in 1997 and an anti dandruff shampoo in 2000. As the brand moved into a stronger third phase beginning 2001, it moved from the brand attribute of extra nourishment to the brand benefit of problem free hair.

Currently, says Mudra, Vatika is a leader in the coconut based category within six years of its launch, becoming the flagship brand of Dabur India and also one of the most successful Indian FMCG launches in the last decade. Along with its two brand extensions of henna conditioning and anti dandruff shampoo, the brand is currently worth over Rs 1000 million.