Build the Brand Roadmap Geographic Expansion
Build the Brand Roadmap Geographic Expansion
Build the Brand Roadmap Geographic Expansion
Objective
Increase market share and brand presence for Vatika Haircare in the UK by implementing a targeted growth strategy
Role(Fulltime):I was hired to lead the brand and marketing goals for Dabur International for the UK and Europe geographies. Prior to 2020, Dabur in the UK was an availability and distribution led business with limited marketing activity and spends. The goal was to build a marketing strategy and correspondingly a team to deliver these goals.
Vision
Dabur has multiple brands across haircare, oralcare, skincare and foods. However for this market, the haircare segment comprising Vatika contributed to 60% share of revenue and was a star category. The growth was stagnant between 90-95 Idx for the past few years and the slowdown needed to be addressed.
Challenge
Brand perception: The brand was perceived as a brand for oiling only and consumer studies revealed that consumers weren’t even aware about the other products in the regimen(shampoos, conditioners, masks and colours)
The young UK consumer viewed oiling as an outdated ritual associated with older women, leading to infrequent use of hair oils.
Current marketing efforts were meeting reach and frequency targets across digital media but failing to deliver on engagement goals.
The onset of COVID-19 significantly started impacting sales from physical stores, making it essential to set up an online channel and launch on Amazon and other local marketplaces
The extensive product range (8 ingredients and 5 subcategories) diluted the impact of marketing communication, as spending was spread too thinly across relevant segments. Similarly in stores that were operational, this reduced the shelf visibility for the range.
Strategy and Actions
Narrow down the TG: For the first 3 years, we decided to narrow down the TG to the first and second generation south asian women. They all have similar needs, and the brand recognition within this segment was higher. Additionally this eliminates a large chunk of competition both for online bids and in the store. For instance: We positioned ourselves on ethnic aisles versus the generic aisles where we were getting lost.
Reposition the brand to hit the right chord:#VatikaForU We repositioned Vatika to resonate with younger consumers who, despite disliking oiling, still sought effective hair care and a connection to their heritage. Focusing on second-generation South Asians, our new brand positioning emphasizes that different hair types need different treatments, highlighting that South Asian hair requires specific nourishment due to its structural differences from European hair. Our message: "Embrace your legacy and connect with your roots."
Jump onto the trend: To capitalize on the trend of ingredient-based consumption, where consumers sought specific ingredients like blackseed, amla, or coconut for hair problems, Vatika pivoted from overall brand communication to ingredient-focused messaging. We revamped our social media strategy on Instagram, highlighting these key ingredients and connecting back to South Asian roots in both tone and brand language. We also revamped the packaging over the next 8 months, to deliberate on ingredient centric cues and benefits.
Break the barrier: Young consumers avoid oiling due to its stickiness, cumbersome application, and strong smell. Vatika's product, however, is light, easy to use, and has subtle scent undertones. This was effectively communicated through our renewed packaging
Leverage Covid 19: We launched a Spotify-based website and began selling on Amazon. With self-care becoming a priority as people worked from home, we introduced the 5-step Vatika self-care routine. We focused on ingredient-led communication and promoting the full regimen. To drive trials, we offered discounted bundled packs and introduced smaller trial packs for shampoos and conditioners.
Stay relevant and young: To stay relevant, authentic and appeal to younger consumers, we developed a cannabis-based haircare range and dry shampoos specifically for the UK market. These products, tailored to local preferences and trends, were not available in other Dabur markets due to cultural differences.
Dial up digital media spends: Pull out from traditional media and build spends on digital(contrary to brands who dialed down spends during Covid), while redirecting consumers to our Shopify site
Outcome
Brand building is a long term exercise. I attribute these results to the growth in online sales combined with marketing efforts in year one.
Revamped the 3-year gameplan for Vatika (brand), launched a 360-degree communication strategy- #VatikaForYou; delivered a 106% vs previous year (+14% Vs Q1)
Launched performance marketing with focus on end funnel; set-up a Shopify based E-Commerce Platform; E-com became 10% of total brand sales within 2 months of launch. CTR - 3%, ROAS - 1.5
Launch Dabur UK Website in Jan 2021 integrating with E-com platform to enhance user experience and drive conversions
Objective
Increase market share and brand presence for Vatika Haircare in the UK by implementing a targeted growth strategy
Role(Fulltime):I was hired to lead the brand and marketing goals for Dabur International for the UK and Europe geographies. Prior to 2020, Dabur in the UK was an availability and distribution led business with limited marketing activity and spends. The goal was to build a marketing strategy and correspondingly a team to deliver these goals.
Vision
Dabur has multiple brands across haircare, oralcare, skincare and foods. However for this market, the haircare segment comprising Vatika contributed to 60% share of revenue and was a star category. The growth was stagnant between 90-95 Idx for the past few years and the slowdown needed to be addressed.
Challenge
Brand perception: The brand was perceived as a brand for oiling only and consumer studies revealed that consumers weren’t even aware about the other products in the regimen(shampoos, conditioners, masks and colours)
The young UK consumer viewed oiling as an outdated ritual associated with older women, leading to infrequent use of hair oils.
Current marketing efforts were meeting reach and frequency targets across digital media but failing to deliver on engagement goals.
The onset of COVID-19 significantly started impacting sales from physical stores, making it essential to set up an online channel and launch on Amazon and other local marketplaces
The extensive product range (8 ingredients and 5 subcategories) diluted the impact of marketing communication, as spending was spread too thinly across relevant segments. Similarly in stores that were operational, this reduced the shelf visibility for the range.
Strategy and Actions
Narrow down the TG: For the first 3 years, we decided to narrow down the TG to the first and second generation south asian women. They all have similar needs, and the brand recognition within this segment was higher. Additionally this eliminates a large chunk of competition both for online bids and in the store. For instance: We positioned ourselves on ethnic aisles versus the generic aisles where we were getting lost.
Reposition the brand to hit the right chord:#VatikaForU We repositioned Vatika to resonate with younger consumers who, despite disliking oiling, still sought effective hair care and a connection to their heritage. Focusing on second-generation South Asians, our new brand positioning emphasizes that different hair types need different treatments, highlighting that South Asian hair requires specific nourishment due to its structural differences from European hair. Our message: "Embrace your legacy and connect with your roots."
Jump onto the trend: To capitalize on the trend of ingredient-based consumption, where consumers sought specific ingredients like blackseed, amla, or coconut for hair problems, Vatika pivoted from overall brand communication to ingredient-focused messaging. We revamped our social media strategy on Instagram, highlighting these key ingredients and connecting back to South Asian roots in both tone and brand language. We also revamped the packaging over the next 8 months, to deliberate on ingredient centric cues and benefits.
Break the barrier: Young consumers avoid oiling due to its stickiness, cumbersome application, and strong smell. Vatika's product, however, is light, easy to use, and has subtle scent undertones. This was effectively communicated through our renewed packaging
Leverage Covid 19: We launched a Spotify-based website and began selling on Amazon. With self-care becoming a priority as people worked from home, we introduced the 5-step Vatika self-care routine. We focused on ingredient-led communication and promoting the full regimen. To drive trials, we offered discounted bundled packs and introduced smaller trial packs for shampoos and conditioners.
Stay relevant and young: To stay relevant, authentic and appeal to younger consumers, we developed a cannabis-based haircare range and dry shampoos specifically for the UK market. These products, tailored to local preferences and trends, were not available in other Dabur markets due to cultural differences.
Dial up digital media spends: Pull out from traditional media and build spends on digital(contrary to brands who dialed down spends during Covid), while redirecting consumers to our Shopify site
Outcome
Brand building is a long term exercise. I attribute these results to the growth in online sales combined with marketing efforts in year one.
Revamped the 3-year gameplan for Vatika (brand), launched a 360-degree communication strategy- #VatikaForYou; delivered a 106% vs previous year (+14% Vs Q1)
Launched performance marketing with focus on end funnel; set-up a Shopify based E-Commerce Platform; E-com became 10% of total brand sales within 2 months of launch. CTR - 3%, ROAS - 1.5
Launch Dabur UK Website in Jan 2021 integrating with E-com platform to enhance user experience and drive conversions
Objective
Increase market share and brand presence for Vatika Haircare in the UK by implementing a targeted growth strategy
Role(Fulltime):I was hired to lead the brand and marketing goals for Dabur International for the UK and Europe geographies. Prior to 2020, Dabur in the UK was an availability and distribution led business with limited marketing activity and spends. The goal was to build a marketing strategy and correspondingly a team to deliver these goals.
Vision
Dabur has multiple brands across haircare, oralcare, skincare and foods. However for this market, the haircare segment comprising Vatika contributed to 60% share of revenue and was a star category. The growth was stagnant between 90-95 Idx for the past few years and the slowdown needed to be addressed.
Challenge
Brand perception: The brand was perceived as a brand for oiling only and consumer studies revealed that consumers weren’t even aware about the other products in the regimen(shampoos, conditioners, masks and colours)
The young UK consumer viewed oiling as an outdated ritual associated with older women, leading to infrequent use of hair oils.
Current marketing efforts were meeting reach and frequency targets across digital media but failing to deliver on engagement goals.
The onset of COVID-19 significantly started impacting sales from physical stores, making it essential to set up an online channel and launch on Amazon and other local marketplaces
The extensive product range (8 ingredients and 5 subcategories) diluted the impact of marketing communication, as spending was spread too thinly across relevant segments. Similarly in stores that were operational, this reduced the shelf visibility for the range.
Strategy and Actions
Narrow down the TG: For the first 3 years, we decided to narrow down the TG to the first and second generation south asian women. They all have similar needs, and the brand recognition within this segment was higher. Additionally this eliminates a large chunk of competition both for online bids and in the store. For instance: We positioned ourselves on ethnic aisles versus the generic aisles where we were getting lost.
Reposition the brand to hit the right chord:#VatikaForU We repositioned Vatika to resonate with younger consumers who, despite disliking oiling, still sought effective hair care and a connection to their heritage. Focusing on second-generation South Asians, our new brand positioning emphasizes that different hair types need different treatments, highlighting that South Asian hair requires specific nourishment due to its structural differences from European hair. Our message: "Embrace your legacy and connect with your roots."
Jump onto the trend: To capitalize on the trend of ingredient-based consumption, where consumers sought specific ingredients like blackseed, amla, or coconut for hair problems, Vatika pivoted from overall brand communication to ingredient-focused messaging. We revamped our social media strategy on Instagram, highlighting these key ingredients and connecting back to South Asian roots in both tone and brand language. We also revamped the packaging over the next 8 months, to deliberate on ingredient centric cues and benefits.
Break the barrier: Young consumers avoid oiling due to its stickiness, cumbersome application, and strong smell. Vatika's product, however, is light, easy to use, and has subtle scent undertones. This was effectively communicated through our renewed packaging
Leverage Covid 19: We launched a Spotify-based website and began selling on Amazon. With self-care becoming a priority as people worked from home, we introduced the 5-step Vatika self-care routine. We focused on ingredient-led communication and promoting the full regimen. To drive trials, we offered discounted bundled packs and introduced smaller trial packs for shampoos and conditioners.
Stay relevant and young: To stay relevant, authentic and appeal to younger consumers, we developed a cannabis-based haircare range and dry shampoos specifically for the UK market. These products, tailored to local preferences and trends, were not available in other Dabur markets due to cultural differences.
Dial up digital media spends: Pull out from traditional media and build spends on digital(contrary to brands who dialed down spends during Covid), while redirecting consumers to our Shopify site
Outcome
Brand building is a long term exercise. I attribute these results to the growth in online sales combined with marketing efforts in year one.
Revamped the 3-year gameplan for Vatika (brand), launched a 360-degree communication strategy- #VatikaForYou; delivered a 106% vs previous year (+14% Vs Q1)
Launched performance marketing with focus on end funnel; set-up a Shopify based E-Commerce Platform; E-com became 10% of total brand sales within 2 months of launch. CTR - 3%, ROAS - 1.5
Launch Dabur UK Website in Jan 2021 integrating with E-com platform to enhance user experience and drive conversions
