Here is how Marico has customised its Set Wet range

How cool would it be if one has his face on the deodorant bottle he uses?

Majority of marketers have now started realising the need of personalised marketing to millennials, thanks to predictive analytics, customer data and marketing cloud solutions.

Marico definitely knows that consumers like amenities customised according to their comfort and liking. Keeping that mind, the company has launched a new variant of personalised deodorants for its marque male grooming brand Set Wet.

Bringing forth personalisation in the personal care category, the brand now provides opportunity to consumers to create their own unique Set Wet can with their face and name on it. In fact, the brand intends to evolve this into a full-fledged business model and extend it to the other categories.

Anuradha Aggarwal

Commenting on the need and insight to launch the personalised set of deodorants, Anuradha Aggarwal, Chief Marketing Officer, Marico, said, “The brand picked up on the rising need among its consumers to want to add a personal touch to whatever they own. While at a niche level they were being able to personalise, for instance, customised t-shirts, mugs, key chains, and even tattoos to make them reflect a bit of their own personality, not many brands were capitalising on this growing trend. The brand decided to leverage this insight and extend it to personal care categories as well, by enabling consumers to customise their deodorant cans to their liking.”

Each can is customised to the person’s liking – right from being able to select the can colour, to the photo and the name. This entire process has been given an interactive game-like feel to it, in order to make it more exciting and engaging for the consumer.

Talking about the scope of personalised marketing, Aggarwal said, “While one does not get to see many mass market brands personalising the very product itself, there is much focus on brands trying to customise advertising communication, especially with the advent of digital media. This is the first time a brand has actually allowed the consumer to customise the product itself at a mass scale.”

It is understood that any innovation comes at a cost. So would customisation of deodorant cans increase its cost?

Aggarwal replied, “To begin with, the brand has launched it as a limited edition range where a select few will get a chance to get their own cans at no cost. However, going forward, the business model could enable sale at a slight premium.”

The customisation, in this case, allows a consumer to put his/her photograph and name on the can – consumers love it as this makes the can a souvenir with keepsake value rather than a mere assembly line produced personal care product.

Also, mentioning the benefits of the innovation, Aggarwal said, “A campaign such as this enhances the brand’s imagery of being an edgy, innovative, trendsetting brand in the category. Furthermore, specific to the deodorant category, which thrives on new news and excitement, it gives the brand talkability among consumers which stands apart from the competition.”

Innovation at a mass scale is never easy. It takes team effort, R&D, analysis and a lot more. When asked about the challenge, Aggarwal said, “The biggest hurdle was at the technology level. The brand wanted to offer the consumer an experience of true personalisation, enabling each consumer to be able to customise every can to his or her own liking rather than templates. Cracking a technology that allowed every can to be unique and different was the key challenge, on which the packaging development and marketing teams worked together to overcome.”

Promotional strategies: Brand endorsement and influential marketing

Not only did the brand set a new trend, but also embarked upon a #WheresYourFace campaign to launch this new range in an innovative and distinctive manner. The campaign began with Set Wet’s brand ambassador Ranveer Singh, posting teasers on his Facebook page for a new ‘Scent-sational’ deodorant with his face on the can. This sparked curiosity and excitement as many speculated on whether he was launching his own line of deodorants. However, Ranveer finally revealed the new customised range of Set Wet deodorants highlighting the fact that it’s not just him, but anyone could get their face on the Set Wet can.

Recognising the power of word-of-mouth and to keep this frenzy continuing, the brand roped in online influencers who further unravelled in a chain of nominations. From celebrities like Aalim Hakim (celebrity hairstylist), Rannvijay Singha (of Roadies fame), stand-up comedians -- Kanan Gill and Abish Mathew -- to various male bloggers and stylists, each challenged the other through Facebook and Twitter, to get their faces on the can with the hashtag #WheresYourFace.

During 2016-17, Marico recorded a turnover of Rs 59 billion through its products sold in India and about 25 other countries in Asia and Africa. Marico through its portfolio sells brands such as Parachute, Parachute Advansed, Saffola, Hair & Care, Nihar, Nihar Naturals, Livon, Set Wet, Mediker and Revive.

The international business contributes to about 23 per cent of the group’s revenue with brands like Parachute, Parachute Advansed, HairCode, Fiancée, Caivil, Hercules, Black Chic, Code 10, Ingwe, X-Men and Thuan Phat.

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