When it comes to hair, we all have a love for smooth, shiny, and beautiful hair. Sunsilk is one such brand that has been catering in this niche, helping customers with fine and healthy-looking hair, all thanks to its products.
Today, Sunsilk has created an extra place for itself in the mind of the customers all because of its well-versed marketing strategy and its strategic business decisions. So in this case study, we will explore the measures taken by the brand by going through its target audience and 4Ps of the marketing mix, its marketing strategy and advertising campaigns along with its digital presence in detail in the coming sections.
So let us start by knowing all about Sunsilk.
About Sunsilk
Sunsilk is a wholly owned brand of Unilever, a British multinational company headquartered in London. Being established back in 1967, Sunsilk engages in producing hair care and related products.
Centred on the core mission of creating innovative solutions for women everywhere, Sunsilk has brought its passion and expertise to help consumers discover and embrace a new standard of beauty everywhere.
Sunsilk’s diverse and innovative range of products is has made it among the fastest-growing brands in the beauty industry today, with a global footprint in more than 80 countries, covering major regions and territories of the world.
Given that company has its presence in many countries, Sunsilk is also sold under the name of “Sedal” in Spanish speaking countries, as “Seda” in Brazil, as “Hazeline” in China and as “Elidor” in Turkey.
Now that we have a brief knowledge regarding the brand, let us understand further by going through key parameters starting with Sunsilk’s target audience in the coming section.
Target Audience of Sunsilk
In recent years, shampoo has become mandatory for women given the length of hair they possess. Being a brand that offers shampoo and hair conditioners, Sunsilk targets people who give more importance to hair care than make-up.
Sunsilk targets women who are between 18 to 45 years of age as its main target segment but it also provides a different segment of products to men as well. The brand also targets its audience depending on the consumer buying, income level, and purchasing power of the people.
As you now know Sunsilk’s target audience and segmentation strategy, the following section focuses on understanding Sunsilk through the marketing mix model.
Marketing Mix of Sunsilk
Marketing Mix is a marketing model based on four basic P’s: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Each of these “P” is essential in creating a successful product or a brand.
It also helps us in understanding a brand’s offerings and steps implemented by it to sell its products. So let us jot down the marketing mix model of Sunsilk.
Product Strategy of Sunsilk
Sunsilk is an international leading brand wherein its products are produced to solve the problems and meet the demands of the consumers. With that being said, Sunilk offers a wide range of products, primarily consisting of Shampoos and Hair Conditioners, to meet the different needs of different types of hair.
Some of them are Following is the list of products that Sunsilk offers.
- Stunning Black Shine
- Dream Soft & Smooth
- Anti-Dandruff Solutions
- Lusciously Thick & Long
- Hair Fall Solution.
Sunsilk has also launched many country-specific products to solve the hair and hair related problems of the consumers at the country level and constantly works on bringing new, innovative and upgraded products across the world.
Price Strategy of Sunsilk
Given that Sunsilk operates in an industry that has cutthroat competition in the market, the pricing policy of Sunsilk is dependent on various factors such as demand, competitors’ prices, market supply, etc.
Due to the high competition in the market, the price range of the products ranges nearby with its competitors. They also work on making its products accessible for all by offering products for as low as Rs 1-2 to selling a 1 Litre Shampoo bottle.
Place Strategy of Sunsilk
Sunsilk has expanded into new markets in recent years, furthering Unilever’s mission to help people feel confident about their overall health and well-being through the power of beautiful hair.
They are present in about 80 countries but is not present in the USA and Canada, where it has discontinued its offerings almost a decade ago.
Having an international presence with strong networks, Sunsilk is successful in penetrating large markets. The brand follows an omnichannel distribution strategy approach to make sure the products are available to the customers almost everywhere.
The products are available at various convenience stores, supermarkets, and also grocery stores as well as through various E-commerce platforms. The distribution channel also depends upon the size of the markets, as it caters to a mass market.
Promotion Strategy of Sunsilk
The promotion strategy of Sunsilk includes the use of various new techniques to promote its brands via different platforms such as TV, social media, print media, etc. Basically, it uses all the available promotion channels follows an aggressive marketing strategy approach to promote its brand and products.
They increase their consumer involvement by having interactive games and quizzes and also free sample distributions and demo camping. It has launched an online all-girl community which helps in increasing its brand awareness among the target group.
Now that we have an overall understanding regarding Sunsilk, let us now understand the marketing strategy it has deployed over the years to showcase its offers to the general public.
Sunsilk launched a new ad film that showcased the story of a determined girl who turned her life around despite being at home during the pandemic. The story was told by a hairdresser who lost her job due to the pandemic. The film aimed to inspire young girls that they could overcome their circumstances, even in lockdown. It encouraged them to find their shine and turn their life around, even on the dullest of days.
Here’s a glimpse of the campaign –
Marketing Strategy of Sunsilk
Sunsilk has been one of the leading companies in the hair care industry for decades. They’ve mastered the art of salesmanship through their marketing tactics. A marketing strategy that attracts customers by having brand ambassadors, coming up with catchy marketing and advertising campaigns, aggressive discounting on e-commerce platforms, and giving away free samples are some of the strategic elements that Sunsilk utilizes to make sure they’re selling tons and tons of product.
It spends a lot of money on various promotional activities to promote its products and services in India. Also, it supports NGOs and community organizations through regional programs under its corporate social responsibility (CSR). So let us go through the marketing strategies in a little more detail in the coming sections starting with its marketing campaigns.
Marketing & Advertising Campaigns of Sunsilk
Being a big name in the personal care industry, Sunsilk makes a big deal about its advertising campaigns and In fact, it has an effective and high-quality focus with regard to marketing. The brand advertises on national and international TV channels to gain mass attention. So, here are some of the popular marketing and advertising campaigns of Sunsilk.
#SunsilkGirlGiri – A Sunsilk Marketing Campaign
Sunsilk Girl Giri is a fullfledged campaign of Sunsilk that was launched back in May 2020 to promote its products and create awareness among the audience regarding the brand.
This campaign covers all the necessary elements that Sunsilk has to offer to its customers. It has created a separate website for this campaign, has released blogs, launched quizzes and challenges for its target audience to participate and has launched various short commercials as well.
Duniya Mein Chaao All The Time – A Sunsilk Product Promotion Campaign
Sunsilk rolled out this campaign during the Covid-19 pandemic when many people were going through tough situations as a result of job losses and tough prevailing situations. The campaign was forced on women, showcasing how a girl can challenge and beat any competition despite being at home regardless of the situation.
Short Product Promotion Commercials of Sunsilk
Sunsilk releases short commercials that are promoted on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. This is a nice way for the brand to advertise — no long-form commercials or obnoxious ads. Just short clips made specifically to drive traffic to the brand. These effective short marketing techniques have an even greater impact than spending money on a full TV commercial.
Brand Ambassadors of Sunsilk
Sunsilk has signed various brand ambassadors at the country level to promote its products in the market. These ambassadors are from different backgrounds and are involved in different marketing activities, actively engaged in bringing awareness about the Sunsilk to their respective regions and countries.
- Alia Bhatt is the Indian brand ambassador of Sunsilk
- Humaima Abbasi is the Pakistani brand ambassador of Sunsilk
- Isyana Sarasvati and Raisa Andriana are the brand ambassadors of Sunsilk in Indonesia
- Sarah Geronimo and Kathryn Bernardo are the brand ambassadors of Sunsilk in the Philippines
Bollywood Collaborations of Sunsilk and Alia Bhatt
Sunsilk has signed Alia Bhat as a brand ambassador that has helped the brand to collaborate with various Bollywood movies of Alia Bhatt. The alliance with the Bollywood film industry is a remarkable move by Sunsilk as it helped the brand reinforce its name across the globe and gain global recognition. It has been part of popular movies such as 2 States, Gully Boy and Dear Zindagi.
This is how Sunsilk has played out its marketing and advertising strategy resulting in increased brand exposure on the general audiences. Let us now look at its digital marketing fronts by going through its digital presence.
Digital Presence of Sunsilk
Sunsilk has a strong digital marketing strategy in place. It focuses on content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, and mobile advertising.
The brand also incorporates various marketing activities such as influencer and search engine promotions. It has its own website that provides information about its shampoo & conditioner products.
Social media has been an active part of the communication between the company and its customers. It is present on all the major social media platforms and is consistent in coming up with frequent posts to keep its audience engaged. Content marketing is done through blogs, which provides information about new hair care products and hair care tips.
Social Media Advertising of Sunsilk
Content Marketing of Sunsilk
With this, the case study on marketing strategy Sunsilk comes to an end, let us summarize it with a conclusion in the final section.
Conclusion
Sunsilk has a huge presence in the market, but also faces a lot more competition therefore to overcome them they need to be active and consistent in their work. It should increase and maintain the frequencies of advertisements by electronic and print media.
With its increased focus on marketing digitally and with frequent long term campaigns in place, Sunsilk can scale through different levels of brand connection in the minds of the consumers.
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Impactful and inclusive marketing strategy of sunsilk uses diverse campaigns, empowering women and embracing diversity!