Wednesday 12 October 2011

Sabki pasand NIRMA- A look at the Target Audience




The Nirma story dates back three decades and it is about the unabashed, unselfconscious self-belief. It came into the territory of washing powders when washing powder detergents were looked upon as luxury and liberated the Indian middle class of its misconceived-handicap, by exploding the myth that ‘better quality always demands higher price’.

Nirma’s association with the consumers is very old and its reach, tremendous. The brand positioning of the product in the North is not the same as it is in the South. The core essence of the brand is that it is truly an Indian brand and has reached the hearts of millions. The jingle has been a great brand recall.


The brand, Nirma entered the market which was preserved by the multinationals, targeted the middle class Indian women, for whom washing clothes was a challenge. Nirma came as a friend and as a savior for them. Thus, it built a very deep bond of trust with its customers. It has been a dependable and trustworthy brand and the target market accepted it whole heartedly. The brand is anchored on the premise of ‘paisa vasool’. It was better known for low-cost economy range of products but was successful with the middle and up-class segments as well. “Give your consumer what he wants; when he wants, where he wants and at the price he wants, selling will be done quite automatically.” This has been the marketing 'mantra' of Nirma.

For its target audience, ‘lower middle class’ women, washing clothes takes up considerable amount of time, figuratively speaking enslaving them. Priced almost 40 % lesser, Nirma provides a very attractive ‘value-for-money’ proposition. A detergent which makes the entire washing process faster and easier at the same time improving the quality of wash is in a way a source of empowerment for them. This is the theme which Nirma identified and built on consistently through its media communications. Considering the present scenario, basis the recent advertising, Nirma blends the message of dirt fighting power with the message of the confident and empowered women. The protagonists clad in saris and suits, the locality and the overall message creates a  strong connection between Nirma and its buyers. When the rising slush of dirty water stopping mid-air advertisement was aired, people thought the dramatization to be outright stupid, but it worked favorably for its target audience.




These days people in urban areas who are earning well don’t use Nirma, it is restricted to rural areas and lower income group. These groups have been using it since 3-4 decades. The market share of Nirma has gone down and its customer base has decreased. People consider it as a low range, low quality product. Some people use it to wash their house, floors but don’t use it to wash their clothes. In my opinion, Nirma should either target and stick to its loyal consumers or it should improvise its product to increase its customer base.

Nirma’s target audience is SEC B1. The brand focuses on the direct consumers of the brand, women presently so that they can re-establish the lost charm with its target audience. The brand has come a long way since its inception; from house-wives going door-to-door for selling the products as the shop-keepers refused to stock it, to becoming a generic name for detergents.

The shift in advertising commercials thus, is not to show that the target audience for the brand has changed, but to show that the brand has grown with the segment it targets. It is to show that the brand is not lagging behind and banal, but to re-iterate the fact that it helps you become empowered and confident.


Target Audience in a Snap Shot:
  • Demographics:
    • Age:  20 +
    • MHI: 7000 per month
    • Location: Rural mainly and Urban
    • Sex: Females/male

  • Pychographic: Someone who wants cleanliness at affordable price. The user is someone who appreciates quality and price. A women, who uses only quality products and will prefer a brand which was probably used by her mother or recommended by her mother.

  • Life Style:
    • Has a fixed life style budget and wants best quality for a particular amount.
    • Use to cleaning and doing household work the traditional way. i.e washing clothes by hand etc.
    • Prefers to use tried and tested products. Wants something that is dependable and trustworthy, a clear break from all the other troubles .

  • Life Stage: Family person. Has a budget. May or may not be working.
  • Influencer:
    • Age-old tradition
    • Friends/ fellow housewives