“Haldi aur Chandan ke gun Samaye Santoor…twacha Kuch Aur nikhare Santoor ” and you’ll find yourself singing along to the jingle. A few advertising jingles got stuck in our ears, like earworms. Santoor’s jingle is definitely on the list.
Santoor is the flagship brand for Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting. Recently, Santoor Orange’ announced the relaunch its sandalwood and turmeric soap. This product was first launched in 1985.
S Prasanna Rai (Vice President Marketing, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting) shares that every 3-4 years the Santoor brand experiences a change. It is remarkable to see that Santoor, despite many changes, has remained true to its roots.
The relaunch of the soap brand ‘Orange’ continues to carry forward the original elements, such as the Mummy’ angle and the attempt to position it as a soap that is suitable for younger skin types. To appeal to young consumers, the relaunch includes Young Soch’. A new packaging design, improved fragrance, and moisturisation are part of the product upgrade.
Talking about the relaunch, Rai explains that Santoor has always positioned itself as a soap that provides younger-looking skin. “Through its recent relaunch campaign, the brand seeks to keep up to date with the aspirations and requirements of the consumers. Tracking the consumer journey is a core part of Wipro’s strategy.”
Recent consumer surveys by the brand have shown that young people are both physically and emotionally dependent on looking good. Rai is the subject of the brand’s recent consumer surveys.
One of the ads features a young woman as the protagonist. Her daughter can be seen supporting her achievements. The ads challenge long-held beliefs and common perceptions about what a woman can achieve, how she can be treated, and what it is possible to do. The Santoor woman thinks as young as she looks and pushes boundaries not just one step at a time but in leaps and bounds.
While many brands continue to change their angles and update their narratives, Santoor was able to keep its “Mummy” angle in the new campaign. This is to be consistent with its positioning of younger-looking skin.
Rai says that the brand wants to stay relevant to contemporary women. Hence, the thought that they are trying to establish with this relaunch is, ‘Look young, think young’.
It is possible to wonder if Santoor has changed its target audience or the way it reaches them over the years. Rai points out that soap has a 99% penetration both in urban and rural India. “E-commerce has grown over the last few years but the traditional grocery channels still drive most of the sales in the soap category.
In 1985, Santoor was a relatively new player in the market. This market has become very crowded, with new brands and products being introduced almost every day. Despite fierce competition and many alternatives for Indian consumers, Santoor is still doing well in India.
“It was worth over Rs 2,300 crore last year, and we continue to be the number two soap brand in India. Santoor continues to grow well, it should grow at over 16% in the first quarter,” revealed CEO Vineet Agrawal back in July 2022.
KV Sridhar (Pops), global chief creative officer, of Nihilent Limited & Hypercollective said that one can’t discount the impact the Mummy ad campaign had on Santoor’s fortunes as Santoor’s advertising communication cuts across many generations.
But Pops also feels, “All these years, Santoor has been boringly consistent and still managed to make Rs 2,300 crore. Had the brand been interestingly consistent, imagine how much more it would have made.”
As per the company, Santoor is also the leading brand in five markets, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. According to Rai, “The brands that have a strong foundation as well as a great emotional appeal, help determine their positioning, especially in a well-penetrated category.”
