Two years ago, MB&R wrote that Barry Scott has got a lot to answer for. Now the fictional star of Reckitt Benckiser's Cillit Bang adverts has gone as far as releasing what's known in the trade as a 'hardcore' single: the kind of frenetic dancefloor cacophony reserved for souped-up Vauxhall Astras and trendy shoe shops.
That one man should have so captured the nation's imagination - the brand has a website fronted by Barry - is remarkable. But, while multi-purpose cleaners such as Cillit Bang still command a large chunk of the household cleaning market, there has been a reversal of fortune for the specialist items - products that, two years ago, looked like they may become obsolete. And they haven't needed a Top 40 hit to do it.
There's no doubt that power and convenience are key attributes for a successful cleaning product. While manufacturers might flag up the 'power' of a brand on pack, it's the convenience and speed of use, coupled with their fitness for a particular purpose, which are the real selling points for consumers.
"Consumers want products that work better and faster: they want greater efficacy," says Louise Brunt, household category strategy manager for Unilever. "With the growth of surfaces such as stainless steel, granite and wood flooring, they want products that will deliver this efficacy on specific surfaces." Under its Cif brand, Unilever has launched a stainless steel spray cleaner and one for wooden flooring: both new products will benefit from a £6.6m marketing spend in 2007.
Household cleaning has seen a raft of new brands designed for a specific use enter the market. For example, a range called Method has hit the shelves recently, complete with funky packaging and targeted at surface-specific usage. There's also been a drive towards getting rid of germs. "In the 'anxiety society' mums are particularly worried about bugs and germs and want to make sure the products they buy will kill them," says Brunt.
A third, much smaller factor is environmental and ethical concerns, with brands such as Ecover opting for an environmentally-friendly position. The brand is starting to branch out into personal and household care, with a washing-up liquid and hand soap. It is growing at a double-digit rate, albeit from a very small base.
Other major manufacturers are flagging up environmental concerns. P&G is asking Ariel users to 'Turn to 30' when using their washing machines, with recent research showing that consumers save, on average, 41% on their energy consumption when they do so. Unilever, meanwhile, is claiming "significant" environmental savings with its new Small & Mighty concentrated format, available across Persil and Surf. These savings include more than a 40% reduction in packaging and 60% reduction in water usage, as well as reduced transportation costs.
Such activity is having a positive effect on the household market. The household cleaning market is worth £460m [IRI, June 16], up 6.7%, while the bleach market is worth £110m, up 5.8%. The value is being driven by products which tap into the three trends of convenience, efficacy and the environment.
"Multi-purpose cleaners are still popular and have a large share of the market," says Brunt, "but they are not growing as fast as other products that meet the three key trends. The reason is that they can't cope with different types of dirt: they'll work on some things, but not on others, so people are looking for products that do a specific job."
Manufacturers have recognised this and have added specific tasks to their multi-purpose cleaning brands. Cillit Bang Grime & Lime, for example, features limescale removal, and Flash Multi-purpose and Glass also cleans glass and windows.
Mintel predicts that the household cleaning market will increase by 13% over the next four years to reach £637m by 2011. While the growing number of single-person households will restrain the market, Mintel says the expansion of the traditional market for household cleaners and increased spending to support NPD should drive value growth. The key for brands is to engage consumers on more than just price, such as via the cleaning experience itself.
Meanwhile, the UK market for clothes washing detergents is at a mature stage of development. Between 2001 and 2006 average growth was less than 1% a year, despite continued increases in advertising expenditure [Mintel]. The biggest changes in the market have been the growth of new formats: products such as liquitabs and liquids are growing, up 7% and 10% respectively in the past 12 months [ACNielsen]. Powders, which is still nevertheless the biggest segment, is declining and value is down 5%.
"A lot of the growth in liquitabs is linked to the convenience of use - it's very simple and people don't have to worry about it," says Louise Erdozain, UK laundry market planning and strategy manager at P&G. She adds: "They're the one form that is a pure unit dose, ie you just put one in the washing machine". She says an added benefit is that "you don't get any white residue."
The laundry market remains dominated by Procter & Gamble and Unilever, which together account for more than three-quarters of sales. And yet, says Erdozain, consumers are more form loyal than brand loyal: they tend to be either powder or liquitab users.
"Laundry is fairly simplistic in most ways: it's about the right level of promotion and the right type of deal," she explains, adding that, on average, 30% of the category is on promotion at any one time.
"You will always have people who are deal hunters and will simply swap between brands; then it's about making sure you have your fair share of promotions to get your share of the switchers. Even loyal consumers feel they need to be rewarded and expect you to be on promotion at some time."
Louise Brunt agrees. "There is a degree of brand loyalty, but, because of all the promotional activity that goes on, that dilutes it. Value is coming back into the market this year because of new formats and thanks to the launch of more premium formats."n
Has the number of customer complaints about the price of goods increased recently?
