¶ … laundry detergent was first introduced in the market in 1969 and marketed as a powerful stain-fighting detergent. The brand was later rebranded to focus on the smell that was associated with the detergent and the "fresh scent." The brand is owned by Procter and Gamble (P&G) and represents one of their top ten largest brands. Since the early history of the detergent, the product mix has eventually expanded to include more related products such as fabric softeners and scent boosters among others. The brands current core competency is focused upon the scent that the products have and less about the cleaning power of the detergent. Most detergent does at least an adequate job cleaning clothes in today's market place so detergent brands have to differentiate themselves in other ways. By focusing on the scent, Gain has steadily built a loyal customer base over the years. Today's formulas boost that the freshness and the scent can last over two weeks and combines "sniff-tastic" elements (Procter and Gamble, N.d.).
Competitive Analysis
Tide represents Gain's biggest competitor in the industry. The Tide brand controlled almost a quarter of total U.S. liquid laundry detergent sales in 2013, which amounted to revenue of approximately USD 1.26 billion; however sales declined over five percent compared to the prior fiscal year (Statista, N.d.). Yet the sales of the liquid laundry detergent category in general declined 4.9%, while unit sales also took a three percent...
However, Gain is the number two brand in the U.S. And Procter & Gamble was the leading liquid laundry detergent vendor in the United States in 2013, controlling nearly 60% of the USD 5.3 billion market (through the sales of its 8 total brands) (Statista, N.d.).
Figure 1 - Industry Players (Statista, N.d.)
Market Segmentation & Benefits
P&G owns several different brands in the laundry detergent market (Tide, Cheer, Bold, Gain, Era, Oxydol, Dreft, and Ivory Snow). To keep the brands from having a counterproductive relationship with each other through competition of its own products, P&G must successfully segment the market based on the benefits that the products offer (Marketers Magazine, 2010)
Gains segmentation is based all upon the scent that the product produces and the amount of time that the scent lasts. Gain's segmentation is focused solely on the scent and how long the fresh-scent lasts for clothes that are washed in the detergent. The consumer benefits that the brand fulfills is the experience of having their laundry smell refreshing and clean. By contrast, other brands focus more on quality issues such as keeping colors from fading or getting the brightest whites.
4P Analysis
Product -- Gain is a mid-priced mid-quality laundry detergent that is differentiated by its scent and the lasting experience of its "freshness."
Place -- The detergent is marketed as a mid-level…
