Results and Effectiveness

By establishing an emotional, valuable and long-term connection with Bihari consumers, Nihar not only defended their market share, but gained 3% within the markets where the brand executed the “Nihar Shudhata Abhiyaan” program. The success of the concept and campaign is driving its expansion to include each and every village in the state of Bihar. The campaign continues to be a best practice highlighted within Marico’s marketing approaches, and the Bihar case study is being reviewed at Wharton School of Business as a solid example of how to fight imitation marketing in developing countries.

Creative Execution

Nihar carried a message of Purity to communities throughout Bihar. Through the creation and launch of “Nihar Shudhata Abhiyaan” (Nihar Hygiene/Purity Drive), Nihar–striving to be a symbol of purity–delivered environmental, personal and household hygiene knowledge to communities in an engaging and motivational forum. Using village leaders as our source for understanding locally relevant hygiene issues, Nihar developed a wide-reaching connection approach: holding public education meetings with women, the household hygiene custodians and primary brand decision makers; motivating young girls to join the Nihar Purity Brigade, where they committed themselves to educating village households on hygiene; initiating formal enrollment in an ongoing education program, complete with public “oath taking” ceremonies and signed pledge boards displayed in village squares. Momentum was maintained by developing education kits with seasonally updated knowledge. The program’s popularity was reinforced by bringing national celebrities to villages to publicly recognize ongoing efforts of individual community members.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Marico’s Nihar Pure Coconut Oil holds over 50% market share in the Indian state of Bihar.The brand was under threat from a newly launched discount product and nearly 100 imitation products within a highly cluttered 50-brand FMCG category. Daily use of coconut oil is a long-standing tradition in India, occurring among almost 80% of the population. While Nihar’s USP as a “pure” offering was well established among current users, low awareness of their proposition outside this circle made them vulnerable to share erosion.Low literacy in Bihar limited the impact of traditional marketing outlets; Nihar needed to defend their turf using a unique approach. Purity has unparalleled cultural relevance in Bihar – the state’s Ganga river is known as the “symbol of ultimate purity” For consumers, the concept of purity is strongly associated with behavioral and environmental hygiene, topics on which the Bihari people are highly receptive to information.