Tide India
International Business
Tues/Thurs 12:30
Stephanie Ochocki
Tech ID 00946623

Proctor and Gamble’s Tide detergent was introduced in the United States in 1946 and has grown into the market leader both in the U.S and many other countries around the world. Tide is it’s the bestselling detergent worldwide, far outselling the many of the company’s other detergent lines. In 2000 Proctor and Gamble launched the Tide brand in India to complement their existing high end Ariel line and to challenge lower cost domestic brands.
U.S. Product
Procter and Gamble is an American company based in Cincinnati, Ohio that manufactures a variety of household goods. P&G’s philosophy of constantly innovating and striving to meet consumer’s changing needs has kept its products at the forefront of their respective markets for years. Their strategy for Tide in the U.S. follows this well-worn philosophy. Aside from its original, time-honored formula, Tide in recent years has added several other variations to the market. Some of these varieties include Tide Liquid, Tide Powder, Tide Plus Febreeze, Tide Coldwater, Tide HE, Tide with Bleach, Tide Free, Tide Plus Downey, Tide with Acti Lift, Tide Vivid and their newest variation, Tide Pods. P&G wants to convey to their consumer that they are ready and able to meet any of their laundry requirements. All of these alternatives feature Tide’s distinctive red-orange packaging and are available in a variety of sizes, from 24oz to the jumbo 150oz. Recently, in light of the growing concern regarding ecology and sustainability, Tide has reinvented itself by introducing a new way to do laundry with Tide Pods. These pods are self-contained, single use, capsules that dramatically cut down on packaging waste. Another offering, Tide Coldwater also significantly cuts down on hot water use during the washing cycle. Tide not only strives to be the brand that consumers can count on for innovative solutions for their household needs, they also declare themselves best in quality. Because of this claim Tide sets itself up as the best, most trusted detergent available in the U.S. market.
U.S. Price
As was previously stated, P&G offers up its Tide brand as the best in quality in the laundry detergent market. This positioning as the best in class allows for a pricing strategy that allows Tide to be offered successfully at a higher price point than other brands. Recently, in order to compete with lower priced brands, P&G has introduced Tide Basic. This is a less expensive version of the original that is packaged in a yellow box, rather than Tide’s signature orange. It doesn’t have the noted color-preservation abilities of regular Tide, but it costs twenty percent less.
U.S. Place
The Tide brand is widely distributed throughout the U.S. It can be found in large discount stores, high end grocery stores and mom and pop stores alike. The signature orange bottle is usually the “anchor” brand in every detergent aisle. It can even be found in what would seem to be unrelated venues such as Menard’s stores and gas stations. Tide can also be purchased off the internet at various sites and shipped directly to the customer.

U.S. Promotion
In the U.S. market P&G uses two main ideas to promote its Tide products. The first is the idea that the Tide brand, with its wide array of choices, can meet all the needs of a modern American family. It also emphasis superior qualities over the competition, giving the whitest whites and brightest colors to each laundry load. Aside from these two main promotional ideas, Tide has recently been promoting its environmental awareness, even stating that its Tide Coldwater is the first detergent ever to receive the new Green Good Housekeeping Seal. Tide has also started “Loads of Hope” a disaster relief program that provides a free mobile Laundromat to victims.
Tide is heavily advertised both in the media and in print. The media ads are predominately television and geared toward the woman of the home. This strategy is used because women are usually the decision makers in the family when it comes to household detergents. Recently Tide has been aiming to make their promotion strategy less about the bare facts/features of their product and more about the women’s relationship with her laundry. Most commercials have a light, humorous message that stresses the superior cleaning/whitening power of Tide. Recently celebrities such as Betty White have been used in ads to endorse the brand. The internet is also a powerful tool that Tide uses to promote its brand, utilizing the technology to not only offer online coupons, but also a whole website designed around the product touting everything from laundry tips to the history of the brand.
India Product
P&G’s Tide was launched in India in 2000. At the time the Indian detergent industry was dominated by domestic brands. P& G had a presence in India for a while, offering its premium brand Ariel to high end consumers, but was not a serious player in the market. However, when the Indian economy began to prosper, P&G decided that the time was ripe to enter the Indian market in force. There were a few adjustments that had to be made when designing the product for Indian consumers. The idea of liquid or powered detergent was still a bit foreign to most Indians, they traditionally used a bar detergent to wash their clothes. Tide redesigned its formula to allow for a bar detergent line exclusively for use in this new market. Also, the width of the line was narrowed for India, focusing on Tide’s strength of superior “whiteness” and eliminating most other offerings in the line. Interestingly Tide Pods have found a market niche in this country where, like America, a growing concern for environmental responsibility has developed as well as a need to cut down on the natural resources used to create consumer goods. Replacing Tide with Febreeze and Tide with Downey are two new lines, Tide containing lime scent and Tide with lemon scent. Recently they have also launched a Tide with chandan. Chandan is known all over the world as East Indian sandal wood and prized for its quality of oil and heart wood. Considered medicinal, has special place in aroma therapy, medicine and perfume. The individual packaging sizes are also much smaller in India to allow lower prices per unit. The jumbo 150oz. size so popular in the U.S. is not available in this new market.

India Price
When first entering the market, Tide was launched as another premium brand, a position similar to its U.S. market, and was on par with P&G’s current Ariel brand. However, this was soon found to be a mistake as most Indian consumers were not used to paying a premium for detergent and chose to stick with proven domestic brands. Tide Indian then reinvented itself as a mid-priced, high quality product and started a price war with the existing lead domestic brands, causing all detergent prices to drop significantly for a time. Now that Tide has secured is market share, prices have slowly been creeping up, although according to most marketers it will never be able to command the premium pricing it does in the U.S.. Another difference with the U.S. market is also evident in the way Tide India prices its individual products. The products are charged according to the number of washes they offers, rather than the size of the container, which allows for clarity in India’s more price sensitive market.
India Place
In India P&G uses the traditional methods to reach consumers. Like in the U.S., Tide needs to be immediate available to consumers to meet their laundry needs. This means a convenient location. The Indian middle class has grown quickly, expanding into both the urban and suburban areas and leading to an ever increasing number of retail stores. These retail venues are the main focus of Tide’s distribution strategy. Tide India is manufactured by Kochi, a third party located domestically. In the past they have concentrated their distribution efforts mostly to popular retail outlets and convenience stores. However, the rural areas in India are home to more than a billion potential customers and recently the distribution strategies have been fixed more on reaching the traditional mom and pop stores located in these high growth potential areas. P&G is on track with many companies in India, focusing on expanding distribution networks in India and attempting to reach consumers using new channels.
India Promotion
Tide in India focuses on the value for the money, promising the best whitening power for the best price. The slow shift in India from traditional bar detergents to liquid detergent has opened up a new market for international brands in which to expand. Increasing disposable incomes amongst the growing middle classes are prompting consumers to upgrade from economy to mid-priced brands. With this growth comes an expectation of better quality, which Tide has been quick to capitalize on.
Like in the U.S., Tide is marketed towards the women who make most home product buying decisions. Based on the ideas that the homemaker’s main goal is her families well-being, advertising for Tide India centers around the impression that the detergent can give her maximal value for her money which helps her contribute to the family by making the most of their budget. The Indian public traditionally demands tough, long lasting products and Tide promises to deliver both at a price point that is affordable to the average consumer.
Marketers have found that the average Indian doesn’t always have predictable patterns in product choices and are often lacking in brand loyalty. To create and sustain demand for its product Tide has relied on television commercials to be the main mode of advertising in India. The commercials are often bright, “Bollywood” like productions that use popular Indian music and humor to draw in consumers. Besides television Tide has used a unique approach to create brand recognition, very different from what would be used in the U.S. The company launched a “doorstep challenge” campaign where popular Indian celebrity Shekhar Suman visited homes and challenged housewives to test the product. They have also sponsored a game show on Zee TV which features Tide.
Proctor and Gamble has, with innovation, experience and creative promotion, poised Tide to become one of the leaders in the Indian detergent market following a long tradition of market supremacy throughout the world.

Bibliography http://marketingpractice.blogspot.com/2005/12/tide-neat-strategy.html http://www.scribd.com/doc/26879552/Tide-In-India http://seekingalpha.com/article/257520-india-is-the-key-to-p-g-s-additional-billion-customer-goal http://www.greenerpackage.com/corporate_strategy/pg_provides_leadership_sustainable_packaging_journey http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124946926161107433.html#slide/2 http://www.pg.com http://sandalwoodplant.blogspot.com/ /en_IN/brands/pg_india_brands.shtml#tide
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