Dabur’s Dazzl range markets itself as a ‘home sanitising’ solution

The new TVC markets the products under the Dazzl range as 'home sanitising' solutions when people bring the virus indoors from outside.

At a time when a brand’s equity is nestled in how effectively it can kill germs, ads for Dabur’s Dazzl range make a case for its home cleaning solutions. We spotted ads for the products on YouTube and Instagram. The selling point of the communication is that the products act as 'home sanitisers'.

The whole range of products under Dazzl includes Dazzl Disinfectant Spray, Dazzl Multipurpose Surface Cleaner (which claims to kill 99.9 per cent of germs on hard and soft surfaces). The range also includes Dazzl Disinfectant Floor Cleaner and Dazzl Glass Cleaner.

This line was launched in 2004, and Dabur has held equity in the space of home cleaning since then. Due to the onset of the Coronavirus, Dabur, as a brand, has gained relevance, since some of its most popular products (like Chyawanprash) help boost immunity.

Dabur is a heritage brand with long-standing equity in the immunity-building space. We imagine this equity will spill over to help consumers trust it in the hygiene and germ killing space too.

After all, it's easy for a well-known brand like Dabur to make this claim of killing germs. Most immunity-boosting brands have released products to kill germs too. But a consumer might not be keen on a hygiene brand introducing a product in the immunity space. (Can you imagine a Chyawanprash made by Lizol?)

There are fundamental differences in these two categories that make it challenging for brands to introduce products (in these two vastly different, yet coexisting spaces). The hygiene and sanitisation space, in itself, has seen an interesting array of diversification. First, there were hand sanitisers, then surface sanitisers came into the picture. Finally, we have companies offering to sanitise the air we breathe with the help of specialised ‘air’ sanitisers.

Rishabha Nayyar, strategy head, 82.5 Communications, however, disagrees, stating that there might not be a direct rub off from immunity-led products, such as honey and Chyawanprash, to offerings in the hygiene and sanitisation space.

“However, the endorsement of the Dabur brand carries a huge amount of trust, which will definitely play a role in enhancing the credibility of the claims being made by Dazzl,” he adds.

Nayyar has over 13 years experience as a strategic planner and has worked with Reckitt Benckiser’s brand Domex in the past. He opines that extending the same brand from immunity to sanitisation is theoretically possible, but it may not be effective. He explains that one is a category that is ingested and, therefore, needs to have the codes of goodness and nutrition. The other is a category that needs to be externally applied on surfaces to kill unwanted germs and viruses and, therefore, needs to have the codes of being strong and powerful.

“In trying to offer products through the same brand, we may run the risk of reducing the appeal and acceptance in one of the two categories. In such a scenario, the approach taken by Dabur is appropriate, where the masterbrand (Dabur) continues to offer the immunity-based products. But when it comes to surface disinfectants, it has created a separate brand where Dabur works only as the company brand lending trust and credibility,” he says.

Nayyar points out that the ads reference the products’ ability to specficially kill the Coronavirus. The Coronavirus is actually a general name for a family of viruses. “Most of the products in the disinfectant category are capable of having the desired effect on many of the viruses in the family. However, do each one of them work on the novel Coronavirus, called COVID-19, is something that needs to be tested and, accordingly, claimed by every company,” he says.

He opines that, in general, at this time, dialing up a brand’s ability to manage the Coronavirus is a bit opportunistic. However, if a brand truly has a formulation that can address the virus we are all struggling with at the moment (COVID-19), it is something that should be promoted.

“Looking at these Dazzl posts, the sense I get is that its product does have the specific ability to address the COVID-19 virus. While over the years 99.99 per cent germ-kill has become a blind spot because of its commoditisation in the category, a claim of working on COVID-19 does draw attention and relevance for the offering,” he mentions.

Nayyar is of the opinion that sanitisation across categories is here to stay, whereas the heightened behaviour we see at the moment is not. He adds that in such a scenario, brands will continue to invest and put their money behind this category.

While exceptions will always exist, by and large, we are seeing consumers continue to adopt better practices for hygiene and safety. With such a prolonged adoption of these practices and the perceived threat not subsiding in the near future, many of these newer practices will permanently become a part of the new normal.

He adds that the extent of being cautious continues to be the same, consumers are increasingly becoming more discerning about their choice of brands for achieving the same. They are aware that brands are seeing this as an opportunity for growth and, therefore, are evaluating their choices very carefully, keeping in mind the source equity of the brand, the credibility of the current offerings and the word-of-mouth around each.

“While in the short-term, all of them will generate demand, owing to supply being limited, in the long-term, there will be a fight for share, leading to consolidation. Brands must use this period to not only build salience, but also build distinctiveness and credibility to ensure that eventually, they remain the preferred brands,” he signs off.