Durex is trying to broaden its appeal and access with its entry into the flavored condoms segment

• Durex has made its entry into the category by launching three flavored condoms - Bubblegum, Wild Berries and Vanilla Popsicle
• The brand got social media influencers talking about a Durex survey that had found out that 74% people want to try something new in bed
• Durex has planned a 360 degree campaign to support its launch
• The brand, which has been seeing a healthy growth, is confident that the launch will help it further increase its reach and appeal to consumers

When it comes to coming up with innovative, industry-first products, Durex from Reckitt Benckiser Group’s stable has been at the forefront. However, it is only now that the brand is entering a segment that most of its competitors are already present in – the flavored condoms segment.

In May this year, Durex started a conversation around women’s orgasm and how 70% of women in India don’t orgasm every time during sex. It started a massive conversation on the social media universe with celebrities and influencers joining in. It was a well thought-out campaign that was building up for the launch of its product, Durex Mutual Climax Condoms. For the launch of its three new flavored condoms, Bubblegum, Wild Berries and Vanilla Popsicle, the brand did something similar. It got popular faces like Kenny Sebastian and Anusha Dandekar to talk about the fact that close to 74% people in India want to try out something new in bed.

Along with hosting a chat show that was led by Dandekar, the brand has also come up with a digital campaign and will soon launch some video content around the theme.

Why venture into flavors?

While Durex is one of the most well-known condom brands across the globe, it is surprising that it took so much time to enter the category where most of its competitors are already present.

However, for Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB Health South Asia, being a late entrant is hardly a concern. “Durex is a very well-known brand, it's a thought leader, it starts conversations and draws a lot of people into the category. In today’s category construct, almost 65% of the category is in flavors and Durex hasn’t played meaningfully in that category segment. So it was logical for us to enter the segment. However, we wanted to launch it in the unique, distinctive way that Durex does without necessarily following the market. So in a category which is full of chocolates and vanillas, we have launched three very different flavors. We have tested it on consumers and the reception has been very positive,” says Duhan.

While Durex plays on the premium side of the spectrum, with this launch, the brand is trying to expand its reach. “Our products like Durex Air or Mutual Climax are priced at Rs 200 and Rs 300 respectively for a pack of 10 condoms. However, with this launch, we want to broaden Durex’s appeal, its access and take the brand deeper and make it significantly bigger than what it already is. Therefore, we are pricing these products at Rs 150 for a pack of 10 condoms,” he adds.

The anticipated growth

Duhan is confident that with its entry into the category, Durex will be able to significantly speed up its growth. Currently, the brand occupies around 12% of the market. “In the past few years, we have succeeded in increasing our market share by 50%. And simply because of the way our past trajectory of success has been, we are actually looking for this new launch to significantly step change versus the past success,” explains Duhan.

The brand is looking at going beyond the metros and increasing its presence in smaller cities too.” We are looking at going deeper, both from a conversation and media outreach perspective as well as from a distribution point of view,” he adds.

Durex’s marketing strategy

He further adds that in terms of marketing, the brand will look at a 360 degree strategy. While he refuses to share the investments that will be made towards pushing the product in the market, he adds that the brand will go all out. “We will go the whole hog on this and money won’t really be a constraining factor,” he shares. He also adds that the campaign will be given a push on digital because that’s the platform where they can have two-way conversations with their consumers. “Our aim is to be able to reach out to our audience and have two-way conversations with them. Therefore the old way of advertising only on TV hardly works. The way we have actually gone about some of our recent campaigns have given us substantial business results and is a testament to the fact that when you engage with the consumers, you get them interested and get them to talk to you which is a fantastic way to move forward because there is nothing better than engaging the consumer and having a conversation with them,” he adds.

While digital will play a major role in talking about the campaign, the brand will use a 360 degree approach and use TV and OTT channels for its campaign too.