Marketing Strategy of Head & Shoulders : STP Analysis & Campaigns

Updated on: Feb 15, 2023

In our last post, we learned in-depth information about the marketing strategy of Garnier, a pretty intriguing company.  We will discuss in detail the marketing strategy of Head and Shoulders – the No.1 anti-dandruff and non-dandruff shampoo in this article.

This article intends to learn about the marketing strategy of Head and Shoulders (H&S), an American brand, and how it became the first brand to create a product that is effective at removing dandruff but also tackles the underlying cause.

However, identifying the right strategy for marketing your business is often equated with rocket science. What’s the best way to reach the right audience? Want to learn more about digital marketing? Check out Karan Shah’s  Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101  our CEO and Founder.

Before learning about the marketing strategy of Head and Shoulders, let’s discover more about their objectives and online presence.

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About  Head and Shoulders – 

marketing strategy of head and shoulders - head & shoulders logo

Source – Logos World

The Head & Shoulders (H&S) brand of anti-dandruff and non-dandruff shampoo is manufactured by Procter & Gamble. A chemical engineer and bacteriologist from the University of Tennessee named John Parran Jr. joined Procter & Gamble in 1949. He only had to rid the globe of dandruff.

The treatments for dandruff back then, such as egg oil and coal tar, were unpleasant, and even if they worked, they would harm your hair. Dr Parran sought to develop a dandruff remedy that worked well, wasn’t harmful to hair, and was much more enjoyable to use.

As a result of years of clinical trials, Dr Parran and his team of scientists discovered a potent compound that removed dandruff.

In 2002, scientists discovered the genetic code of the Malassezia globosa fungus, which causes dandruff. This meant that we could treat the underlying cause of dandruff in addition to just getting rid of the flakes. In the year 1997, it began operating in India.

Their Philosophy – Their mission is to free the world from Dandruff- because they believe that nothing should stop us from feeling confident and enjoying life to the fullest. 

Quick Stats –

CEO

Jon R Moeller

| LV Vaidyanathan(India)

CMO Sharat Sharma (India)
Area Served Worldwide
Industry Haircare
Market Revenue USD 86.03 billion(Global)
Vision
Tagline THE AMERICA AND WORLD’s NO. 1 SHAMPOO.

 

Marketing Strategy of Head and Shoulders –

Now we have enough knowledge about the company let’s get into the marketing strategy of Head and Shoulders and first let’s look at its STP Analysis.

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

The company promises to address issues with dry hair, an itchy scalp, dandruff, and severe scalp ailments by selling hair care products that are appropriate for both men and women. This makes them available to different kinds of buyers who can buy quantities according to their needs. As was already noted, the shampoo market is tightly divided and employs multivariable segmentation. Demographic divisions within the sector focus largely on age, race, and gender, class, population density.

Higher middle-class consumers who are brand savvy, early adopters, and concerned with their general hair health are H&S’s target market. H&S first targets middle-aged males who experience scalp and dandruff issues. Early on in its marketing campaign, it ran advertisements demonstrating the fact that the cream provides approximately 100% relief from shampoo itch with only one application.

As the leading company, it has effectively seized the anti-dandruff niche market and H&S has positioned itself as an anti-dandruff product that clears flakes with one wash. Sales have risen over the previous year, making it a leader thanks to an efficient distribution strategy and extensive market penetration in rural areas. H&S was a very tiny, exclusively North American brand a decade ago, according to its 2011 annual report. We started to grow the brand globally by making investments in a mix of both product and marketing breakthroughs.

Marketing Campaigns

These are some of the H&S campaigns that have been successful and demonstrated great results:

 1. Detox Campaign

marketing strategy of head and shoulders - marketing campaign

Through a team of 22 Instagram influencers and celebs, the goal was to reach out to the masses and convince them that detoxing is an important part of maintaining a healthy body and mind. Micro-influencers, celebrities, and vloggers posed with their shiny manes and urged people to follow suit.

Here are some important numbers achieved by the Head&Shoulders charcoal detox campaign:

  • Total contributors – 22
  • Posts – 45
  • Followers reached –  3,990,678
  • Impressions on Instagram – 7,979,659
  • Total Likes – 126,759
  • Comments – 3,268
  • Total Engagement – 130,02

2. TV Commercial

marketing strategy of head and shoulders - marketing campaign

Actress, director, and entrepreneur Sofia Vergara has been chosen as the brand’s new 3 Action Formula variant spokeswoman by Head & Shoulders. During the engagement, the ambassador touts the benefits of the product, which include healthy, shiny hair and a flake-free scalp. The campaign was successful because she has been using this product personally, for a decade, and the story became viral which resulted in huge sales.

  3. Say It Proud Campaign

marketing strategy of head and shoulders - marketing campaign

Indonesians have an extremely tough time pronouncing Head & Shoulders because of the consonants needed. H&S’s brand name is its greatest challenge in entering the Indonesian market. First, they released genuine internet bloopers footage of their brand ambassador, actor Jo Taslim, mispronouncing their brand name during a Television commercial shoot. They gathered all frequent pronunciation errors for their brand—”Heten & soljers”/”Hed & Solder”—and modified their Google search (both voice and textual) to include all of them.

The conclusion of all our efforts was Independence Day, the most significant cultural event in Indonesia. With TV messaging depicting customers promoting their version of the H&S brand name as well as regionally tailored regional radio advertisements, we honoured our 700 languages and dialects. Finally, we developed more than 300 distinct shampoo boxes with the Head & Shoulders label on them.

The campaign resulted in selling an additional 660000 bottles of shampoo because thousands of new families tried it.

Social Media Marketing

Social media accounts for Head&Shoulders can be found on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

  • Instagram – 18.1K (Indian page)
  • Facebook – 9M
  • Twitter – 44.8K
  • Youtube – 78.1K

In addition, the content posted on media differs depending on the platform. Facebook and Twitter posts have mostly been informational products, while Instagram posts have mostly been challenges. The above-mentioned information is only from India. Depending on the geographical location, product followings differ.

SEO Strategies

marketing strategy of head and shoulders - ubersuggest seo screenshot

Source – Ubersuggest

As per SEO ranking, it is said that the number of keywords – below 500 is insufficient, above 1000 is good, and 10,000+ is amazing. As we can see that has 78K organic keywords, which means the digital marketing of Head and Shoulders is doing amazing. Also, the monthly organic traffic is around 334K which is remarkable. Traffic can be generated by organic search by optimizing your web content for organic keywords.

Influencer Marketing

Head and Shoulders recently launched the #ScalpSwag online challenge based on consumer behaviour during the lockdown. The challenge was taken on by actor Ranveer Singh, who entered it with his own “Scalp Wala Rap”. The actor revealed how, during a recent lockdown, his hair started growing out and he had been unable to contact his go-to stylist. Nevertheless, the actor said that staying dandruff-free at home with Head and Shoulders gave him the confidence to take on the task.

The challenge has already gotten over 30 million views overall (20 million+ views on Instagram alone) and a significant amount of user feedback, Head and Shoulders urges customers to take part, share their entries, and flaunt their gear.

E-Commerce Strategies

The E-commerce site for Head and Shoulders consists of all the products they sell based on the concern, and hair type. It is sorted in such a way that is easily accessible by the user based on their concern for instance dry scalp, itchy scalp, sensitive scalp, and severe dandruff. They have included a free quiz for the user to identify their scalp.

Mobile Apps

H&S products are available on various platforms like amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Nykaa. But, having a special app with all the products available in one place will be a game changer.

Content Marketing Strategies

On social media, H&S is a highly active user. The article’s material relates to the company’s new products, offers, awareness campaigns, etc. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are used for new product releases. H&S keeps close tabs on the content dropped on social media and reads the comments dropped on the product to develop a better product to ensure the safety of the customer.

This ends the exclusive marketing strategy of Head and Shoulders.

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What’s Unique in the Marketing Strategy of Head and Shoulders?

Ever since its founding, Head and Shoulders has grown steadily, and there is still a ton of room for expansion in India. Concerning marketing, Head and Shoulders has done quite well. Brand endorsement with powerful and related names enhances the market penetration of new and expanded brands. For their products to keep market share, established firms must employ techniques including improving/launching new items, lowering pricing, and concentrating on promotion and marketing.

In this article, we have seen the marketing strategy of Head and Shoulders how it helps increase its sales and bring in traffic and how it made a campaign out of a mispronounced brand name.

This is why digital marketing is important for a brand to increase its value in the market. 

If you want to start a business or already have one and want to bring your presence online check out IIDE’s Online Digital Marketing Courses and MBA in Digital Marketing Course to get vast knowledge about this game changer skill.

If you wanna know more about other brands’ marketing strategies, like the marketing strategy of Head and Shoulders visit our IIDE Knowledge Portal.

Do share your views about the marketing strategy of Head and Shoulders in the comment section below.

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Author's Note:

My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India.

Practical assignments, case studies & simulations helped the students from this course present this analysis.

Building on this practical approach, we are now introducing a new dimension for our online digital marketing course learners - the Campus Immersion Experience.

If you found this case study helpful, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

1 Comment

  1. Alina

    I’m really glad I found this valuble pice of content.

    Reply

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