Abstract:

For many years Head and Shoulders was Procter and Gamble's only entry in the shampoo market in the Middle East. H&S was by far the leading anti-dandruff shampoo enjoying very high market shares throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The problem, however, was that the anti-dandruff segment was relatively small and not growing, even contracting in share terms. Clearly the bulk of the shampoo market was likely to stay in the highly fragmented cosmetic segment. And, while P&G was very strong in the small anti-dandruff segment, the Company hardly had a presence in the large cosmetic segment. This paper overviews a step-by-step, building block research program that led to the successful introduction of Pert Plus cosmetic shampoo in the Arabian Peninsula. Pert Plus is a case history of a brand that was conceived to address a consumer need with all of its elements being researched to ensure that the final product mix provided the consumer a highly distinctive and good value-for-money product.