STP

Target audience

A product like Dettol hand sanitisers believes in mass marketing as this product is neither age restricted nor gender restricted.The Target Audience for usage of an Instant Hand Sanitizer must also be made aware of the need of using such a product. This need must be such where an ordinary soap and water combination would not do. This can be created by using a usage context where having hands germ free is important. Examples of the same could be:

a) Before handling/eating food
b) Before handling infants
c) In hospitals, for doctors and nurses, before and after handling patients

In these scenarios, a realization amongst the TG can easily made that a Hand Sanitizer would be a much more effective option compared to a soap, which does not kill all the germs.

The second theme could be focussing on the anytime/anywhere part as the usage of the product does not imply use of water or towels. Again scenarios where such a product can be useful must be shown to highlight the anytime/anywhere aspect of the product. These could be:

a) Use by people on the move like
a. Travellers
b. Adventurers, Mountaineers etc
c. Bikers
d. Sales people
b) Use of people outside home
a. Office goers
b. College students

The realization that this product should be used over more traditional products like soaps should be done for the TG. The penetration levels of the product are very low. So, creating awareness about the product and its relative advantages over soaps is very important.

Segmentation

One segmentation, which the ad talks about is Psychographic Segmentation based on type of activity. It talks about outdoor activities like driving, eating out and also things like working on the computer or making calls. These and also the shirt worn by the outstretched hand, which is a formal shirt, point to a target audience of office going men or men who are outside for some work or the other.
The relevance of the product is there for such a TG, based by them being involved in activities, in which an anytime/anywhere product for keeping hands germ free is needed. Though the fact that the product is anytime/anywhere is never mentioned is one of the shortcomings of the ad and would be taken up later.

Positioning

The implied positioning of the product is that of a solution to keeping hands germ free. It is a problem solver to the everyday scenarios which happen in the course of a man’s usual day in life and lead to germs.

Positioning: What it should have been

Positioning should have been on one of the relative advantages that Hand Sanitizers have over soaps.

a) Soaps also kill germs. So, the current positioning of just germ fighting directly competes against soaps, because many of them including Dettol Soap are positioned as Hygiene or germ fighting soaps. On the other hand, a positioning of fighting 99.99% of germs goes much beyond what hygiene or beauty soaps can offer.

b) Anytime, anywhere usage is something on which soaps can never match Hand Sanitizers, because they need the use of water. A positioning on being the anytime/anywhere answer to fighting germs would have created a unique image in the TG’s mind and increased adoption. The print ad in question is too vague to suggest any association with being anytime/anywhere. The only apparent association is of simple germ fighting for the outstretched dirty hand by the bottle of Hand Sanitizer.

Connection between message and target audience

As has already being explained, the print ad shows various scenarios in which a man’s hand is exposed to germs. These are typical to the TG of office going men or men who are involved in outdoor activities. Thus, they can relate and identify with the situations shown. The bottle kept alongside the hand having the Dettol brand is the solution to the everyday problem of keeping hands germ free.