J&J is more aggressive with promotions

President of the consumer division of Johnson Johnson (J&J) & in Brazil five years ago, Maria Eduarda Kertész is concerned with the multinational''s sales volume this year. The rise in unemployment and inflation, and the fall of consumer income leave the scenario much more uncertain and lead the company to do more promotions and search performance of your sales with magnifying glass. Duda, how do you prefer to be called, is straightforward: the J&J will have to win over the market competition. This can be done in two ways-sell more than competitors or buying market, as the company has just done with the brand Hipoglós. This acquisition, announced last week, made piece of J&J in ointment against diaper rash in babies jump from 3.1% to 35.3%. Last year, says Dudley, the J&J had "a result above the plane and with double-digit lead in revenue, but keep this performance is getting harder. The increase in sales volume last year was of a digit. With global revenues of $ 70 billion in 2015, the company, which also sells medicines and medical equipment, does not report figures on the Brazilian market. Dudley took over in 2011 in Brazil the second largest operation of multinational consumer products in the world. Economic prospects were positive magnifying of purchasing power-the C and D classes grew and began to consume more and spending more. "The choice of the country to host the World Cup, the Olympics, and the increase in international investments have brought a lot of confidence. May have even been too much euphoria, "he recalls. Despite the good reputation and have a traditional brand, the diagnosis of Dudley was that J&J needed to be more aggressive in responding to the advancement of competition. The company leads several segments of the market of children''s products, but has been challenged by giants like Unilever, which has developed a complete line for babies with the mark Dove. Duda, when assumed command, decided to invest in football. In 2011, scooped one of the units of the advertising package of TV Globo, which includes as State Championships, the Bundesliga, the Brazil Cup and the Libertadores-has renewed this contract every year, including this one. In 2014, the J&J was one of the sponsors of the World Cup. Not so much for football, but for the space on TV, during matches. The result was positive, but Duda notes that in the early years of his administration, when the economy was growing, the challenge was not as great as now. "Win with the growing market is simple. Now we need to dig new opportunities ". This year, investments in marketing and advertising should repeat the value applied in 2015. But the slice for the TV gets smaller and the money for points of sale and digital media grow. To face the downturn in consumption, the J&J elected a list of categories and brands more resilient. Focuses on products that bring more technological innovation as sunblock and articles for babies, whose sales grow faster and have better margins. Products that have a lot of territory to be conquered also receive greater attention. In the case of Listerine, used for rinsing the mouth-he does not reach 30% of the population, says Duda. Brands in consolidated markets such as swabs, or of lesser value, were in the background. The cycle of consumption of products of J&J is considered long-from two to four months. So, in leading brands like Listerine and sunscreen Sundown, the strategy is to increase the frequency of use-stimulate campaigns using sunscreen not only on the beach, but also in school; the oral rinse to be made each brushing, no time or another. Large packs, with discounts and to combine different products were definitively incorporated the strategy. "This was our biggest change," says Duda. Learning came with the increased competition, by the Brazilian''s taste for promotions, but also by seeking the best value with the economy worse, says the President of J&J. She notes that sales have grown more in pharmacies and atacarejo. Last year, the   <span>, Neutrogena skin products,   </span> had increased participation of 1.6 percentage point in relation to 2014, winning a total of 7.5% share in Sun protection categories and products for the face and body. The brand almost tripled their market share between 2011 to 2015, according to J&J. Plans have been made to have more flexibility because the scenario is changing rapidly. Since the end of 2014, Dudley tracks in detail the performance of sales in each channel and region of the country. "You can see how you''re behaving little retail in Rio," she says. The distribution system changed to strengthen the presence outside the capital. National Sales Directors, before headquartered in São Paulo, were shifted to different regions, to accelerate the responses to local markets. The presence of J&J products in Brazilian homes increased from 74% in 2012 to 78% in 2015, according to data from Nielsen. The products reached more than 25 1000 new points of sale in the last four years. "It''s a work married between demand generation-put the propaganda on the air and improve the distribution to have more product in stores", says Duda. "Sometimes, the store had just [the absorbent feminine] always free, our product with better national distribution. The effort was also a Baby Shampoo, a swab, a band-aid, to increase the basket. " The acquisitions are also in the plans. The Hipoglós, which belonged to Procter Gamble, was purchased in & last week. Against diaper rash ointment category grows 11% per year. "The Hipoglós taught for years that every diaper exchange the product should be used as prevention. This habit has made Brazil the world''s largest market for this product, "says Duda