Launching Itchguard, a cream which provided relief from ‘itching’ proved to be a challenge for Mudra as they were required to promote the product in an interesting manner which was not distasteful and yet position it as a specialist medicine which brought instant relief from sweat-itch…  

It was a ticklish task that Mudra faced in the summer of 1998 when Paras approached it with its new product – Itchguard. The thorny issue of itching caused by sweat retention, moisture in the folds of the skin, tight garments, warmth and friction had thus far been tackled with traditional relief providers like talcs and prickly heat powders. The agency was faced with the mammoth task of educating people about the fact that Itchguard was a specialist cream for relieving the problem of sweat – itch and proving its superiority over other contenders.  

Based on the consumer insight that respectable people do not scratch in the presence of others, the agency launched a series of commercials which targeted sweat itch experienced by men in the groin area and in the waist area by women. The agency also developed a cactus-like character Itchy, to represent the feeling of itchiness. These commercials which highlighted the suffering endured in a situation where it was not possible to resort to scratching, were successful in encouraging the consumers to try the product. Eventually the product proved its dominance and surpassed other remedies like Nycil, B-Tex and Sapat, claims Mudra.

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However, the Qualitative Research Study undertaken by the agency in 2000 revealed that sweat itch was being perceived as a serious problem, thus leading to the usage of the product by serious sufferers only. Thus the new challenge before the agency was to broaden the user base of Itchguard by making the brand relevant to the non-serious sufferers of sweat itch as well. The agency launched a series of new commercials to prevent the cream from getting slotted as a ‘groin only brand’ but as a cream effective for any kind of itch.
The strategy worked and led to Itchguard reigning supreme in the category of ‘itch creams’.  

Mudra claims that Itchguard is today the second largest brand in the anti-fungal OTC category, with 25 per cent market share and is growing at the rate of 50 per cent per annum in an otherwise declining anti-fungal category.  

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