Oil first, then shampoo

To encourage young Pakistani women to keep their hair in good condition and at the same time, revive the age-old practice among women of applying oil to their hair, Dabur Vatika Hair Oil recently launched their ‘Oil First, Then Shampoo’ campaign. With the campaign, they also introduced nine variants to cater to different hair problems.

A subsidiary of Dabur UK Limited, Dabur Pakistan has been selling Dabur Amla Hair Oil and Dabur Vatika Hair products (hair oils, shampoos, hair-styling gels and creams) in Pakistan since 2016. Prior to this date, their products made their way into the Pakistani market through the grey import channels. Today, with an almost 60% share in the branded hair category, Vatika is the market leader.

Speaking about their campaign, Mustansir Salim, Head of Marketing, Dabur Pakistan, says that “applying oil is a practice that has been forgone by women mainly because of the time it takes. When it comes to managing their hair, they prefer quick fixes, although they damage the hair in the long run.”

The campaign, therefore, has the objective of making women aware of the fact that their hair need nourishment and that applying oil regularly goes a long way in preventing future hair problems.

Abeer Fatima, Assistant Brand Manger, Dabur Pakistan, adds that “people opt for all sorts of medication for their hair problems without realising that not only are these expensive, they have side effects as well. Vatika offers an all-natural, pleasantly fragrant, non-sticky solution that can solve all their problems.”

According to Fatima, the fact that the product is a light oil which comes off in a single wash is a huge USP for Vatika as most of the time women have to wash their hair twice or even thrice to get rid of the oil. The other USP is the composition because, says Fatima, “although other brands offer almond and olive oil variants, Vatika is the only one which has variants, such as cactus, argan and black seed oil; in fact it offers solutions for nine different hair problems.”

Vatika is targeting women in the 18 to 30 age bracket from SECs A and B although, says Salim,“aspirational buying results in a lot of spillover. Moreover, the ease of use along with the efficacy is what makes it a perfect proposition for women.”

This is precisely what has been communicated in the TVC, which, according to Ali Kazmi, Creative Director, Red Communications Art (Dabur Pakistan’s creative agency), “is about a day in a woman’s life and how she can build the habit of applying oil into her routine. We avoided using any scare tactics because Millennials and the Gen Z do not like anything shoved down their throats.”

The TVC was aired in November 2018 and ran simultaneously on digital. Vatika also ran a hair oiling challenge on digital which had the same objective of making women aware that applying oil need not take more than 30 seconds. The challenge required women to post a video of them oiling their hair within 30 seconds. Although this particular challenge was set to end in December 2018, it was extended due to its popularity, which saw the involvement of brothers and husbands helping the women to oil their hair and then post the videos.

Looking ahead, Vatika see it as their responsibility to keep reminding their consumers that “oil first, then shampoo” is the natural way forward and that prevention is better than cure. Salim’s concluding advice is: “don’t wait until you start facing serious hair problems.”