Lever Fabergé to relaunch Cif

Lever Fabergé is to reformulate and relaunch its Cif household goods range later this year in a bid to change consumer perception that the brand is “soft on cleaning”.

Lever Fabergé is to reformulate and relaunch its Cif household goods range later this year in a bid to change consumer perception that the brand is “soft on cleaning”.

Industry sources say the repositioning of its cleaning creams will be backed by a spend of about £5m, which will be used to convey the message that Cif is an effective cleaner.

Lowe handles advertising for the Cif range in the UK, and media buying is by Initiative Media.

Industry sources say the range’s easy-rinse formula claim has led consumers to think that the brand is a less-effective cleaning product.

One industry insider says: “It is interesting how tags such as ‘easy-rinse’ can affect consumers. This should make sure it is still known to clean well.”Lever Fabergé marketing director Helena Ganczakowski says the company has been looking to “rationalise” the appeal of its Cif range. She adds that a rethink of the range is likely, with future brand developments to be focused around Lever’s Oxy-Clean sub-brand.

Ganczakowski claims the rethink is not linked to the company’s second-quarter financial results reported in June, when Unilever said the Cif brand’s performance was not satisfactory in the first half of the year.

Ganczakowski points to the example of Domestos, which was pared down to core bleach products at the end of last year (MW December 5, 2002). She says sales in the brand have lifted since the move.