Now, FMCG cross promotions gain ground

Colgate-L'Oreal and LG-Ariel cross promotions are on right now

It is nothing unusual for consumer goods companies to blatantly compare or take on competition openly in print and television ads. There are myriad examples of this - Rin v/s Tide, Vim v/s Dettol, Colgate v/s Pepsodent, Lifebuoy v/s Dettol, Saffola v/s Fortune, Horlicks v/s Complan and so on. But what when rivals come together to promote each other's products? Surprised?

There are two examples of cross promotions of this kind in the marketplace at the moment. A pack of 140-gram Colgate Total toothpaste has an interesting offer running: you get three satchets of L'Oreal Total Repair 5 Shampoo free. Yes, Colgate offering L'Oreal Shampoo satchets to consumers with its toothpaste pack.

The company did not indicate why it was doing something like this when contacted or whether it did have an association with L'Oreal. The offer is not running on any other brands in Colgate's portfolio. L'Oreal executives were not immediately available for comment.

The second example is the cross promotion of LG washing machines in ads for Procter & Gamble's Ariel detergent powder. Executives at P&G said that the company did have an association with LG, which was on for a few years. According to market sources, the P&G-LG tie-up covered multiple markets including India. And that the companies had been pushing each other's products aggressively in these regions.

Bundled offers are not uncommon in consumer durables and electronics. For example on buying a TV with a set-top-box, the company dealer or retailer could also bundle a direct-to-home connection from a rival company as an added bonus.  

However, FMCG companies so far have stayed out of bundled promotions since pushing rival company brands is something they do not enjoy doing. But now that mindset seems to be changing with some companies taking a step in that direction.