Durex Durability

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Durability, reliability and excellence. These are the key attributes which have made Durex (the name is a combination of the core brand traits) the world’s No. 1 condom manufacturer. More than four billion condoms are sold every year and Durex accounts for around 29 percent of this global market. The company is a market leader in more than 40 countries. With a long legacy of investment in marketing, research and development, the company is now recognized internationally as the premium condom brand in terms of quality, safety and reliability. The Durex brand is credited with many developments in the condom’s modern evolution. These

include the rst lubricated condom, the rst anatomically shaped

condom and, more recently, the world’s rst non-latex condom.

Durex also works with healthcare professionals, governments and organizations including the World Health Organization, UNAIDS and United Nations Population Fund in promoting good sexual health and the importance of consistent condom use to prevent HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

The traditional business

The Durex brand is well known and well trusted. So was the company’s marketing strategy. Condoms are most used by the 16 to 35 age group – a group most at risk in terms of sexual behaviour. For an older target group, the relevancy of Durex products wanes. This group is in a different life phase and has different sexual needs. Most people over 35 are

married or in long-term relationships and therefore use other protection.

While brand name recognition in this group is still very high, the product

is no longer considered as relevant.

The traditional and ongoing challenge, according to Durex global marketing head Mark Critchley, is to constantly attract new customers to the company’s primary age group, 16 to 35, to compensate the natural drop on the upper side, 35 plus. “We call it youth recruitment, we have to keep attracting young consumers to the brand as older consumers use...