Now, P&G joins the blog trail

As HLL reportedly plans to take its Indian brand property, sunsilkgangofgirls.com blog worldwide, its arch-rival Procter & Gamble is doing just the reverse.

P&G major has introduced its "beinggirl" site in India. "We have recently launched a website "BeingGirl.co.in" for Whisper in India," confirmed a P&G spokesperson.

This website targets young women where they can find out solutions to problems ranging from periods, love, body, teenage issues and so on. "In the near future we will also have a blog site," added the spokesperson.

P&G is also promoting this property through the print medium and below-the-line advertising. "We are going to focus mostly on below-the-line with a little bit of press thrown in," said the company spokesperson. It has already looked at Jam and Femina Girl magazine, for instance.

And unlike the overt hype of sunsilkgangofgirls blog, the company will seek to keep a low profile on mass media and largely stick to schools and colleges with direct contact and through PR-led activities. The site, the company claims, will look only at teens aged between 13-19 age group.

The focus of the site is also slightly serious and focused on feminine hygiene issues as well.

"We have sought to tweak it and make it suitably India with features like 'Ask Nisha' and also some Indian music downloads in addition to the usual fare being offered elsewhere," the company said.

Sunsilkgangofgirls.com blog , on the other hand had a high volume launch with television spots and hoardings promoting the blogsite. Marketing consultants point out that this is a great way to build brand loyalty, more so with the younger consumers who are comfortable using the internet and tend to spend a considerable amount of time online.

While the product promotion tends to be rather low key on the site (both have an area dedicated to the product offerings), a large part of the other information on like hair problems and hair care on the Sunsilk site or on matters related to periods on 'beinggirl' are directly related to the product.

"This not only enforces the brand with the consumers, but also ensures brand loyalty through interactive options like 'Meet Jawed' (a hair stylist),"said another consultant.