Marketing Management

Introduction

• Dove is a personal care brand owned by Unilever, a multinational corporation that owns more than 400 brands mostly selling either food and beverages or toiletries.

• Dove is sold in more than 35 countries and is used by both men and women.

Products

• Dove offers anti-perspirants, deodorants, body washes, soap bars, moisturizers, and hair and skin care products.

• Dove is formulated to be pH neutral, with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5.

Product Levels

• Core BenefitDove offers consumers products for self

grooming.

Product Levels

• Actual Product Dove Beauty Moisture Body Wash• Features – ¼ moisturizing milk• Style and Design – Bottle is in a water droplet shape • Packaging – No exterior packaging• Quality – Dermatologist-recommended• Brand Name – Dove Beauty Moisture

Product Levels

• Augmented ProductThe Unilever websites provide product

specifications.

Product Classification

• Dove is a consumer product. • Dove is a shopping product as it competes on

quality, style and price with other brands such as Neutrogena and Lux.

Pricing

• Competition-based PricingDove Damage Therapy Shampoo (700 ML) cost

$11.70 versus Pantene Shampoo (700 ML) cost $10.90 in NTUC Fairprice.

• Product Line PricingDove Beauty Moisture Body Wash (1 L) cost

$9.75 versus Dove Firming Moisture Body Wash (1 L) cost $10.70 in NTUC Fairprice.

Pricing

• Product Bundle PricingDove charges $7.50 for a bottle of Dove Beauty

Moisture Body Wash and $13.90 for a bundle of 2 bottles at CK Departmental Store.

• Cash Discount PricingDove Beauty Moisture Body Wash cost $7.95

when on offer versus $9.75 usually in NTUC Fairprice.

Marketing Channels

• Dove uses indirect marketing channel. • Sold at supermarkets e.g. NTUC Fairprice and

Cold Storage.Manufacturer

Retailer

Consumer

No. of Intermediaries

• Dove uses intensive distribution. • E.g. Dove is sold at many places from hyper

marts e.g. Giant, Carrefour to supermarkets e.g. NTUC Fairprice to drugstores e.g. Watsons, Guardian’s.

Promotion

• Dove uses TV, print and internet advertising, and public relations.

• An example would be the Dove Campaign.

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

• Worldwide marketing campaign launched in 2004 that includes advertisements, commercials, workshops, sleepover events, a book and a play (drama).

• Celebrate different body shapes of women• Build women’s self-esteem• Used everyday women in campaign

Dove Self-Esteem Fund

• Dove initiated the Dove Self-Esteem Fund in 2006 as part of the campaign.

• Change the stereotypical perception of beauty• Help girls develop positive self-esteem and a

healthy body image• In Singapore, Unilever Singapore Pte Ltd works

together with the SingHealth Foundation to raise funds for the Singapore General Hospital Eating Disorder Awareness Programme.

Dove Self-Esteem Fund

• Dove created a series of highly-successful videos.

Example: Evolution video• Won numerous awards including two Cannes Lions Grand Prix awards and an Epica D'Or.

Critique

• Unilever also produces Fair and Lovely, a skin-lightening product targeted at dark-skinned women in several countries.

Critique

• Another Unilever brand, Lynx, uses models as a staple of its advertising.

Critique

• Unilever also produces Axe brand of deodorants, which uses "idealized" female stereotypes to market products towards young men.

• Make Dove Campaign for Real Beauty seem highly hypocritical in contrast.

Marketing Concept

• Dove uses societal marketing concept where they educate girls and women on what a healthy perception of body image should be and increase their self-esteem.

• They focus on human welfare in addition to consumer’s demands and company profits.

Social Benefits

• Dove builds a community through events e.g. the Dove Sleepover for Self-Esteem and workshops e.g. on eating disorders, and also through social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Structural Benefits

• On the Dove website, they have a community of blogs and forums for consumers to discuss about anything from grooming to lifestyle.

• The website offers games and quizzes to teenage girls that not only entertain them, but also educate them on the delusional media portrayal of women.

Market Segmentation

• Geographic SegmentationE.g. Dove sells a made-for-men range in the US,

but not in Singapore.• Demographic SegmentationE.g. Men+Care is a range of cleansing products

specially formulated to fight skin dryness and offer the refreshing clean that men want.

Target Market Strategy

• Dove uses a differentiated strategy where a separate marketing mix is offered to each segment.

• E.g. Dove Men+Care versus original Dove product line.

Conclusion

• Successful in positioning itself as a brand with a conscience

• Self-Esteem Fund offered free publicity in charities they worked with

• Continuous innovation important as societal marketing easily imitated by competitors

• Ensure consistent product quality due to higher expectations

• Unified advertising globally will save cost, making campaign sustainable in long run

The End