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 Benefit Dove 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 Product The 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 Pricing Dove Damage Therapy Shampoo (700 ML) cost $11.70 versus Pantene Shampoo (700 ML) cost $10.90 in NTUC Fairprice. Product Line Pricing Dove 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 Pricing Dove 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 Pricing Dove 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. ManufacturerRetailerConsumer

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 Segmentation E.g. Dove sells a made-for-men range in the US, but not in Singapore. Demographic Segmentation E.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

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