dove positioning (consumer behavior)

Dove’s campaign for real beauty

BY: GROUP NO. 2Bharath, Snigdha, Preetham, Vishal, Jayendra.

Inception of Dove

Dove. 50 years ago, it was a beauty bar offering a revolutionary new formula containing 1/4 cleansing cream. It went beyond mere "soap" to enhance the American woman's beauty. Today it is a global master brand with products ranging from the original beauty bar to facial foam, to deodorant to shampoo. Its latest campaign sets out to widen and redefine the perception of beauty, to make a positive contribution to women's self-esteem all over the world.

Dubbed "Product X" in early 1953, the Dove beauty bar was a new product in a trifecta of Lever Brothers accounts hard-won by David Ogilvy, then a young ad exec for Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, Inc. While Lever Bros. announced HOB&M's appointment as the agency for their new product in June of '53, it wasn't until 1955 that the first advertising ran and the message: "1/4 Cleansing Cream" along with Dove's other standard messaging was developed.

And, even though beauty trends and the representation of women have changed throughout the decades, the consistency of Dove's and David Ogilvy's original messages: "1/4 Cleansing Cream"; "Dove Won't Dry Your Skin Like Soap Can"; "Dove is Good for Your Skin" is still selling the brand today. So in 2005, they celebrated 50 years of Dove's relationship with women. Dove has evolved as a brand in the most revolutionary time in women's history. The body of work not only shows the evolution of Dove as a brand, it also shows how the attitudes of women and their role in society have changed in the past 50 years.

1950s: DOVE PRIMARY MESSAGING DEVELOPED When David Ogilvy started working with Lever on Dove, he relentlessly interrogated the product people for a point of difference. He discovered that stearic acid, the more technical name for "cleansing cream", was the key ingredient on Dove. In 1955, the Dove beauty bar was launched as a superior product with a real demonstrable point of difference. At first, the media plan mainly consisted of newspaper "split runs" in various local markets. Television, the era's "new media", was debated as the appropriate medium for Dove. But, television eventually was incorporated into the media plan and became a powerful way to broadcast Dove's messaging. The work produced in the 50s also shows David Ogilvy's experiments with different television production conventions.

1960s

SPOKESPEOPLE/CELEBRITY APPEARANCES There were many hidden gems in Dove's early advertising, among them celebrity endorsements. Everyone from Groucho Marx, endorsed Dove to the dancers on American Bandstand, to the cast Father Knows Best. FACE TESTS Late in the 1950s, research was conducted which concluded the face was the gold standard in skin care. So from 1959-1968, Dove advertising focused on the face and introduced the use of the "Dove Face Test", still using the original strategic focus of "Doesn't Dry Like Soap" and "1/4 Cleansing Cream". In the late '60s, "real" women testimonials were used for the first time to advertise Dove. More women heard Dove's promise, more women tried it -- and were converted.

1970s

Alliance Ascent College, Grp. No. 2

TESTIMONIALS

The use of real women proved to be so strong it was decided the vehicle of the Face Test wasn't needed. The use of real women, with their stories, continued the strategic focus on Dove's non-drying benefit.

THE "LIZ" SPOTS

The "Liz" spots are an extension of the Face Test put in context with "Liz", the trusted owner of a beauty salon. When her customers complain of dry skin, Liz demonstrates the Dove difference. LATE 1970's - "7 DAY TEST" The communication of Dove's non-drying effect on skin was further strengthened by a return to real women and the introduction of the "7 Day Test" in the late '70s. MISCELLANEOUS There were some one-off spots which did not speak in the voice Dove had adopted by the early 70s but were good examples of the transition of women’s roles: in one, she's throwing a hip dinner-party with swinging guests, yet the copy reads: Somewhere between the vacuum cleaner and the kitchen sink.

1980s

ONE WOMAN TESTIMONIALS FOR 7 DAYS

In the late 1980s, the advertising evolved to the use of one woman, who not only talked about the benefits of Dove on her skin but also what it did for her self-esteem. A charismatic and memorable beauty named Jean Shy joyfully shared her discovery of Dove's benefits with television viewers. And Dove's "Conviction of Users" real-women testimonial campaign was born. The Conviction of Users campaign, along with the Medical Program, drove the Dove Bar to its first double-digit share -- and market leadership in the US.

1990s

In 1989, Dove was launched in Italy using the "Conviction of Users" campaign, as well as the Medical Program. Successful test markets in France, Germany and Austria followed in 1990. In 1991, Dove began its global rollout. Between 1991 and 1994, Dove was launched in 55 new countries. How Dove used real women became a real discriminator for the campaign. The

"Switchers" approach to Dove's testimonial campaign was the format that was used for the global launch of Dove. By 1996, Dove had been launched in over 80 countries.

LITMUS TEST


Beauty and science meet. Visual proof of Dove's superiority was dramatically conveyed through the "Litmus Test". The ads were used in nearly all expansion markets 6-9 months after launch, with a powerful and noticeable effect on sales.

1990s/2000s

The global roll-out continues to Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Thailand. In the mid-1990s, Dove's expansion into other beauty products began, introducing body wash, deodorant, shampoo and advanced forms of skincare like nutrient creams and facial foams. In 1999, Dove was launched in Japan. Within one year, Dove Facial Foam achieved 16% market share, taking over leadership from the long-standing leading brand, Biore. And in 2000, Dove Hair Care was introduced in Taiwan. It became the number one shampoo brand within 6 months, with a 15% market share.

OTHER PRODUCTS

In 1995, Dove took its first significant step outside the cleansing bar category with the US launch of Moisturizing Body Wash. In many expansion markets, Body Wash became an integral part of Dove sales. Additional categories swiftly followed: Deodorants: 1997, Body Lotions: 1998, Facial Cleansers: 1999.

2000s

A TIME OF INNOVATION FOR DOVE

After exploring ways to expand Dove's advertising beyond testimonials, the Dove Europe team found a powerful way to use real women for Dove Firming Lotion in "Real Curves". The creative idea is consistent with Dove's celebration of real women -- but in a fresh, modern and impactful way. Eight "ordinary" women, not supermodels, from London participated in a photo shoot proudly showing off their Dove-firm real curves to illustrate that "firming the curves of Size-8 supermodels isn't much of a challenge". Print and TV was developed from the photo shoots.


THE CAMPAIGN FOR REAL BEAUTY

The "Real Curves" campaign led to the "Campaign for Real Beauty". CFRB is based on redefining society's pre-set definitions of "beauty". It aims to change the status quo and offer in its place a broader, healthier, more democratic view of beauty. Built around the web, print and outdoor, the campaign offers no product placement, just Dove's philosophy behind women, beauty and self-esteem.

Dove's success cannot be attributed solely to what Dove has done, but also to how Dove has done it. From beauty bar to global master brand, from optimizing women's beauty to redefining beauty's parameters, Dove's legacy is far-reaching and truly global. 50 years later, Dove has maintained its core messaging, while changing with cultural and generational perceptions of beauty. No matter where they are in the world, Dove's quality ingredients and products give women one thing they want - the confidence to let their inner beauty shine through. As the mother in one of the testimonials said, "If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you do good." If Dove can make more women feel good about their beauty, then it is making a powerful contribution to women the world over.

Unilever’s Strategic Initiative:

Global decentralization brought problems of control. Product categories had checkered identities. Narrowing from 1600 brands down to 400, they had narrowed from 1600 brands to just

400, which affected the company. A huge rate of cannibalization was happening where Unilever brands where eating into each other.

Selected “Master brands”, mandated to serve as umbrella identities over a range of product forms.


To understand the Consumer Motivation behind the success of the campaign:Motivational Process:

The main objective in the Motivational process is to identify the Discrepancy that exists in the minds of the consumers and find a solution to cater to that particular need. Going by the process:

a)Unfulfilled need: Every consumer has a unfulfilled need of looking beautiful and if the consumer is already beautiful there is a need to constantly look beautiful, Hence Dove has identified that women want to look beautiful regardless of their Color, Age, Geographical difference, etc.

b)Tension: The need to be beautiful increases the level of tension in every one. Because every individual is someone in the society and they have to converse with people in the society, if they aren’t beautiful they would not get good response from the society they live in. Hence Dove has identified that such a tension exists in women of being beautiful always.

c)Drive: They want to be recognized in the society hence a product like dove can give them the skin they require to be beautiful in the society.

d)Behavior: The Human behavior is not always constant so is their needs or drives that satisfy them, The company’s prime objective is to find such drives and cater to them. In this case the behavior of wanting to be beautiful and gain a self satisfaction of their beauty is very essential, hence Dove wants to reach the women by feeding their drives and behavior.

e)Need Fulfillment: Every individual has a bigger goal in life and the goal that dove communicates in their commercials are to be a better human being by giving yourself the beauty to be successful, The bigger goal here is the hope for beauty, they sell to the dove customers.

Unilever Brand Strategy:

Objective: Bring top of the mind awareness.Strategy: Use advertising that connects with consumer needs• Let the consumer know more about the product’s uses• Shifted from an out-and-out house of brands to endorsing all its products linked to its

corporate logo.• Converged the marketing of disparate arms due of the lack of brand recognition.• Dove's extension into deodorant - long-term strategy built to set global "master" brands.• In 2005, developed a Brand Imprint to help Lifebuoy, Pepsodent, Close Up develop their

social missions.• Since 2002, became more visible to shoppers, with corporate logo appearing on the back of all

our product packs.


Market Research and Consumer Insight: (A Detail on their research and findings of the research)

1. Only 2% described themselves as beautiful

2. 47% said they were overweight, trend increases with age

3. 68% believed that the unrealistic standard of beauty set by the media would never be achieved


4. 75% wished that media would portray more diverse measure of physical attractiveness

5. Top two choices of women.


6. 79% said that beauty could be achieved through non-physical appearance.

7. Attributes to make a women attractive.Alliance Ascent College, Grp. No. 2

8. 48% strongly agree with: "When I feel less beautiful, I feel worse about myself in general."


9. Importance to make a women feel beautiful.

10. 45% believed that beautiful women have greater opportunities in life.


11. 26% have considered plastic surgery (54% in Brazil)


Brand Values, Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning, and communication objectives: Dove wanted to focus on Importance of situational influences, emphasis from product-related

variables to consumer-related variables After a survey they focused on showcasing Product benefits: natural ingredients, moisturizing

performance Emotional benefits: dated and old-fashioned They also wanted to create a focus on Self-esteem and Feel good. The Objectives of this strategy was:

o Increase market share through improvement of the brand image,

o Develop an outstanding marketing campaign,

o Retain the functional strengths of the brand,

o Engage customers and differentiate from other competitors.

Segmentation:Demographic: i.e.

Gender: Female, Income: High Income.

Socio-Economic: Education, Social Class, Marriage Status.

Psychographic: Lifestyle, Beauty conscious.

Target Markets: Target group was women aged 30-39. These women had not yet used skin-firming products but were starting to reach the age where

wrinkles and cellulite. This group also likely has young daughters, for whom self-esteem issues are a real concern for

their mothers. Dove also incorporated self-esteem building tools for young girls.

Dove's PoP & PoD:"Beauty. It's not about glamour or fame. It's about every woman and the beauty in each of us. That's what Dove is all about. And that's why more women trust their skin to Dove."

PoP: Cleanses, Mild Soap, Moisturizer. PoD: "It's not about glamour of fame", "True beauty could be found in many forms, sizes and

ages", "real" women for ads, emphasis on the ethical aspect of beauty, "self-confidence" moral aspect, emotional ties


Dove’s positioning then and now:Positioning 1950’s

Product• First Dove product at Beauty Bar - Launched in 1957,• It claimed not to dry out the skin the way soap did,• Technically not soap at all, formula came from military research,• Feature: 1/4 Cleansing Cream,• Benefit: Won't dry out skin like soap.

Marketing and Advertising• Blend of marketing communication tools: TV, print media and billboards,• "Dove soap doesn't dry your skin because it is one quarter cleansing cream",• Used natural looking women to convey the benefits of the product.

Outcome• As a result of Dove positioning itself as being in the beauty Industry and focusing on functional

benefits as well as a successful marketing mix. • Dove became one of the America’s most recognizable brand icons.

Positioning 2005Product• Hair care: Shampoo, Spray and Gel• Skin Care: Soap and Moisturizer• Deodorants

Real Beauty and Self Esteem Campaign• Appealed to aesthetic needs of the consumers• Did not focus on functional benefits, but on need to feel good• Used oversized models, elderly women to convey the message

Outcome• Shift from broadcast media to digital media, YouTube & Blogs• Film “evolution” viewed by 3 million visitors in 3 months• Marketing communications gave Dove a wide exposure


Marketing Strategy: Product: A combination of moisturizer and softness so as to satisfy the particular need, which

was earlier not met. Focused on women (“non-models”)– beautiful in their own way. Based on global study on perceptions and attitudes of women with regard to personal beauty and well being. Point of differentiation-moisturizer and pH =O and also meet consumer needs. Strong personal, emotional connection between brand and consumers.

Place:The Distribution channels is the same as that of the Unilever set one’s which include their strong FMCG networks across the globe. Dove would be sold in Retail outlets largely in Metro, Tier I, Tier II, and other urban cities, the formats of retail are Multi branded retail outlets.

Promotion Strategy is explained in the next page with a complete understanding of their usage of different mediums.


Brand Communication Campaign, Modes, Implementation and Measurement April 2004 launched “DOVE FIRMING LOTION”, Ads named as “LETS CELEBRATE

CURVES”. Sept 2004 launched "GLOBAL CAMPAIGN", It was renamed as “CAMPAIGN FOR

REAL BEAUTY” (CFRB). Core Message: "No models -- but firm curves"1.ATL Outdoor 2. ATL Print Magazine

3. ATL: TV Commercial


4. ATL Web Ads

5. ATL PR Campaigns in Magazines


6. CFRB - ATL: Dove Super Bowl Video Ada. Target: 8-17 years old girls,b. Reason: Address eating disorder in target age, directly linked to low self-esteem,c. Objective: How to make a difference in how girls felt about themselves,d. Campaign Association: Dove Self-Esteem Fund.

7. PR: Uniquely ME! Programa. Target: 8-14 years old girlsb. Objective: Help build self-confidencec. Partner: U.S. Girl Scout troopsd. Campaign Association: Dove Self-Esteem Fund


8. BTL: Interactive Website:OBJECTIVE: Amplify Engagement & PRViews:

User-generated content, discussion boardsNews and Information:

• Films, quotes, press reaction to campaign, survey quotesCampaign:

• Audience shown how advertising developedFund raising / The Dove Self-Esteem Fund:

• Objective: to boost esteem of 5M females• International body of experts

No products were featuredResults

• Genuine debate and participation• 700% uplift in sales following initial campaign• Good PR


dove positioning (consumer behavior)

Documents

dove beauty bar

dove advertising

dove doves campaign

evolution of dove

dove face test

cleansing cream dove

dove primary messaging

real beauty