DOVE Case In 1995, Unilever introduced Dove, which contained a patented, mild cleansing ingredient, into the soap category. It was positioned then, and now, as a beauty bar with one-fourth cleansing cream that moisturizes skin while washing, as opposed to the drying effect of regular soap. Ads reinforced the message by showing the cream being poured into the beauty bar. In 1979 the phrase cleaning cream was replaced with moisturizer cream. Also in 1979, a University of Pennsylvania dermatologist showed that Dove dried and irritated skin significantly less than ordinary soaps. Based on this study, Unilever began aggressively marketing Dove to doctors. Soon about 25% of Dove users said they bought the brand because a doctor recommended it, greatly enhancing the bars credibility as a moisturizer. By the mid 1980s, Dove had become the best-selling soap brand and commanded a price premium. The effort to extend the Dove brand occurred in 1965. The extension into dishwashing detergent survives, but has to be regarded as disappointing. Because the leading competitor at the time, Palmolive, promised to soften hands while you do dishes, the hope was that the Dove cleansing-cream message would translate into a competitive benefit. Instead, customer felt no reason to change from the well-positioned Palmolive and since Doves reputation for moisturing and beauty did not imply clean dishes, there was simply no perceived benefits. After receiving weal market acceptance for the extension, Dove lowered the price, creating another source of strain on the brand. 15 years after its launch, the brand languished at a rather poor 7th in the US market, with a share of around 3%. The dishwashing detergent not only failed to enhance the Dove brand, but it also undoubtedly inhibited Dove from extending its franchise further for decades. In 1990 the Dove soap patent ran out, and arch-competitor P&G was soon testing an Olay beauty bar with moisturizing properties, a product that rolled out in 1993. One year later, Olay body wash appeared and soon garnered over 25% of a high-margin product category. Blindsided, the Dove brand team belatedly recognized that theirs was the natural brand to own the moisturizing body wash position. The firm had apparently missed the change to be a leader in this new category. In response to Olay, the firm rushed Dove Moisturizing Body Wash into stories. The product did not live up to the Dove promise however, and a reformulation in 1996 was only a partial improvement. In 1999 though, Dove finally got it right with the innovative Nutrium line, based on technology that deposited lipids, vitamin E and other ingredients onto the skin. The advanced skin-moisturizing properties provided enough of a lift to allow Dove to charge a 50% premium over its regular body was. Later, Dove introduced a version of Nutrium with antioxidants (which have been linked to reduced signs of aging), which helped Dove to pull even with Olay in the body wash category. By leveraging strong brand equity, pursuing innovative technology, and being persistent, Dove was able to overcome a late entry into the market. The Dove body wash efforts influenced the brands soap business, which was flat until the mid 1990s (an in fact in decline by 1996). The introduction of the body wash corresponded to a 30% growth sure in Dove soap from the mid 1990s to 2001, evidence that the energy and exposure of the Dove brand helped even through the product was somewhat waning during much of that period. In addition, the Nutriumsub brand, established in the body wash category, was employed to help the soap business. In 2001, Unilever introduced a Dove Nutrium soap that was priced about 30% higher than regular Dove (it was positioned for replenishing skin nutrients). Another battlefield entered in 2000, was the rather mature category of deodorants even through dryness the key benefit, seemed contradictory to the Dove promise of moisturizing, and the target segment was younger than the typical Dove customer. Despite these apparent risks, dove introduced a deodorant line with uncharacteristically bold advertising (for example one tag line was next stop, armpit heaven) As it turned out, the deodorants were aimed as one of the top 10 nonfood new products in 2001, garnering over $70 million in sales with close to 5% of the market, making Dove the number 2 brand among female deodorants. The one-quarter moisturizing lotion positioning effectively communicated as protecting sensitive underarm skin, generated a Dove spin on dryness that differentiated the product line. In spite of this win. P&Gs Olay again beat Dove to a new market in the summer of 2000, this time with disposable face cloths infused with moisturizers. It took Dove about a year to respond with its Dove Daily Hydrating Cleansing Cloths. With the body wash success behind it, however the Dove brand was well suited to compete in this category. The next product extension was Dove Hair Care, whose moisturizing qualities were directly responsive to one of the top two unmet needs in the category. The products branded differentiator, weightless Moisturizers, is a set of 15 ingredients designed to make the hair softer, smoother and more vibrant without adding any extra weight. After achieving top-selling status in Japan and Taiwan, Dove Hair care entered the US market in early 2003 with an aggressive introduction campaign, joining a product family used by nearly 1/3 of American families. 2 years later it introduced Dove Body Nourishers Intensive Firming Lotion, formulation with collagen and seaweed, intended to give the user firmer skin after 2 weeks. These extensions contributed to a dramatic sales success. The brands business grew form probably around $200 million in 1990 to over $4 billion by some estimates in 2013. The bar itself enjoyed substantial growth in sales. Geographic expansion also contributed. Doves presence increased to nearly 80 countries, far more than in 1990, with particular strength in Europe, where it gained 30% of the cosmetics and toiletries market, Asia-Pacific 25%, and Latin America 11%. In 2005 with no major geographic expansion or brand extension in sight, Dove looked to another route to add energy. The result was an advertising campaign (first created in the UK) featuring real women with real dress sizes instead of ultra-thin models. Dove branded campaigns to educate and inspire girls to adopt a wider definition of beauty and to achieve a higher self-esteem level supplemented by the advertising. The new direction for the brand was based in part on a global study involving 3,200 interviews that revealed that only 2% of women through themselves beautiful. 50% of women thought their weight was too high (60% in the US) and 2% of women felt that the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty. (We talked about the study in class) The campaign received enormous exposure in the media with over 1000 stories, most but not all positive (some felt it would be ineffective, others pointed out that Unilever was still using models for its other products, and still others thought Dove was promoting obesity). It generated a 10% sales boost. Another initiative was aimed at girls who are too often held back by low self-esteem and anxiety about their looks. Doves social mission was to encourage girls to develop a positive relationship with beauty, helping to raise their self-esteem and thereby enabling them to realize their full potential. There are a variety of products to promote the development of body confidence among girls using support of their families and communities. Over 8.5 million young people in 26 countries have received help form 2005-2012. In addition, Unilever has a mens product named Axe (called Lynx in some countries) which was introduced into the US in 2002 as a spray deodorant and now covers shampoo. Shower gels, aftershave and other products. The Axe brand was built around the numerouspremises that beautiful women would go crazy over a man if the Axe spray had been used. The ads and promotions were widely perceived as sexist and even degrading. Some pointed out that Unilever was hypocritical to claim some kind of feminine champion when they have the Axe brand so blatantly being the opposite of the real woman concept.

1. What does this case tell you about first mover advantage? Consider products launched as well as their approach taken with the Campaign for Real Beauty which essentially revealed the industry, by taking the customers side with a truthful message. (use case info, but also reflect on ad examples played in class and on Moodle) (5 MARKS)