Young Leadership Development Program [YLDP]

Assignment 1 – Dove Case Study

Submitted by: Puneet Patni (Registration No. 0722YLDP809)

Company: DCM Shriram Limited

Question 1: What is a brand? Why does Unilever to want fewer of them?

Answer:

A Brand is a way to distinguish various companies using their name, logo, and personality. A
company uses these traits to create a unified message with a distinctive image for its consumers.

Unilever’s vision was about reducing the number of brands to allow Unilever to improve the
company’s brand management. The current decentralized approach resulted in a somewhat
fractured approach to brand management in its various geographical markets. Considering that the
company used different individual brand managers across different geographical markets, it resulted
in a number of different brands with varying of both brand identities and strengths. They wanted to
consolidate their 1,600 brands in order to embark on their “Path to Growth.” However, they instead
wanted a global brand unit for the 400 remaining Masterbrands that had a global vision and would
inspire cooperation across the markets.

 Basically: Reduce 1,600 brands to 400 brands:

 Control issues with the global structure
 Lack of global identity: they wanted to create “Masterbrands” with a global identity
 Several low-volume brands
 “Path to Growth” initiative

With fewer brands, Unilever can leverage brands with existing strong identities to allow them
to market these brands as the company’s global brand or “Masterbrands.” The company planned
to execute this “Masterbrands” strategy through global brand managers and leverage
Unilever’s ability to collaborate across different geographical markets.

Question 2: What was Dove’s market positioning in the 1950s? What is its positioning in 2007?

Answer:

Dove’s Market Positioning in the 1950s:

Dove’s market was soap, but they differentiated themselves as something different and better than
soap. They called it the “beauty bar,” and claimed that their product was a cleanser that would not
dry out your skin because it was partly a cleansing cream. It was changed from cleansing to
moisturizing but the company focused on its position as a functional superiority with a moisturizing
benefit. Considering that there was dermatological evidence that it will not dry your skin out
compared to regular soap, so they took the chance to market it as technically it wasn’t soap. They
were reliant on its functional benefit for more than 40 years.

They claimed the following:

 ¼ cup of cream added to every bar

 Moisturizer vs drying properties of soap: it doesn’t leave your skin dry
 Research to back it up: military research driving the special formulation
 Advertising was different and authentic: average-sized women

Dove’s Marketing positioning in 2007:

In 2007, its market positioning was the number one cleansing brand in the health and beauty sector.
In the early 2000s, Unilever wanted to make Dove one of their Masterbrands. Unilever needed to
create a meaning for Dove that could apply to and extend over the entire product offerings. Thus,
they chose Dove to stand for a point of view.

Dove moved away from emphasizing its functionality to trying to portray a point of view which
resulted in the “Campaign for Real Beauty”. They wanted to provoke a discussion and debate about
real beauty. This campaign was done after many years of research where they found that beauty
advertising and packaging created an unattainable standard for women. Dove set to change the idea
of beauty altogether rather than marketing a functional product. They also had already extended the
brand into more product offerings such as shampoo, deodorant, and the list goes on.

Question 3: How did Unilever organize to do product category management and brand management
in Unilever before 2000? What was the corresponding structure after 2000? How was brand
meaning controlled before 2000 and how is it controlled at the time of the case?

Answer:

Before 2,000, brand management was highly decentralized and Unilever had spread itself across a
different variety of product categories within consumer packaged goods. Brand managers were in
charge of designing strategy, delivering profit targets, and daily marketing decisions. Each brand was
operating independently and competed within its categories. Moreover, a staff of brand assistants
worked under the policies of a brand manager. Considering there were disadvantages to this
structure, the issues of control of brand management outweighed it. Also, there was no unified
vision of what the portfolio should be looking like. Keeping in mind that there were some brands
that had different identities in different parts of the world, that resulted in Unilever’s brand
confusion in 2000.

After 2,000, Unilever started splitting responsibility for a brand between two groups; one was in
charge of brand development where it was centralized but targeted globally, and the other was in
charge of the brand building in specific markets where it was decentralized based on the major
geographic / regions Unilever occupied (localized brand building). They ended up reducing their
portfolio to 400 core brands. They created the path to growth initiative where they separated the
functions of brand building and development. They also concentrated on product innovation in
order to fuel their internal growth. Lastly, they created an initiative to create an overall umbrella
brand across all of Unilever’s brands.

Before 2,000, the brand meaning was controlled as Dove was a cleanser. It aspired to be a healthier
option for moisturized skin that doesn’t dry it. It was honest authentic advertising based on
dermatological research and emphasized the functional superior benefit of using Dove as opposed
to any normal soap. They had a simple meaning behind their brand: Dove will not dry your skin.
Their strategy was decentralized and cannibalistically capitalist pushing each band manager to
compete with their in-house brands.

At the time of the case, Dove focused on consumers’ emotions, specifically women’s insecurity and
fears in the beauty industry. They listened to the market and gathered results to make a talking
campaign. They stood for a point of view to popularize a movement that aims to help women see
their personal beauty that is already there. They used the emotional stimulus to implant the product
deep in the consumers’ minds. Dove became a brand that held a statement of who you are.