Marketing Communication Tools for Unilever

This document discusses the marketing communication tools used by Unilever to promote their products and attract customers. It includes a description of the company and its range of products, an analysis of a specific product and profiling of the target market, and a critical evaluation of the characteristics, features, and effectiveness of the marketing communication tools. It also provides a strategic management communication plan to market the products in the UK.

Marketing
Communication

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY............................................................................................................4
A. Description of the company and its range of products and an analysis of
specific product and profiling of target market......................................................4
B. Critical evaluation of characteristics, features and effectiveness of the
marketing communication tools.............................................................................4
C) Strategic management communication plan to market the products in UK......8
D) Marketing communication strategy and evaluation of how all the elements of
communication process is applied within a global context..................................11
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................14
REFRENCES..........................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Marketing communication refers to a difficult and fundamental section of a company
which shows their marketing efforts. It is a process through which an organization able to
communicate at a marketplace to their potential customers. Along with this, company able to
communicate about products and brand in from of customers so that they get attracted and
encourage purchasing product and services in effective and appropriate manner. Organization
which is taken for this assignment is Unilever, which is established by William Lever in year
1929. Headquarter of respective company is in Unilever House, London, United Kingdom and
they are basically offering products in consumers goods industry. They served their variety of
products and services at worldwide market. Products which are offer by Unilever are Beauty and
Personal care, foods and refreshments and cleaning products. This file mainly explains about the
company and range of products they are offering. Along with this it will evaluate specific
product offer by respective company and profiling of the target market.
MAIN BODY
A. Description of the company and its range of products and an analysis of specific product and
profiling of target market
Unilever is a British Dutch transnational consumer goods organization. Its headquarter is
in London, United Kingdom. It was founded by Lever Brothers, Samuel Van Den Bergh,
Antonius Johannes Jurgens and Georg Schicht in year 1929 in UK. Currently the organization is
operating business all around the world. It deals in different types of products which includes
beauty, personal care, food, refreshment and cleaning. The business is operated with the help of
more than 155000 employees. There are various competitors of the company which are Nestle,
Procter & Gambler etc. In local market there several organizations that are giving tough
competition to it. These business entities are ConAgra, Danone, PepsiCo, Mars, Beiersdorf,
Johnson & Son etc. It is also having two holding enterprises that are Unilever N.V. and Plc.
Product range of Unilever: There are various types of products that are offered by
Unilever these are food, homecare, personal care and water purifier. Various types of brands are
served by the company which includes Blueair, Comfort, Dove, Domestos, Knoor, Lipton, Lynx,

Hellmann’s, Magnum, Persil, Sure, Surf, Toni & Guy, Badedas, Ben & Jerry, Carte Dor, Cif and
Brut. One of the specif product of the company is Avian water which comes from specific source
near Evian Ies Bains on the south shore of Lake Geneva. Currently it is owned by Unilever and
served all around the world. It is fresh mountain water which is sold in luxury and expensive
bottles to the clients. It is popular among Hollywood celebrities and drank by them.
Target market of Unilever is the people of upper class who can afford all its products.
The items that are offered by company are very costly and these are served to luxury customers.
Organization uses different promotional methods to attract large number of customers. Currently
products of Unilever are served all around the world.
B. Critical evaluation of characteristics, features and effectiveness of the marketing
communication tools
While launching products in the market for all the organizations it is very important to use
effective marketing communication tools so that customers get aware of items that are served by
company. In order to attain business goals such as profit maximization, customer satisfaction and
attaining competitive advantage it is very important to communicate with clients so that a
positive image of business entity can be established in their mind (Marketing communication
tools, 2019). Detailed discussion of such tools is as follows:
Marketing communication tools: For all the larger as well as small companies it is very
important to use marketing communication tools so that a proper interaction with customers can
be conducted and information regarding their demand, preference, requirements and needs can
be gathered. For Unilever it is also very important to use these tools in order to be in touch of its
clients and retain them for a long period (Blakeman, 2018). These tools are also known as
promotion mix in which organizations use different types of techniques that can help to promote
products and attract large number of customers. All of them that are implemented by Unilever
are as follows:
Advertising: It is one of the major marketing communication tool which is used by
Unilever in order to increase efficiency and visibility of the products that are sold by
organization. There are various types of methods that are used by Unilever to advertise its
products. These are magazine, television, commercials, internet advertising, newspaper, radio

etc. There is an effective model which is also used by organizations in order to advertise the
products. It is done with the help of AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action). It is mainly used
to analyze the purchasing process of customers. It helps Unilever to analyze buying behavior of
clients. All the elements of this model are described below:
Attention: According to this component of AIDA model first of all business entities are required
to grab attention of customers with the help of attractive advertisements. For example, it can be
done with the help of television advertisements in which famous personalities are used to
promote products (Bowie and et.al., 2016).
 Interest: If clients get aware of the items then companies should build their interest
which can be done with the help of offering such products to them that they are willing to
buy. In order to reach this stage firstly company is required to grab attention.
 Desire: When customers start to show interest in products then at next Stage Company is
required to create desire for them to buy the product. With the help of attractive and
interested advertisements it can be created.
 Action: This is the last stage of AIDA model in which buying decision is being taken by
client. When desire is created by company then it led customers to buy product to give it
a try. If they like that product then they repeat it again and again.
All the above described points are followed by organizations in order to sale products to
the targeted customers. This tool is very effective for organization because it guides managers to
identify needs of clients and then attract them, build their interest, create desire and then make
them buy products. Main feature of this model is that it helps to enhance sales and profitability of
company.
Personal selling: It is also a marketing communication tool which is used by companies to
increase sales. It includes both internal as well as external sales to consumers. It is used by
Unilever to conduct two-way communication between buyer and organization and analyze their
views regarding products and services of company. In this mode of marketing communication
sales persons ask clients to provide feedback on product and ask for their experience. It helps to
increase sales. Feature and characteristic of personal selling is that it helps to analyze reaction of
customers on products that are sold by Unilever to them (Carroll, 2015).

Sales promotions: It is another method of effective marketing communication in which different
types of methods are used by organizations to promote their products. Unilever also uses some of
them these are demonstration of items, free sample, coupons, buy one get one free, displays,
different contents, premiums and other incentives. It is an attractive approach of communication
which can help to attract large number of customers. in Unilever it is mainly used to directly
communicate with clients and provide them good deals to retain them for a long period. Other
options that could be used by organization are temporary discount, telemarketing, free gift
vouchers etc. All of them are very effective tool that can help to enhance sales. Main
characteristic of this marketing communication tool is that it helps to promote products and
attract large number of customers towards items that are sold by Unilever.
Public relations: It is a communication marketing tool that can help a company to establish
positive market image. Main objective of organization behind using this tool is to maintain good
relations with clients by offering them good deals. It includes conducting interviews, surveys,
taking feedback from them and reacting immediately on the same. Public relations are focused
with increasing brand image of company and maintain good relationships with them in order to
increase sales (Cornwell, 2014). It is very important to establish such relations on right time and
in right way in order to get good results. Maintaining such type of relationship with clients is an
effective approach which helps organizations to retain existing customers and attract new
consumers by satisfying them with the help of good quality products and services.
Sponsorship: It is the act of providing monetary benefits to different groups and market
products with the help of them. Unilever also make sponsorship in order to promote its products.
It is very beneficial marketing tool which helps to enhance visibility of products and also
increase customer traffic for the organization. For example, different types of games can be
sponsored by Unilever which includes cricket, football, golf etc. It is an effective method of
communication which is mainly used by large sized companies such as Unilever which is
operating business all around the world. Feature of this method is that it helps to attract large
number of customers by increasing visibility of brand. Characteristic of this tool is that it helps
company to be popular in market and attain competitive advantage for future so that organization
can sustain in marketplace (Fill and Turnbull, 2016).

Direct marketing: It is also a form of marketing in which organizations directly communicate
with customers in order to gather their views regarding products and their features. Unilever can
conduct such type of advertising with the help of different sources. These are questionnaire,
interviews etc. Main advantage of this option is that it helps to gather information regarding
preferences of customers.
All the above described tools are used by Unilever to market its products and increase its number
of customers. It also helps to enhance profitability, sales and market share (Karjaluoto, Mustonen
and Ulkuniemi, 2015). It is vital for organizations such as Unilever to utilize all of them
effectively to get positive results.

C) Strategic management communication plan to market the products in UK.
Communication is the most important element in every business organisation. No
business can operate effectively and efficiently without effective communication. This is
important so that company can make people aware about the new products and services which
will be offered by them (Bacile, Ye and Swilley, 2014). So Unilever will devise an effective
communication plan so that it can market and promote the Evian water product. As, this is the
newly developed product in the industry. Present business scenario is highly competitive and
needs greater investment in developing communication plan so that they can effectively market
the products and attract customers. Therefore, the Unilever will adopt the communication plan so
that it can market the Evian water product.
Mission: The brand has set a target to become a global carbon neutral brand by 2020.
Vision: They will use the power of global brand to take a leadership position and drive
collaboration across the industry.
Competitors: Before developing any plan, it is very essential to identify the competitors,
strategies used by them, market position and share, etc. The major competitors of Evian water in
UK are Fiji, Parrier, etc.
Segmentation, Targeting and positioning
Segmentation: It is used by organisation in order to divide customer into groups of
people. This is done according to their common characteristics and needs. This helps an
organisation to tailor their approach to meet the needs of different group of people. There are
different methods by which segmentation of market can be done by organisation (Blakeman,
2018). Unilever will segment market on the basis of demographic factors such as age. As the
younger generation is more conscious about the product and services they use it will help the
organisation to attract them as their brand is already a leading brand which is known in the
market for their quality product.
Targeting: This stage comprises of finding the most attractive and best customers for the
product. In order to do so organisation will analyze profitability of each segment of customers.
As they are targeting younger generation who are more focused on living a healthy lifestyle.

Positioning: This stage comprises of creating a unique position of the product in the
mind of customers. As the product is made out of recycling plastic material organisation will
promote their eco friendly approach in order to create a better brand image into the mind of
customers.
SWOT Analysis
Unilever conduct SWOT analysis in order to understand their strength and weakness in
effective and appropriate manner. Explanation of which is given below:-
Strength Weakness
 Respective company have strong
portfolio which attract customers.
 The Unilever have strong research and
development department due to which
they adopt changes or new technology
easily and quickly (Carroll, 2015).
 They are serving their products and
services at world wide market which
increase their presence.
 Respective company has market
leading position.
 Limitation of Unilever is that they are
having lack of industry focus.
 They are also lacking in premium
market.
 The respective company is badly
dependent on retailer in order to serve
their products at market place
Opportunities Threat
 The respective company can do
innovate in products related to heath.
 They can also develop their market in
effective manner by conducting
business diversification.
 One of the major threats of respective
company is their competitors
(Cornwell, 2014).
 There is increment in popularity of
retail house brand which can affect on
Unilever brand image.
Marketing mix

 Product : As specified above, the product is the Evian water which is to be marketed by
the company in UK. It has a unique feature of pureness and natural. The bottle is made
from recyclable plastic. Its design resembles a mountain, which is done to give the
consumer the perception that Evian is a healthy and natural product, which is fresh from
the mountains.
 Price : This strategy is concerned with evaluating the economic value of the product. For
this purpose, there are various pricing strategies and Unilever will use premium pricing
strategies (Dahnil and et. al., 2014). This strategy is concerned with keeping the prices
high so that the perception of the customers regarding the water begin luxury and pure
can be accomplished.
 Place : It is concerned with the area or place where the product is to be marketed. So,
Evian water will be marketed in every part of the UK including supermarket, retail chains
or any other individual shop or restaurant.
 Promotion : These strategies are concerned with the various promotional tools and
techniques that company can use to market the product. It is one of the most important
marketing mix because every organisation needs promotional strategies to market its new
product or changes in existing product so that the people can be aware about it (Fill and
Turnbull, 2016). So, as Evian water is featured with lightness and balanced composition,
Unilever promotes and advertises the product on television, internet, business magazines,
social media, etc. It is necessary because has a strong brand image and to compete with
competitors in the business world.
Budget
After analysis all the factor management of Unilever company develop budget for
launching or expanding product i.e. Evian water. That is given below:-
Particulars Amount ($)
Market analysis 4,000
Macro and micro factors analysis 3,000
Marketing plan development 5,000
Salary and fees of experts 10,000
Implementation of marketing mix 2,000

Evaluation of the plan 2,000
Total 26000
AIDA Model
The AIDA model is one of the most important models which will be used by the Unilever
to market Evian water. This model was developed by E. St. Elmo Lewis, in 1898. It helps in
identifying cognitive stages through which an individual goes through while purchasing the
product. Those stages are explained below:
 Attention : This is the first step in which it is related to that the product or service is
attentive and marketers create brand awareness. Therefore, Unilever will market this
product by using various advertising channels in unexpected situations, creating shock
expression through provocative imagery in the ads, etc.
 Interest : It is related to generate an interest in the customer and treated as one of the
hardest part in the model (Finne and Grönroos, 2017). So Evian water will focus on
generating interest among customer through its relevant feature of pure and natural.
 Desire : After analyzing interest, the desire is to be generated among the customer to
purchase the product. For this purpose, the company will use various advertisements and
this will persuades them to buy the product.
 Action : This is the last step in the model where customer takes an initiative and interact
with the company to purchase their product. Therefore, in this stage, the company will
interact with the purchaser and clarify all their queries and doubts so that the final
purchase can be made.
D) Marketing communication strategy and evaluation of how all the elements of communication
process is applied within a global context.
It is essential for Unilever of conduct product life cycle management (PLM) in order to
introduce or communicate about their product i.e. Evian water in effective manner in effective
manner at marketplace (Karjaluoto, Mustonen and Ulkuniemi, 2015). By which they also able to
develop strategies and plans in appropriate and efficient manner.

Product Life Cycle Management(PLM) theory
Phase 1(Conceive):
It is a first step of respective method in which manger of Unilever identify need and
demand of customers as well as market. At this stage manger will conduct market analysis so
that they able to find out appropriate customers for their product i.e. Evian water. This is directly
helping them in developing strategies and plans in effective manner in order to increase sales and
profitability (Kim and et. al., 2014). By this they also able to identify channel through which
respective company can develop their presence at marketplace and encourage customers to
purchase their products.
Phase 2(Design):
At this stage major work of Respective company research and development starts. This
is so because at this level company research department will conduct analysis and develop
products and services in effective manner according to need and demand of customers. In respect
of launching Evian water in at potential marketplace, manager of respective company first
develop design of products and ask at market about its effectiveness and efficiency and they also
take suggestions and feedbacks. That will help them in developing final products in effective and
appropriate manner.
Phase 3 ( Realise):
At this stage manager of the Unilever authorize their suppliers to develop or
manufacture particular product which they design at above stage. Then developed products will
be test by them in order to check its quality and effectiveness (Lilleker, 2015). If they find any
issues at this level, then manager of respective company will redevelop new strategies in order to
develop effective and efficient product. So that it will satisfy need and demand of customers in
effective manner.
Phase 4(Service):
It is a last stage of respective model in which Unilever distributes Evian water to their
distributors and sellers and wait for the customer’s response. If they find customers are facing

issues and problems form it they will try to solve it in effective manner as well as immediately.
By this they able to develop loyalty of customers and also customers base. Along with this
respective company also take suggestions and feedbacks so that they develop or innovate
products in effective and appropriate manner.
Marketing Communication strategies
There is various type of marketing communication strategies which can be adopted by an
organization in order to connect with customers in effective and appropriate manner (Parente and
Strausbaugh, 2014). That will help them in developing customer’s base and profitability in
effective as well as appropriate manner. Some major strategies which can be used by Unilever in
order to launch Evian water in effective manner are explained below:
 The Unilever must develop products and services according to need and demand of
customers in order to attract them in effective manner, along with solving their issues.
 It is also necessary for the respective organization to analysis market in order to develop
identify new techniques to sell their products in appropriate manner. Such as Unilver can
distribute sample bottles of Evian water in events or partys. By which customers get
aware about the company respective products in appropriate manner.
 Develop or create appropriate packaging which encourages customers to purchase
product. In context of respective company they will develop and design appropriate as
well as attractive design of Evian water bottle so that customers get attracted and
encourage purchasing it.
 It is one of the major strategies for a company to identify appropriate marketing mix in
order to conduct business operations and function in effective and appropriate manner
(Petersen, Kushwaha and Kumar, 2015). According to Unilever their manager conducts
market analysis so that they able to fine best section of potential customers and develop
products and services accordingly in effective as well as essential manners.
Elements of market communication process
There are various elements thorough which market communication can be done by an
organization in effective and appropriate manner. By these elements Unilever able to
communicate with their potential customers in effective ways in order that they encourage

buying Evian water. Some major of them which can be use by respective company are explained
below:-
 Message: It is one of the essential elements for attract customers. In respect of Unilever
they must develop some attractive message for their product i.e. Evian water. That will
attract customers and encourage buying it or using it (Royle and Laing, 2014). Along
with this attractive message will also increase popularity of respective company along
with its product in proper and effective manner.
 Media: This is also essential element for an organization in order to communicate its
message to their customer in appropriate way. In context of Unilever they adopt social
media and digital media in order to communicate with customers in effective manner and
aware them about new product which is Evian water. By selecting appropriate media
respective company also able to get feedback and suggestions of service user in effective
and appropriate manner.
CONCLUSION
Form the above discussed points it can be conclude and evaluate that marketing
communication is essential for each and every country in order to communicate with their
potential customers in effective and appropriate manner. There are various channels through
which an organization can do respective things such as advertising and promotion, sales
promotions, sponsorship, public relation and many more. It is also essential for an organization
to adopt marketing communication so that they attract customers in effective and appropriate
manner. By appropriate marketing communication an organization able to gain effective
competitive advancement. For this they have to conduct market analysis as well as develop
budget so that they plan strategies accordingly.

REFRENCES
Books and journals
Blakeman, R., 2018. Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to
implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Bowie, D. and et.al., 2016. Hospitality marketing. Routledge.
Carroll, C. E. ed., 2015. The handbook of communication and corporate reputation (Vol. 49).
John Wiley & Sons.
Cornwell, T. B., 2014. Sponsorship in marketing: Effective communication through sports, arts
and events. Routledge.
Fill, C. and Turnbull, S. L., 2016. Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Karjaluoto, H., Mustonen, N. and Ulkuniemi, P., 2015. The role of digital channels in industrial
marketing communications. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. 30(6). pp.703-
710.
Kitchen, P. J. and Burgmann, I., 2015. Integrated marketing communication: making it work at a
strategic level. Journal of Business Strategy. 36(4). pp.34-39.
Bacile, T. J., Ye, C., & Swilley, E. (2014). From firm-controlled to consumer-contributed:
Consumer co-production of personal media marketing communication. Journal of
Interactive Marketing. 28(2). 117-133.
Blakeman, R. (2018). Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to
implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Carroll, C. E. (Ed.). (2015). The handbook of communication and corporate reputation (Vol. 49).
John Wiley & Sons.
Cornwell, T. B. (2014). Sponsorship in marketing: Effective communication through sports, arts
and events. Routledge.
Fill, C., & Turnbull, S. L. (2016). Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Finne, Å., & Grönroos, C. (2017). Communication-in-use: customer-integrated marketing
communication. European Journal of Marketing. 51(3). 445-463.
Karjaluoto, H., Mustonen, N., & Ulkuniemi, P. (2015). The role of digital channels in industrial
marketing communications. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. 30(6). 703-
710.
Kim, K.and et. al., (2014). Trends in advertising research: A longitudinal analysis of leading
advertising, marketing, and communication journals, 1980 to 2010. Journal of
advertising. 43(3). 296-316.
Kotler, P., Burton, S., Deans, K., Brown, L., & Armstrong, G. (2015). Marketing. Pearson Higher
Education AU.\
Lilleker, D. G. (2015). Interactivity and branding: Public political communication as a marketing
tool. Journal of Political Marketing. 14(1-2). 111-128.
Parente, D., & Strausbaugh-Hutchinson, K. (2014). Advertising campaign strategy: A guide to
marketing communication plans. Cengage Learning.
Petersen, J. A., Kushwaha, T., & Kumar, V. (2015). Marketing communication strategies and
consumer financial decision making: The role of national culture. Journal of Marketing.
79(1). 44-63.

Royle, J., & Laing, A. (2014). The digital marketing skills gap: Developing a Digital Marketer
Model for the communication industries. International Journal of Information
Management. 34(2). 65-73.
Online
Marketing communication tools. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://bizfluent.com/list-6694043-communication-marketing-tools.html>