Ariel Detergent: Marketing Strategy Executive Summary

This report provides a comprehensive marketing strategy analysis of Ariel detergent, a flagship brand of Procter & Gamble. It begins with an executive summary and an introduction to Ariel's history and market position. The report then delves into a situational analysis, utilizing both PESTEL and SWOT analyses to assess the internal and external environments. It identifies Ariel's competitive advantages, focusing on its unique selling propositions (USP). The evaluation of the current marketing strategy is explained, including sales trends, profitability, and growth. The report also covers segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP), and sets SMART objectives to guide future strategies. Finally, it outlines recommended marketing strategies based on the marketing mix, aiming to enhance market share, profits, and brand awareness. The report concludes with a summary of findings and recommendations to improve Ariel's marketing performance.

MARKETING
STRATEGY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Ariel is a name of detergent powder that is produces or manufacture by Proctor &
Gamble. It is a flagship brand of P&G which manufacture laundry detergent . This assignment is
related to marketing strategy and marketing that is a process of dealing with the internal and
external environment of a company by using various strategies or plans.
In this report discussed about the situational analysis which is explained by using
PESTEL analysis of various factors and through SWOT analysis. The competitive advantages
will be defined and evaluation of marketing strategies will be explained through, sales, trends,
profitability and growth. STP is also defined for Ariel and SMART objectives also set for
achieving its goals or recommendations will be provided. The process of marketing mix is
designed and marketing strategies are recommanded for them to gain or earn profit to achieve
their smart objectives.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Part 1................................................................................................................................................1
History of Ariel...........................................................................................................................1
Situational Analysis....................................................................................................................2
Competitive Advantage (USP)....................................................................................................5
Evaluation of Current marketing strategy...................................................................................5
PART 2............................................................................................................................................6
Segmentation Targeting & positioning.......................................................................................6
Recommended Objectives and goals (SMART).........................................................................8
Marketing strategies, based on the application of the marketing mix ........................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Marketing strategy is an important element of a company's business plan with the
objective of attracting the attention of customers and gaining a competitive advantage in market
to ensure long term sustainability. It is essential for a business to devise a marketing strategy in
order to make sure that the goals and objectives of enterprise are fulfilled in a timely manner in
accordance with the desired outcomes. This assignment is based upon Ariel which is a detergent
company having a global presence and recognised as one of the best laundry detergents across
the world. It is a flagship brand of Procter & Gamble which is a multinational corporation
headquartered in Ohio, US providing general merchandising goods.
The present assignment is divided into two parts. The first part gives a description of
company's marketing audit, SWOT analysis, competitive advantage in terms of USP, evaluation
of marketing strategy and market positions compared to rivals. The second part of assignment
consists of organisation's goals and objectives, STP and description of the ways in which
company's market share, profits and brand awareness can be enhanced (Baker, 2014).
Part 1
History of Ariel
In today's modern and competitive world, Ariel is largely considered to be of the best
detergent companies across the globe. This enterprise came into UK market for the first time in
1967 and was the first company to introduce detergents with stain removing enzymes. This
largely owed to the combination of a compound which was largely based upon enzymes and
further encapsulated bleach in order to remove any stain that appeared on a cloth. This was
recognised to be an innovation in that period. In the era of 1980's and 1990's, other detergents
only possessed the capacity to offer brightness and whiteness to linen for just two or three
washes. Ariel proved to be an effective detergent at that time and gained massive popularity in
that time. In 1992, this company came up with an innovation in terms of a bleach free detergent
which had the capacity to brighten the clothing material without letting it fade.
In 2001, liquidates were launched by the organisation in order to facilitate savings of time
as well as efforts. Ariel came up with a quick-wash action within their detergent in 2003 which
allowed users to carry out laundry on the quick-wash cycle (Baker, 2016). In the year 2005, they
launched their advertising campaign within United Kingdom with popular stars like Daniel
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Stuart Stanton and Tim Henman. This advertisement was broadcast across the UK for around 2
months and assisted in building a huge customer base.
Situational Analysis
Being a company with a number of outlets spread across the globe and having an
excellent innovation history, managers of Ariel have recognised the importance of getting a
marketing audit done of the brand (Belz and Peattie, 2012).
SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT analysis of Ariel has been conducted to gain knowledge of the internal strengths
and shortcomings.
Strengths
Market Share: Ariel is recognised to be company having highest market share holding
across the globe owing to the excellent quality of detergents which have the capacity to remove
stains without letting clothes fade. Only in India, this enterprise is at the second position in terms
of market share due to high popularity of Surf there.
Ideal for Machine Wash: Some of the top washing machine manufacturers like
Hotpoint, Bosch, Beko, Hoover, LG, Whirlpool recommend Ariel to be used as a detergent. This
reflects the trust of other leading businesses in this company and the power of brand to influence
the minds of relative organisations. This is one of the major reasons behind the top position and
reputation of Ariel across the globe.
Loyal customer base: One of the biggest reasons of the continuous top ranking of Ariel
detergents across the globe is their strong and loyal base of customers. A consumer who once
uses Ariel is not willing to switch to any other brand due to its effective stain removal qualities.
This reflects that the customer sustainability of this enterprise is very strong.
Provides choice: Ariel provides wide choice to customers. This can be observed from the
website of company where people can browse and buy products according to type, need or
dosage device. Further, this entity was the first to come up with a detergent with fragrance,
thereby, fulfilling the needs of customers by provided them products accordingly. The detergents
of company are available in various forms such as liquid, gel, powder, washing capsule/PODS
etc. (Ariel laundry detergents by type, 2019).
Weaknesses
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Cost sensitive market: It is generally observed within households that people keep two
types of detergents, one is for the daily or regular clothes and the other one is expensive which is
used for party wear clothing. This indicates that consumers generally prefer to buy cheap
detergents for daily use and a premium detergent such as Ariel for party wear and expensive
clothes. Now, generally the daily load of clothes does not comprise of party wear which indicates
a significant reduction in demand for Ariel products. This company possess the capability to
introduce relatively cheaper detergents to increase the consumption of products (Bertay,
Demirgüç-Kunt and Huizinga, 2013).
Severe Competition: The products of Ariel are of high quality yet the pricing policy of
company is to keep the cost high for consumers due to the excellent feature of removal of stains
of strongest nature. This gives an opportunity to rival enterprises to tap the advantage of cost-
sensitive minds of customers and attract them towards the products rendered by their
organisation. Owing to this and a strong promotional strategy, Surf Excel, the detergent brand of
Unilever group, has gained a larger market share in India than Ariel.
Opportunities
Tapping new markets: Ariel can expand by entering into new markets across the world
which have not yet been explored by this entity. By gaining entry into emerging markets and
rural areas, Ariel can significantly increase its stake in global market. This reflects that the base
of customers will substantially increase for the company which indicates enhanced profitability
for Ariel.
Penetrative Variants: Ariel has the capability to introduce low cost detergents within
market for rural household consumption which has the same cleaning process as its other
products. If Ariel is able to do so without damaging its present brand value, then the market
share of company will significantly increase which implies higher revenues as well as profits.
Threats
Presence of counterfeits and competitors: Within rural markets, there are a number of
counterfeit products that are available as alternative for Ariel. This tends to decrease the overall
prospective sale of Ariel detergents within global market. Reduction in sale consequently reflects
lower profits for the company which is a significant threat to the name and stake of organisation
in marketplace. Also, there are a number of rivals in market such as Mr Muscle, Vanish which
claim to clean clothes in a better manner (Berthon and et. al., 2012).
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Price sensitive markets: There are a number of price sensitive markets across the globe
such as India, China which pose significant threat to Ariel as this entity provide products at
premium price which is not preferred by consumers in these locations. Thus, the company needs
to take this into account in order to save itself from losing market share (Ferrell and Hartline,
2012).
PESTLE ANALYSIS
PESTLE analysis of Ariel has been conducted to gain knowledge of the external
environment of UK which affects the operations and functioning of company.
Political- In UK the system of the country is operate and govern by parliament and each
laws and regulation are developed by the government. UK government make changes in taxation
and dimension to reduce the unemployment which have significantly affected the Ariel detergent
economic condition in terms of profit. For example, it has reduced the sales over 5% in a year. In
some regions, local government has charged heavy duties on raw materials that create negative
impact on the production capacity.
Economical- There are number of competitor of Ariel in the market and they influence
the economic performance of this company with their substitute products. Cause of Brexit, the
value of Pounds decreased in cam pare to dollar and the recession is also affect the economic
growth of the business of this firm. Due to its unique products the company gain 19% market
share from Ariel detergent and its subsequent product lines.
Social- Ariel has developed a good reputation at the market place. The company use
good quality raw material because it is more conscious about the health issues and safety of its
consumers. For example, now these days the living standard of people are changed and they
maintain it as high or prefer high quality product. This positively affect the sales of the company.
Technological- To improve the brands quality and its image, the management
department of Ariel has developed e-marketing because it help to meet the demand of the
consumers and create awarenesses about the product. For example, the company highlighting the
logo in Ariel which is strengths and positive sign of promoting the business of the company and
increasing the profit and enhancing productivity.
Environmental- Ariel already has good position in the market and band image because it
use good raw material in its production. So it has a brand image of environment friendly product
in the eye of the customers (Grant, 2016). This positively impacted the sales of the company and
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enhance its productivity. It reduce the use of chemicals in high quantity to develop and era of
environment friendly products in order to consider health and safety issues.
Legal- Ariel operate its business worldwide so it needs to be careful about the regulations and
legislations of different countries because they make changes their laws which influence the
business of the company. Change in laws such as equality act, employment legislations,
discrimination and others can affect the profit and productivity of the company (Kapferer and
Bastien, 2012).
Competitive Advantage (USP)
USP refers to Unique selling propositions. It is a statement that outline the differentiation
of the business, product or services fro others. Each firm have some unique feature which make
its personal brand different from others. The USP of Ariel is also make this product different
from its competitors and substitute products. Ariel is recognised as detergent which can be used
to remove toughest of the stains. The unique fragrance and product quality increase the USP of
it.
Differential advantages of Ariel
It refers to the features, ingredients and benefits that make the product different and
provide various advantages to it cause of its exclusive characteristics of a business. There are
various competitive advantages that are beneficial to enhance its sales and productivity. Brand
symbol is one of the competitive advantages of Ariel detergent. The most important and strong
competitive advantage so this brand is that it has set up a stimulus in the minds of its target
consumers that no other detergent can remove the toughest stains than Ariel. CSR activities also
play an important role in getting competitive advantages fro this brand.
Evaluation of Current marketing strategy
Growth- Now these days, Ariel has the premium position in the category of detergent
powder and in the UK market, it has been recently promoted some mid priced brands to create
competition for its competitors of low priced detergent. So nit create high level competition to
those detergent which developed their products at low price and covered wide area of market.
Promotional strategies and advertisement methods also help in the growth of the company.
Sales Trend- According to the data which is defined in the graph, it can be analysed that
there are high competition in market regarding the product of detergent companies (Kapferer
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and Bastien, 2012). There are various competitor of Ariel in the market and they can create
threats for the business of Ariel.
Source: Marketing Situation, (2019).
Profitability- For the quality products and good brand image or market presence, Ariel
increase the profit and economic performance of the company. It is one of the leading and trusted
detergent brands which is most pulper among its customer f its good quality and pricing strategy
or have number of loyal consumers. All these help this brand to make more profitable in the
situation of competition.
PART 2
Segmentation Targeting & positioning
STP is a process of evaluating and understanding important ideas to analyse the
marketing strategies of the firm. It is broad framework that summarised the process of
segmentation (Kim and Mauborgne, 2014).
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Illustration: Marketing Situation

Segmentation- It is a process of dividing a market of consumers in ton groups or segments
according to the features and characteristics of a particular product and service. There are
different ways to do segmentation, they are as following:
Demographic- This segmentation include family size such as small, medium, large and
taste & preferences of the consumers. Ariel is used by the young and middle class women in high
quality.
Geographic- this factor include location and areas such as Urban, semi urban, Rural and
semi rural etc. the major sales and profit that can be earned buy the company from semi urban
areas and the major shares of sales come from the large cities (Kumar and et. al., 2013).
Psycho-graphic- It include values, traits, attitudes, interest and lifestyle of people. The
consumer who are belong from upper middle class, they prefer expensive products.
Behavioural- This segmentation include the buying behaviour of the consumers, brand
loyalty and others. Most of the people are not loyal for a brand when it comes to FMCG
products.
This segment is done on the basis of some criteria such as geographic segmentation,
marketing type and user status etc. The segmentation of Ariel is mostly done on the basis of user
status because in semi rural area, it is know by the customer cause of its good quality. So if the
company make change in its strategies, for example; if it can reduce prices a little bit in the semi
rural area Ariel can operate its business successfully with a proper marketing strategy.
Targeting- It is a process in which the organisation select its potential customers on the basis of
segmentation or sell their products and services to them according their needs. There are various
factor that are need to consider at the time of choosing the target market. In Arial, the
management department of the company target its consumers such as general consumers,
washing machine users, newly married couples and working women or housewives. In the
process of targeting, the management department of the company should identified the needs and
demands of a specific group. In Ariel, the promotion can also help to increase the market share
of the product. By making innovation and using new technologies of advertisement , the
company can increase its profit and enhance the growth of the firm. For example, the company
can design the adds which attach the emotion of the customers with the product. To identifying
its targetting consumers it can make make a little bit change in terms of less in its pricing
registries enhance the productivity and growth.
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Positioning- It is a marketing strategy that goals to make a brand occupy a distinct position in
the minds of the consumers. Ariel is a well known and trusted brand which is known fro the
satisfaction of the customers (Leonidou and et. al., 2013). This product has a good image in the
mind of its potential consumers. The good packaging and brand name also monitor the sales of it.
This detergent brand has good position in the market and in customer's eye or mind. The
company can make im promovent in the advertising and packaging strategies because it can help
in increasing market shares, profit and enhancing the productivity and growth.
Recommended Objectives and goals (SMART)
Smart objectives and goals can be adopted by the management department of the
company to increase the efficiency of the brand. The smart objective and goal of Ariel can be
that this brand can manufacture a new product line for the semi rural area according to its
segmentation and can be increase 3% sales within 2 years (Mi, 2015).
S(Specific)- The company can produced a new product line for its semi rural area to
attract more consumers and improve its brand image.
M(Measurable)- It can be help the company in increasing 3% sales within 2 years.
A(Achievable)- These goals and objectives will be achieved by the management
department of Ariel through high brand promotion.
R(Relevant)- The manger and employees of the company will design strategies and
polices to achieve this goals i8n given period of time. The management provide required
resources to their workers or employees to attain this objective.
T(Timely)- This objective will be achieved by the management department of the
company till 2 years or within 2021.
Marketing strategies, based on the application of the marketing mix
Marketing mix- It is a combination of factors and a set of actions or tactics that are used by a
company to promote its brand or promote in the market. The marketing mix of Ariel is as below:
Product- It refers to the item which is designed by the company to provide satisfaction
customer's needs and demands. It is a tangible or intangible and it is the actual item which is held
for sale in the market. Ariel offers a number of products in the market and they have also a high
demand within the marketplace. It offer good quality product which does not spoil the colour of
the apparel. For example, Ariel can use the strategy of innovation and manufacture the product
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