University Report: Dove Toothpaste Brand Extension for MG412 Marketing

This report examines the brand extension of Dove, a Unilever personal care brand, into the oral care market with the introduction of Dove toothpaste. The report details the application of Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) strategy, focusing on middle and upper-income consumers aged 10 and above. It outlines a product development strategy based on the Ansoff matrix, specifically a category extension strategy leveraging Dove's established brand value across more than 150 markets. The report emphasizes the importance of integrated marketing communication, traditional and digital marketing techniques, and thorough market research to understand specific consumer needs. It also addresses pricing, distribution, and the formation of an effective sales and marketing team to ensure successful product development and market penetration, including a review of market competition. References to academic research and market data are provided to support the analysis.

Brand Extension:
Dove Toothpaste
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:

Brand Extension
 Usage of established brand name for introducing a new
product in the market
 Two forms:
 Line extension: slightly differentiated, new products
are launched within the same category as that of the
parent brand
 Category extension: new and different categories of
products are introduced under the parent brand (Chiu
et al. 2017).
 Companies leverage the successful brand name and
value while introducing a new product under the parent
brand

Dove Toothpaste
 Dove: Personal care brand owned by Unilever,
operating in more than 150 countries
 Dove sells soaps, body care, shampoo, deodorants,
conditioner, body wash, shower gels, facial
cleansers, hair styling products and body creams
(unilever.com 2019)
 It will enter the oral care industry
 It will launch a toothpaste for the consumers aged
10 years and above in existing market

Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning
(STP) for Dove Toothpaste
 Segmentation strategy:
 Targeting: consumers of all income groups, particularly the middle and upper
income group in all the countries who are brand loyal, brand conscious and
specific about their oral health. However, children are not the target market.
 Positioning: Dove will leverage its successful brand name and value earned
in the personal care industry to position its toothpaste. Marketing strategy
will highlight the product features as per the need of the target market along
with their brand value and reputation for effective positioning.
Segmentation criteria Market
Demographics  Men, women, and teenagers, 10 years and above
Life style  Middle and upper income groups in all countries
Beliefs and values  Brand loyalists, health conscious
Geography  All the countries Dove operates in

Brand extension strategy
development
 Dove will launch its
toothpaste, a new product
in their portfolio, in more
than 150 markets in which
they are already
operating.
 According to Ansoff
matrix, Dove will follow
the product development
strategyFigure1: Ansoff matrix
(Source: Schawel and Billing
2018)

Market competition for Dove
Toothpaste
Figure 2: Market share of toothpaste brands in the UK
(Source: statista.com 2019)

Brand extension strategy development
(Contd.) Dove will be adopting category extension strategy
 It will be using the brand image and value of Dove in creating a position among the
existing markets
 Integrated marketing communication (IMC) will be developed that will reflect and
align with the strategic basis of Dove to achieve highest performance in the
toothpaste launch
 Traditional and digital marketing techniques will be used to reach out to the target
market across the countries.
 A market research must be carried out to find out the specific needs of different
market segments for the toothpaste and accordingly step-by-step plan will be
developed on the product features, packaging, pricing, supply and distribution.
 The pricing strategy should follow the income groups’ capability of purchasing the
product.
 Lastly, an efficient sales and marketing team will need to be formed to carry out
the marketing activities effectively and successfully achieve the objectives of
product development in existing market.

Conclusion
 Dove will use product development strategy to
introduce their toothpaste in the markets they
already have an established brand name.
 By applying an effective STP strategy to segment
the potential market, identify the right one and
positioning its product, the company will develop an
integrated marketing communication to reach out
the target market and carry out the brand
extension.

References
 Cai, Y. and Mo, T., 2019. When independents favor far
extension: Self-construal, brand extension, and brand
concept consistency. Social Behavior and Personality: An
International Journal, 47(1), pp.1-12.
 Schawel, C. and Billing, F., 2018. Ansoff-Matrix. In Top
100 Management Tools (pp. 31-33). Springer Gabler,
Wiesbaden.
 statista.com, 2019. Leading brands of toothpaste in the
UK 2018 survey [online] Statista. Available at:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/304759/leading-
brands-of-toothpaste-in-the-uk/, [Accessed 19 Dec.
2019].
 unilever.com, 2019. Dove | Beauty Care. [online]
Unilever global company website. Available at:
https://www.unilever.com/brands/personal-care/dove.htm