University Marketing Report: Dove Toothpaste Brand Extension, MG412

This report examines the brand extension strategy of Dove, a personal care brand owned by Unilever, into the oral care market with the introduction of Dove toothpaste. The report begins by outlining the foundations of brand extension and the significance of the Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning (STP) model in marketing strategy development. It details the segmentation criteria based on demographics, lifestyle, beliefs, and geography, targeting brand-loyal, health-conscious consumers. The report then discusses the product development strategy, as per the Ansoff matrix, highlighting the competitive landscape, particularly Colgate. The brand extension strategy focuses on category extension, leveraging Dove's brand equity. The report emphasizes the importance of integrated marketing communication, market research, and an effective sales and marketing team. It concludes that brand extension allows companies to leverage their established brand names to introduce new product lines and successfully expand their market share. This report is a comprehensive analysis of the marketing strategies involved in launching a new product under an established brand name.

Running head: BRAND EXTENSION
Brand Extension: Dove Toothpaste
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1BRAND EXTENSION
Introduction
Brand extension is a useful technique chosen by organizations to increase and maintain a
sustainable market share. As stated by Cai and Mo (2019), brand extension refers to the usage of
an established brand name to introduce a new product in the market. It is a strategy of market
expansion also. When a brand becomes successful and has been able to achieve a considerable
level of value and equity among the consumers, then the companies try to get the leverage of that
success by extending the brand, and introducing new products under that brand name is known
as brand extension. There are two key forms of brand extension, such as, line extension, in which
slightly differentiated, new products are launched within the same category as that of the parent
brand, and category extension, in which new and different categories of products are introduced
under the parent brand (Chiu et al. 2017). This report will provide the context for brand
extension by Dove. It is a personal care brand, which is owned by Unilever, selling soaps, body
care, shampoo, deodorants, conditioner, body wash, shower gels, facial cleansers, hair styling
products and body creams (unilever.com 2019). However, it is seen that Dove does not have any
oral care product and hence, to extend its market size and brand name, Dove will be launching a
toothpaste under the brand extension strategy. In this report, the Segmentation-Targeting-
Positioning (STP) for Dove toothpaste will be discussed and relevant brand extension strategy
will be suggested.
Foundations of brand extension: STP technique
STP model is a useful tool for marketing strategy development. Segmentation refers to
classifying the potential market on the basis of some characteristics, such as, demographic,
psychographic, behavioral and geographic. Market targeting represents the evaluation of the
market segments and selecting the potential target market as per the nature and feature of the

2BRAND EXTENSION
goods and services. Lastly, positioning refers to placing the goods and services by creating value
for the customers (Dolnicar, Grün and Leisch 2018). Based on the STP, the optimal marketing
mix is prepared.
Figure 1: STP strategy
(Source: Dolnicar, Grün and Leisch 2018)
To launch a new line or category of product, that is, toothpaste, Dove will require to enter
the oral care industry. Hence, Dove will segment their toothpaste market on the basis of
demographics, life style, beliefs and values and geography.
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
Targeting for Dove toothpaste will be directed towards 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. Thus, the target market is quite large and is
expected to yield substantial amount of revenue and profit. However, children will not be
targeted as Dove will not launch kid’s toothpaste initially. Once it establishes its brand name in

3BRAND EXTENSION
the oral care market and earns sustainable profit, then they will go for further product
differentiation and may launch kids’ toothpaste.
Dove will leverage its successful brand name and value earned in the personal care
industry to position its new product, that is, toothpaste. The marketing strategy will highlight the
product features as per the need of the target market along with their brand value and reputation.
Brand extension strategy development
Brand extension in case of Dove toothpaste will require the brand to enter an existing
market with the new product. Thus, according to the Ansoff matrix, Dove will have to follow the
product development strategy. This matrix shows the strategies that a company can take with the
combination of new and existing products and markets. Hence, when a company expands in an
existing market with new products, it is termed as product development strategy as per Ansoff
matrix (Schawel and Billing 2018).
Figure 2: Ansoff Matrix
(Source: Schawel and Billing 2018)

4BRAND EXTENSION
In this case, Dove will launch its toothpaste, a new product in their portfolio, in the markets in
which they are already operating. In other words, Dove operates in more than 150 countries with
its personal care products (unilever.com 2019) and in those regions it will launch its toothpaste.
In this markets, Dove will face challenges from competitors while extending its brands.
Figure 3: Market share of toothpaste brands in the UK
(Source: statista.com 2019)
It is seen from the above figure that Colgate is Dove’s biggest competitor in the toothpaste
market, as in 2019, 33.63 million consumers in the UK preferred to buy Colgate, which is
followed by Aquafresh with 12.04 million consumers (statista.com 2019). Thus, Colgate is the
biggest rival of Dove in this market.
Under brand extension, Dove will be adopting category extension strategy, that is, it will
be using the brand image and value of Dove in creating a position among the existing markets.

5BRAND EXTENSION
Category extension process will be chosen for launching the toothpaste, as a new product will be
launched under the same parent brand (Cai and Mo 2019).
Integrated marketing communication will be set up 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
Brand extension allows companies to leverage the established brand name as that already
has a ready market share, which they can use while launching a new product line or category
under the parent brand name. 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.

6BRAND 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.
Chiu, C.M., Huang, H.Y., Weng, Y.C. and Chieh-Fan Chen MD, M.S., 2017. The roles of
customer-brand relationships and brand equity in brand extension acceptance. Journal of
Electronic Commerce Research, 18(2), pp.155-176.
Dolnicar, S., Grün, B. and Leisch, F., 2018. Step 9: Customising the Marketing Mix. In Market
Segmentation Analysis (pp. 245-254). Springer, Singapore.
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.html [Accessed 19 Dec. 2019].