Individual Final Marketing Project: Dove Shampoo Marketing Analysis

This marketing project examines Dove's performance in the Vietnamese market, focusing on its Damage Recovery shampoo. It begins with an introduction to Unilever and the Dove brand, followed by a SWOT and TOWS analysis to assess its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The project identifies Dove's target customer, details its differentiation and positioning strategies, and evaluates the current marketing mix, including product, place, promotion, and pricing. It also outlines the marketing objectives, and provides recommendations for future growth, such as developing sustainable products. The report uses market data, surveys, and visuals to support its analysis, concluding with references and appendices containing supporting information.

Individual Final Marketing Project
Marketing Principle

TABLE OF CONTENT
1. Introduction: ............................................................................................................................ 2
2. SWOT and TOWS matrix: ......................................................................................................... 3
3. Target customer: ...................................................................................................................... 4
4. Differentiation and Positioning:................................................................................................ 4
5. Current Marketing Mix performance:....................................................................................... 6
6. Marketing objective:.................................................................................................................10
7. Recommendation:.....................................................................................................................11
8. Appendix:..................................................................................................................................12
9. References:................................................................................................................................13
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1. Introduction
Unilever is a multinational business that sells consumer goods such as foods, beverages,
cleaning products, and personal care items. Unilever owns more than 400 brands and operates
in 100 countries, including Vietnam. The company held the largest market share in Beauty and
Personal Care in Vietnam with 23.9% ( Passport, 2021 )
DOVE is a specific brand of Unilever, contributing a significant part to Unilever's reputation. Up
to now, Dove has become a prestigious global brand with more than 50 years of experience in
the cosmetic chemical industry. Dove is in the top 10 of Beauty and Personal Care with a 2.6%
market share in 2020 ( Passport,2021 ). Since its birth, Dove has set a mission of pure beauty
care, constantly attaching importance to “real beauty” with the philosophy: “Only natural
beauty lasts forever”. In 2001, the brand entered the hair care field with shampoos and
conditioners.
One of their shampoos products is Damage Recovery (340ml ), which is Vietnam’s consumers’
go-to choice ( Figure 1). Dove's shampoos are among the most popular for women on the
market, ranking in the top three spots (Q&Me n.d.)
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Figure 1: Dove’s shampoo damage recovery ( Dove n.d. )
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2. SWOT and TOWS matrix
SWOT analysis
Micro Environment:
Marketing intermediaries:
Dove’s products are sold through the indirect marketing channel and intensively
distributed in retailers: supermarkets and convenience stores such as Vinmart, Lottemart, Coop
Mart… Additionally, Dove shampoos can be found in smaller marketplaces such as Sovina
Company Limited, Sunrise Foodstuff Joint Stock Company, and other smaller retailers. With a
well-known brand name like Dove, buyers are more inclined to buy their products because of
the extensive availability of those things. The most popular places for women to buy shampoo,
according to a 2016 survey, were supermarkets, convenience stores, and small local markets
( Appendix 1). Additionally, as part of Covid, Dove also delivers their goods via online channels
to assure both safety and convenience. For instance, their shampoos are available on the
Unilever booth, which has over a million followers. Customers can shop through their official
stall without worrying about fake products.
Promotion:
Dove creates a strong bond with them through promotion; Dove uses everyday people in its
advertisements rather than celebrities. Moreover, to improve women’s viewpoint about
themself, the company has spent decades doing research and worldwide campaigns. The Dove
Campaign for Real Beauty launched in 2004 is one example that proves the company’s
dedication. As a result, Dove gained massive support from the female consumers since they felt
like the company was speaking for them. Using this approach, Dove has successfully
differentiated itself from competitors.
Customer:
Consumers and are paying more attention to ethics and moral principles. This translates
into decisions framed by environmental and sustainability. Ecological concerns are influencing
more conscientious purchasing behaviour. In a poll for Vietnamese people, 43% of respondents
say buying eco- or ethically-conscious products makes them feel good, and 39% say they buy
items made in a sustainable manner ( Passport, 2021 ). As Dove’s marketing strategies are
always focused on their customer, developing their product in this way can definitely raise the
brand’s awareness and dominance in the Vietnamese market.
Macro Environment:
Technology:
Vietnam's e-commerce market value is expected to be approximately 12 billion US
dollars in 2020, making it one of the region's fastest-growing digital economies. It is potential
for E-commerce in Vietnam to thrive because of the rising internet connectivity. In the FMGC
sector, online stores have grown faster (Statista, 2021). In 2020, beauty and hygiene products
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are the most frequently purchased online by respondents in Vietnam during COVID-19.
(Appendix 2). Therefore, Dove can use this trend and boost its sales with appropriate strategies
Strength Opportunity
Marketing intermediaries
Promotion
Customers trends of sustainability
Technology
SO strategy:
Dove can take advantage of its promotion and marketing intermediaries and serve a
wider range of customers by delivering them a sustainable shampoo product and widely
distributing them on supermarkets as well as on E-commerce platforms.
3. Target customer: Differentiated marketing
Papulova ( 2014 ) stated that its mission statement could clearly illustrate its main focus
and activities to meet targeted customers’ needs. As for Dove, they have had their mission
statement ever since the start of the business, focusing on natural beauty. It includes providing
high-quality shampoo products at an affordable price for Vietnamese women, improving their
hair situations and their self-esteem.
Differentiated marketing acknowledges that people are unique, and as a result, we all have
different motivations and needs. Therefore, marketing experts must evaluate where their
product(s) belong to each market group and how to best use product diversity to boost sales
across multiple sectors where possible. Dove understood their market target in Vietnam and
offered a wide range of products to meet their specific needs. This product is targeted at
women and children of all age groups, especially those who attach special importance to quality
and pursue natural beauty. Dove aimed this product to be familiar with all geographic
segmentation since it is an essential hygienic product. Specifically, the Dove Damage Recovery
shampoo is especially for one with weak, split ends, damaged hair.
4. Differentiation and Positioning
Differentiation: Image differentiation
Additionally, Dove differentiates itself from opponents by regularly conveying and
promoting natural features, self-confidence, and self-acceptance across all platforms
(commercials, print advertisements, the internet, and social media) through pictures of real
everyday women. Moreover, it is the only brand that makes a true commitment to neither
distort nor aesthetically improve any of its female pictures. ( Figure 2 ). This builds a sense of
connection among consumers, increases brand engagement, and allows consumers to form a
relationship with the brand.
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Figure 2: ( Dove’s Facebook, 2017 )
Their logo also helps to differentiate the company's image. It is one of the most popular and
widely recognized logos in the cosmetics industry. After four design modifications, Dove's
current logo is a blend of the dove symbol and the company name. The yellow colour in the
Dove logo indicates happiness and fortune, while the blue colour represents the quality and
reliability of Dove products ( Famous Logo n.d. ). This method of doing it silently builds a link
between the logo and the brand personality ( Figure 3 ).
Figure 3: Dove 4 logos ( 1000 Logos, 2021 )
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Positioning:
According to the positioning map, Dove has a highly qualified product line at a reasonable
price. Tresemme, on the other hand, is regarded as high quality but has a much higher price
than Dove. According to the Q&Me survey, Dove's popularity among female clients is barely
15%. Mid-priced but high-quality shampoos like Clear and Sunsilk, on the other hand,
accounted for 22% and 18% of the market, respectively (Appendix 3). Dove needs to develop
even more to compete with these competitors in the long run because their competitors know
how to please their clients by offering low-cost, high-quality products.
5. Current Marketing Mix performance
a) Product
 3 levels of product
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Core benefit : A
hygiene product
for women with
damaged hair
Actual product: A
340 ml plastic
bottle of high-
quality shampoo
Augmented
product: Hotline
and email for
enquiry

 Product classification
Dove's products are convenient products because they are in the personal care
category, which is used by people regularly. As a result, it is bought with little planning
and comparison. The distribution of these products is intensive with mass promotion by
the producer.
 Individual product and service decisions
Product attribute: Dove has always placed a premium on product qualities. They
established a strong position for themselves through the distinctive characteristics of
their products. Dove always claims that their product is moisturizing, milky cream, with
soft lather, less fragrance, and no side effects. All of the goods are made with a benign
and gentle emphasis in mind. The product's name, tagline, and design all emphasize
feminine simplicity, which enables Dove to readily attract women's attention.
Branding: DOVE is an expression for doves, a type of bird that is considered a symbol of
peace, happiness, and pure beauty. It has a simple, easy-to-remember name that
appeals to ladies who value beauty and femininity. Furthermore, "DOVE" is a one-of-a-
kind name that reflects the essence of the product and brand identity.
 Product line:
Besides the Damage Repair shampoo, Dove has 5 other types of shampoos custom-
made for different hair problems (Figure 4)
 Product mix:
Dove has 5 categories of products include body washes, shampoos, conditioners,
deodorants, and facial cleansers (Figure 5)
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Figure 4: Dove product line (Dove n.d.)
Figure 5: Dove product mix ( Dove n.d. )
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b) Place: Vertical marketing system, multi-channel distribution
 Vertical marketing system
Since Unilever is dominant in the Vietnamese market, it used its power to influence
retailers in the display and promotion of products or pricing policies. Using Administer Vertical
Marketing System, Dove products are often displayed by retailers in areas that are easy to see,
easy to get to attract customers' eyes (Figure 6)
Figure 6: Shampoo and conditioners in a health and beauty aisle of a grocery store (Joni
Hanebutt, 2020)
 Multi-channel distribution
Dove began adopting a multi-channel distribution system as a tactic to connect as many
clients as possible as their market share expanded. Dove promotes its products to older
customers through TV advertisements, banners, or distribution through supermarkets, grocery
stores. Dove, on the other hand, uses emerging technology to reach younger clients through
commercials on social networking sites or listing their items on online e-commerce sites such as
Shopee, Tiki...
 Channel design decision
Dove also employs an extensive distribution plan to provide its product to people. This
method entails stocking the goods in as many locations as possible. They are promoted across
multiple platforms, practically all supermarkets, grocery stores, and e-commerce sites.
c) Evaluation
Overall, Dove’s shampoos understand the Vietnamese market. They offer Vietnamese
consumers high-quality hygiene products with a variety of scents and types to fit each hair’s
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problems. As a result, Dove is one of the most associated shampoo brands for Vietnamese
citizens (Q&Me, 2016). The augmented service that came along with the products is also done
well. Besides the hotline or customer service email, Dove has a FAQs section on their website to
provide information about the products or which hairstyles are fit to use their shampoos. This
demonstrates that Dove not only successfully implements this strategy based on Vietnamese
purchasing habits, but also takes advantage of establishing favourable conditions for people to
buy their products.
On the other hand, due to Covid-19, the shopping habit of people have changed online.
Businesses like Dove have to change the customer approach on E-commerce platforms. On
Unilever’s official stall on Shopee, the biggest E-commerce platform in Vietnam, Dove’s
shampoos are only sold in 640ml size and are constantly out of stock ( Figure 7). Therefore,
appropriate solutions have to take into action to tackle the problem.
Figure 7: Dove products on Unilever Shopee’s stall (Shopee, 2022)
6. Marketing objective
Revenue in the Hair Care segment amounts to US$202.2m in 2021. The market is expected
to grow annually by 1.81% (CAGR 2021-2026). (Statista, 2021).The shampoo Retail Value RSP is
expected to have a 7.2% growth in the 2020-2025 period (Passport, 2021)
Therefore, the marketing objective of Dove in Vietnam for the next 6 months (Jan 2022 to Jun
2022) is to increase the brand share to 7.3% (7.1% in 2020). The company’s brand share in 2019
was 7.3% (Appendix 4), and with the foresee growth of this product in the near future, this
marketing objective is achievable.
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