Strategic Marketing Management: Dove Brand Case Study Analysis

This case study analyzes the strategic marketing management of the Dove brand, focusing on its evolution from a functional product to a masterbrand with a diverse portfolio. The paper begins with an executive summary, followed by a situation analysis that introduces the brand's positioning and objectives. An environmental analysis, including a SWOT analysis, identifies internal and external factors influencing the brand. The problem statement highlights Unilever's goal to build a strong brand image with Dove. The study then explores alternative marketing strategies and provides recommendations, such as focusing on product functionality, targeted advertising, and establishing Dove as a premium brand. The analysis covers the 'Real Beauty' campaign, its impact, and the brand's response to criticisms. The conclusion summarizes the brand's success and the campaign's influence on consumer perception and brand loyalty. The case study uses keywords such as situation analysis, environmental analysis, alternative strategies, and recommendations to provide a thorough overview of the Dove brand's strategic marketing approach.

Running Head: Strategic Marketing Management 1
STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT
STUDENT’S NAME
UNIVERSITY
DATE

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This paper examines the evolution of the Dove from its functional brand, with a point of view
after the Unilever designated its Masterbrand. It’s also expanded its portfolio to cover sectors
beyond the original bath soap category. The development enables Dove to clinch an opportunity
to look for a fresh of the beauty industry. Real beauty campaign is a controversial result for the
company. As the campaign unfolds, Unilever learns to use specific social media platforms like
YouTube to manage the courtesy. Dove recognized itself as one of the markets proved as a
different and resilient variety of Unilever as it makes jumble sale valued $2.5 billion a year.
Dove is understood initially as the "cleansing brand." The brand propositions an extensive series
of merchandises comprising of the anti-per spirants, face care, deodorizer hair care, and body
washes. The crash is a transcribed groundwork of the case study known as, "Dove: The evolution
of a brand." The case characterizes the condition scrutiny for the case study. Also, places the
interest in the severe concerns revealed in the case study. This paper scrutinizes the precarious
disputes, which are associated with this case study, and after exploring the topics, the explosion
would deliver a perfect recommendation for future problems.
Keywords: Situation analysis, environmental analysis, alternative strategy, recommendation

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SITUATION ANALYSIS
Introduction
The Dove beauty bar was launched in the USA market in 1995. When Dove started its journey in
the USA, it’s positioned the band product as a cleanser. On its first advertisement, Dove claimed
that women should start using their product because it does not have a harmful element of soap
that can make the skin dry. A proposed functional attribute is that there is a quarter of cleansing
cream in the entire bar. The dove management realized that the company should look forward
and take useful traits of the brand. The brand objective is to make a distinctive proposal woman’s
mind that beauty is an inner self-esteem element, which is a significant discovery in a woman's
beauty (Heding, Knudtzen & Bjerre, 2015).
Objective
o To be able to communicate distinctively for a functional superiority.
o To deliver feedback massages so the potential product users will not convey that wrong
image.
o To have a clear, concise marketing strategy to target the market as soon as possible
(Malmelin & Hakala, 2009).
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Analysis of critical internal and external issues
The Dove critical Internal and External problems are analyzed in the form of SWOT analysis.

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Strength: The brand’s strength relies on the aspects of famine and strategic positioning. Dove
does not claim itself as a soap that makes it different from others; however, it focuses on the care
of the women aspect. Dove creates self-esteem among women who indirect enrich the image of
the brand.
Opportunity: The demand is in the personal product care, and the opening is in a changing
scenario for both men and women segment whereby there is an increase in the women segment.
Adding the product line in the men segment can be an excellent opportunity for Dove in the
market is expanding. Also, the product line can include the customers of a young teenage
woman.
Weakness: the criticisms can affect the Dove negatively due to the high expense of the
campaign. The fault of Dove is that the company cannot create footstep over the men's segments
Threats: The Dove band image can be harmed in the rise of the criticism over the advertisement
and campaign. The demonstrated beauty over the different campaign does not exist in the market
because it does not relate to the standard ideal of real beauty (Sparks & Langford, 2012).
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Unilever is selecting a brand to build a strong spitting image with clienteles. By identifying dove
as a Masterbrand, Unilever is exhausting the pivotal point for this image with numerous sub-
brand dwindling under the name of Dove (Berthon & Pitt, 2012).
The Major Analysis Issues
The major issues of the Dove were to shape and size the various aspect related to the beauty of
the campaign. The campaign of the dove proved that brand advertisement could work together

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and do well. The Dove campaign is about the opinion and insight of the consumer’s beauty. The
positioning of the Dove brand was initially on the cleansing cream, and it’s was later added
element of moistening in it. The campaign result proved that Dove is the preferable product by
the segment of the woman. The campaign focused on the woman’s self-esteem where they can
build beauty among themselves. Dove made a new evolution to define beauty in a new
dimension. Dove conducted a survey that showed 2% of the woman of the world take in
themselves as beautiful. The arranged advertising campaign by Dove delivered a slogan that
woman is more beautiful than what they think and see. Dove incorporated to the human values
and created a connection with others, and it can also be capable of increasing a powerful enough
brand to the loyal woman. The woman that buys the product of the Dove feels that the
consideration of beauty should be changed regarding the inner side and self-esteem of the
woman (Parent, Plangger & Bal, 2011).

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ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES
1. Dove may need to move back to their paramount operation of series that can focus on
marketing the merchandise through practical benefits (Kapferer, 2012).
Advantages
- The focusing of product functionality widens the user's range of strategies of marketing
where are appropriate. It also gives users feedback on the invention.
Disadvantages
- It is universal and can be tedious to encompass a particular aggregate of time. It could be
perhaps not attractive to the consumers in the extended period.
2. Dove should target on advertising as the center of its marketing. This will enable Dove to
centralize its desired market to be appreciated by the customer.
Advantages
- By using the embattled publicizing market on various channels will be more appropriate to
the precise cluster of the prospective customers
- It will tap users to the right kind of marketing strategy
Disadvantage
- This could turn out to be more costly since the altered type of media could be used for
commercial advertising.
- Consumers will differ from region to region

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3. Dove will look into developing itself and straightening out from the fraternal brands to
become a unique premium brand.
Advantage
- Makes it more appealing to the customer
- - escalate from a similar brand

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RECOMMENDATION
Regular advertising using a fat woman and old age set-up can affect the image of the Company's
brand. It can make people believe that it is a brand of fats. The advertising campaign of a woman
wearing underwear has created the mind of the customers to have wrong believes in the brand.
There should be a more focus on the company's product and services than the issues, which can
weaken the sales of the future brand. Dove is not deferent from the focusing of the advertising of
the brand in time to time (Singh & Sonnenburg 2012). The Dove product and woman’s self-
esteem should be separated because it can affect the authenticity of the campaign if the customer
perceives. The right consumers should be involved in the battle to provide their insight into the
brand, which they regularly use. The beauty definition should be linked to the dove. However,
there should be a connection of different merchandises to the segment of a woman, so that there
will be an improvement on variants and categories of the product. The currently established
method of introducing the brand to ask a lady customer on the beauty after using the Dove
product (Heding, Knudtzen, & Bjerre, 2015).
CONCLUSION
In the year 2006, the Dove brand was recognized by the Landor allies as one of the ten brands,
with the highest achievements in the past three years. The value of Dove brand health and
business has fully-fledged by $1.2 billion. For the plentiful of the development, Dove propelled
the campaign for the true prettiness that led its extension to a new category of personal care.
However, the campaign promoted and touched the nerve in the civic. Many blogs and internet
conversations mediums reached the diversity of public dialog (Deighton & Kornfeld, 2009).
There was an endorsement from the father's daughter against the stereotypes of beauty.

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Advertisements bounded on the websites letting dove use the digital media posting videos on
YouTube and Google to allow people to demonstrate the perception of their beauty showing how
it varies. Some parodies in the internet raised questions about the Unilever; there were the
professionals in the market and consultants are (Murray, 2013). The campaign has developed the
self-esteem of the woman and creating a strong emotional bond to the woman segment. That's
how the brand grows and establishes its footprint in the market.

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Reference
Berthon, P. R., & Pitt, L. F. (2012). Brands and burlesque: toward a theory of spoof
advertising. AMS review, 2(2-4), 88-98.
Deighton, J., & Kornfeld, L. (2009). Interactivity's unanticipated consequences for marketers and
marketing. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 23(1), 4-10.
Heding, T., Knudtzen, C. F., & Bjerre, M. (2015). Brand management: Research, theory, and
practice. Routledge.
Heding, T., Knudtzen, C. F., & Bjerre, M. (2015). Brand management: Research, theory, and
practice. Routledge.
Kapferer, J. N. (2012). The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic
thinking. Kogan page publishers.
Malmelin, N., & Hakala, J. (2009). Guided by the brand: from brand management to integrative
corporate communications. Business Strategy Series, 10(5), 248-258.
Murray, D. P. (2013). Branding “real” social change in Dove's Campaign for Real
Beauty. Feminist Media Studies, 13(1), 83-101.
Parent, M., Plangger, K., & Bal, A. (2011). The new WTP: Willingness to participate. Business
Horizons, 54(3), 219-229.
Singh, S., & Sonnenburg, S. (2012). Brand performances in social media. Journal of interactive
marketing, 26(4), 189-197.

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Sparks, R. J., & Langford, J. (2012). An Examination Of Traditional Business Case Studies-Are
They Outdated In Today's Technology Connected Environment?. Journal of Business
Case Studies (Online), 8(2), 217.