7MARK001W: Gillette's International Marketing and Communication Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Gillette's international marketing strategies, focusing on segmentation, targeting, and positioning in the global market. It examines Gillette's approach to market adaptation and standardization, considering the influence of cultural factors using Hofstede's cultural dimensions. The report delves into Gillette's marketing mix elements, including product, price, place, and promotion, and evaluates their brand communication strategies. It highlights Gillette's efforts to cater to diverse consumer segments and maintain a strong brand presence across different regions. The report also discusses Gillette's positioning map and how it differentiates itself from competitors. The report concludes by summarizing Gillette's effective brand communication strategies and their role in achieving market leadership in the male grooming sector. The report also analyses Gillette's use of both online and offline mediums for distribution and promotion, and how they adapt their strategies based on the trends in the target markets.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
International marketing
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Executive summary
The aim of this report is to discuss about the targeting and segmentation strategies of Gillette
along with their positioning variable in the global market. Different factors in respect to these
elements are being discussed in this report. In addition, this report also discussed about the
global strategy of Gillette in the forms of their marketing mix elements. It is identified that they
are following both standardization and market adaptation strategy in penetrating in the global
market. This report concludes that Gillette is following effective brand communication strategies
to meet their vision of covering more market area and becoming the market leader in the male
grooming sector.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Segmentation strategies of Gillette..................................................................................................3
Targeting strategies of Gillette........................................................................................................4
Positioning strategies.......................................................................................................................5
Global marketing strategy of Gillette..............................................................................................6
Product.........................................................................................................................................6
Price.............................................................................................................................................7
Place.............................................................................................................................................7
Promotion....................................................................................................................................8
Brand communication strategies for Gillette...................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference.......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
In the current business scenario, there are number of business sectors that are highly
competitive in nature compared to others. This situation is forcing the marketers in identifying
the sub-categories for their products. For instance, the women grooming and cosmetic sector is
highly competitive with the presence of good number of players operating in the market. This
has prompted to identify sub-categories such as men grooming market (Pather 2017). Gillette is
one such brand, which is positioned among the men grooming sector and offers different
products ranging from shaving kits to skincare products. However, with the development of this
sector, more players are entering, which is further getting the level of competition increased.
Thus, it is important for them to enter in the foreign markets and majority of the products of
Gillette are being available across the world (Sowad 2017).
It is also important for Gillette to identify the cultural differences in different countries
such as between India and the United Kingdom. Accordingly they should offer and position their
products in the particular market (Williams and Williams 2017). In this case, the Hofstede’s
cultural dimensions are important to follow in identifying the differences in different regions.
This report will discuss about the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies being
followed by Gillette in their global operations. In addition, the marketing mix elements of them
will also be discussed based on their standardization and adaptation strategies. Branding
strategies of them will also be discussed in this report.
Segmentation strategies of Gillette
There are number of customer segments being targeted by Gillette in their global
operations. Thus, in order to identify the customer segmentation strategies of Gillette, different

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variables will be used. In terms of the demographic segmentation, customers aged between 20
and 50 are being targeted. Customers aged below 20 are not being targeted due to the reason that
they are having the major needs for grooming (Khan 2013). On the other hand, customers above
the age of 50 are being targeted as the secondary target market. In terms of the income range,
medium and higher medium level customers are being targeted and accordingly, the products of
Gillette are being positioned in different markets. In terms of geographical segmentation,
majority of the tier I and tier II cities are being targeted. This is mainly due to the reason that
moderately priced products of Gillette are having more acceptances in the tier I and tier II cities.
In terms of the behavioral segmentation, loyal customers are being more targeted due to the
reason that grooming products of Gillette are to be bought in frequent manner. In addition,
customers with having the need for convenient shaving and grooming process in affordable price
are also being targeted (Venter, Wright and Dibb 2015). Some of the newly launched products of
Gillette are innovative and one of the kind in the market and thus they are also targeting the
customers with having the preferences for active lifestyles.
Targeting strategies of Gillette
In accordance to the identified customer segments in the above section, there are number
of targeting strategies initiated by Gillette in different markets. One of their major targeting
strategies is cost leadership. There are some products of Gillette mainly for the developing
countries in the Indian subcontinent, which are priced at bare minimum to cater to the larger
customer segments (Banker, Mashruwala and Tripathy 2014). Moreover, due to the reason that
developing markets are more price sensitive, initiation of the cost leadership is also helping
Gillette in increase the sale volumes. On the other hand, it is also identified that they are
following differentiation strategy. This is due to the fact that some of the products of Gillette

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High price
Low price
Higher sets of
innovations
Lower sets of
innovations Gillette
Dollar shave club
Harry’s
such as Mach 3 razors are innovative and different to their competitors available in the market.
With the help of the extensive research and development process, innovative products of Gillette
are helping them to target new customer segments and maintaining distinctiveness in the market
(Teeratansirikool et al. 2013). It is also identified that even though Gillette is not following the
market focus strategy in targeting the customers but this strategy is being used by them in
complementing the other factors. This is due to the reason that with the help of the market focus
strategy, Gillette is being able to determine the taste and preference pattern and the requirements
of their target customers and offer their products accordingly.
Positioning strategies

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From the above positioning map of Gillette, it is being identified that Gillette positioned
themselves as innovative and distinctive products in affordable price. It is evident that majority
of the close competitors are either operating in the higher price segments or lower segment with
less distinctiveness. Thus, Gillette took the middle path and promoted differentiated products in
more affordable cost. It should be noted that developing markets in the Asian regions are the
major segments for Gillette and these areas are having huge chunk of middle class population,
which is getting catered with the positioning strategy of them (Semuel, Siagian and Octavia
2017). The positive and extensive brand image of Gillette in the global market is also being
leveraged in positioning the brand in the market. This is due to the reason that Gillette is
considered as one of the leading brands in the male grooming segments and it associated with
better quality. Thus, offering the reliability and quality along with the affordable price is also an
important factor for positioning of Gillette.
Global marketing strategy of Gillette
Product
Gillette is having diversified product portfolio to be offered in different market segments.
This ranges from grooming kits to different types of razors for different utilities. However, it is
also identified that Gillette is following adaptation as well as standardization strategies based on
the market trends and requirements. This is due to the reason that brand names being used by
Gillette are majorly common in across their operations around the world (Stark 2015). On the
other hand, Gillette is also following the market adaptation strategy in designing the utility of the
products. For instance, they are offering one time use razors in the developed markets and
multiuse razors in the developing markets. Thus, it can be concluded that standardization

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strategy of communicating their global branding across the world is helping Gillette in
maintaining their brand exposure and penetration. On the other hand, offering different products
by market adaptation strategy is helping Gillette in catering to different needs of the customers.
This should be noted that customers from different markets are having different sets of
requirements, which are getting met by the market adaptive strategies of Gillette.
Price
Price discrimination is being followed by Gillette in terms of their geographical locations.
This is due to the reason that price of the products of Gillette is more in the developed markets
compared to their price offered in the developing markets. This is mainly due to the differences
in the offered products in different markets. Gillette is offering more affordable products in the
developing markets. It is also being identified that they are following price skimming strategies
for their newly launched products. For instance, Gillette charged more prices for their new
products such as Mach 3 and vector and in the later stage; the price is being gradually declined
(Spann, Fischer and Tellis 2014). This helped in extending the life cycle stage of their products.
In addition, it is also being identified that Gillette is having both premium as well as mass market
products. This is causing initiation of both premium and market penetration pricing strategy by
Gillette. In this case, it can be concluded that Gillette is following market adaptation strategy by
offering price according to the economic conditions of different markets.
Place
Both the online and offline mediums are being used in distribution of the products of
Gillette. This is due to the reason that Gillette is operating in the fast moving consumer goods
category, which required larger market penetration. In the developing markets, Gillette products

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are being sold through the convenient stores also. On the other hand, they are also available in
the larger departmental stores as well as in the hypermarkets. This ensures that Gillette is having
higher market penetration and exposure in their global operation (Qiang et al. 2013). In this case,
Gillette is following market adaption strategy due to the reason that they are following
distribution method according to the trend in the target markets. For instance, offline distribution
is majorly used in the tier II and III cities while online mediums are involved in distributing in
the tier I cities. Distribution strategy of Gillette is also contributing in having far reached of their
brand identity across the world along with catering to larger customer sections.
Promotion
In terms of promotion also, market adaptation strategy is being followed by Gillette due
to the reason that cultural factors are having much influences on the promotional approaches. It
is identified that both the online and offline promotional mediums are being used by Gillette
across the world with the differences in their approaches. For instance, promotional content of
Gillette is more explicit in the western markets compared to the implicit content in the Middle
Eastern markets (Hui et al. 2013). This is in accordance to the cultural and social preferences of
the targeted markets. In this case, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are important as this model can
help in identifying the cultural differences between the countries. According to this model, Saudi
Arabia is having more collectivist society compared to the United Kingdom. Thus, it is important
for Gillette to have their promotional activities, which will portray the social benefits compared
to the promotional activities in the United Kingdom, which promotes about the individual
benefits of the customers.

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Brand communication strategies for Gillette
Brand communication strategies of Gillette involve different steps such as identifying the
target audience, creating ideal message and content. The target customers for them are being
identified in the above section. It is identified that Gillette is mainly focusing on communicating
with their customers in terms of lifestyle and utility. This is due to the fact that their
communication mediums including advertisements are both informative and attractive (Luxton,
Reid and Mavondo 2015). They convey the customers about the benefits to be gained from using
the products of Gillette along with the lifestyle element attached. Thus, the customers will find it
trendy in using the products of Gillette. There are number of advertisements being identified
where Gillette has used various proxies such as superbikes for their Mach 3 brand. This is to
denote the speed and efficiency of the Mach 3 razor. Moreover, using of these proxies is also
helping in creating a more up-market feel for Gillette. On the other hand, the brand message for
Gillette varies in different in accordance to their respective social and cultural trends. For
instance, majority of the global adverts of Gillette, which are being shown in the western
markets, includes girls, which is not the target segment for them. However, this is being done for
creating a holistic lifestyle experience for the targeted customers (Roll 2015). This approach is
not being used in the Middle Eastern markets and in some Asian countries. This is due to the
reason that these countries are conservative in terms of social trends and explicit use of girls is
not allowed. On the other hand, price point is being given the maximum focus in communicating
the message in the South Asian countries due to the reason that price is the key determining
factors in these countries over others.
According to the brand onion model, it is important for Gillette to focus on the looks,
media content and strategies to effectively communicate with their target customers. The media

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content of Gillette is sleek and it portrays the trendy statement of the products of Gillette
(Uzunoglu and Kip 2014). This trendiness is also important for Gillette due to the reason that
new competitors such as hair trimmers are changing the male grooming trends. In addition,
another major element of the brand onion model is vision and values. The vision of Gillette is to
be the world leader in the male grooming sector along with offering the maximum value to the
target customers. In accordance to this vision, the promotional activities are being designed
according to the cultural differences across the world. This is helping in targeting the larger
customer segments and offering the standardized products in market adaptive way of promotion.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that Gillette is having extensive process of branding process in
their global operation. In this report, the target customer segments of them are being identified
along with the targeting strategies initiated by them. It is identified that they are following
various targeting strategies for diverse customer segments. In addition, it is also identified that
Gillette has positioned their products as innovative yet cost effective. This report also evaluated
the marketing mix strategies that Gillette is following in the global market. They are following
both standardization as well as adaption strategies in terms of their marketing mix strategies.
Moreover, the brand communication effectiveness of Gillette is also being discussed based on
the brand onion model. It is identified that the brand communication process of Gillette is
different based on different countries according to their vision of covering more market shares.

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Reference
D. Banker, R., Mashruwala, R. and Tripathy, A., 2014. Does a differentiation strategy lead to
more sustainable financial performance than a cost leadership strategy?. Management
Decision, 52(5), pp.872-896.
Hui, S.K., Inman, J.J., Huang, Y. and Suher, J., 2013. The effect of in-store travel distance on
unplanned spending: Applications to mobile promotion strategies. Journal of Marketing, 77(2),
pp.1-16.
Khan, T., 2013. STP strategy for New Product Launch-a Work in Progress. International Journal
of Business and Management Invention, 2(3), pp.56-65.
Luxton, S., Reid, M. and Mavondo, F., 2015. Integrated marketing communication capability
and brand performance. Journal of Advertising, 44(1), pp.37-46.
Pather, P., 2017. Brand equity as a predictor of repurchase intention of male branded cosmetic
products in South Africa. Business & Social Sciences Journal, 2(1), pp.1-23.
Qiang, Q., Ke, K., Anderson, T. and Dong, J., 2013. The closed-loop supply chain network with
competition, distribution channel investment, and uncertainties. Omega, 41(2), pp.186-194.
Roll, M., 2015. Asian brand strategy. In Asian Brand Strategy (Revised and Updated) (pp. 107-
140). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Semuel, H., Siagian, H. and Octavia, S., 2017. The effect of leadership and innovation on
differentiation strategy and company performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 237, pp.1152-1159.