Dove – Brand Value
Question 1 Prior to the launch of “The Campaign for Real Beauty,” Dove focused mostly on the brand’s functional benefits in its advertising. Dove products were packaged simply, and the name “dove” implied purity, freshness and cleanliness. It was also very feminine. To customers, Dove was viewed not as soap, but as a moisturizer because of the brand’s constant emphasis on the one-quarter moisturizing cream added to its beauty bars. Because of this, women flocked to the brand in hopes of trading in their dry skin for soft, smooth skin.
Exhibit 1 shows a brand association map for the Dove brand prior to the introduction of “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” As shown in the Exhibit, a lot of Dove’s associations are in the functional category or teetering between functional and emotional. This is because of the way Dove introduced itself – the brand was so determined to set itself apart from its competitors because of the moisturizing differences in products, but Dove became stuck in the functionality view point. It’s hard to create a story and brand personality for something which is only viewed as a functional product.
Question 2 The main reason “The Campaign for Real Beauty” was created was so that Dove could become a Masterbrand. This meant that Dove had to expand its product line to include other personal care products besides in the beauty bar category. Dove tried to launch its new personal care products using techniques similar to those of the beauty bar, but to unify all of Dove’s products, the branding team had to create a new vision so that they could sell Dove as a brand rather than individual products.
The key brand associations (taken from Exhibit #1) are healthy skin, beauty, and moisture. Dove wanted to introduce deodorants, hair care products, facial cleansers, body lotions and hair styling products. For each of these products, beauty is important. Every girl wants beautiful hair, beautiful skin and even beautiful underarms. Moisture is important for facial cleansers, body lotions and hair care products because you don’t want something that will dry out your skin or hair; however, moisturizers aren’t necessarily important in deodorants.
Healthy skin only applies to facial cleansers, body lotions and deodorants, but not to hair care and styling products. As it stands here, Dove’s brand story is inconsistent for taking on multiple products of such different purposes. There is no one association that will incorporate all of the products Dove plans on introducing. Question 3 The brand story of Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” can be broken down into the four elements of storytelling: message, plot, conflict and characters. The message behind the campaign is that all women should feel beautiful in their skin.
The plot is to show women that by using Dove products, they can feel beautiful in their skin. The conflict is that society tells consumers what beauty should look like, but the Dove brand refuses to conform to those supposed “norms. ” The characters are women; women of every size, shape, color, age and height. These ideas are the backbone of “The Campaign for Real Beauty,” and are also Dove’s unique selling propositions. Overall, Dove’s brand story behind “The Campaign for Real Beauty” is strong. What makes it strong is that it’s never been done before.
Consumers are so used to seeing the same faces, figures and ethnicities in advertising that when you show them something different, their interest in peaked. By putting women in the ads that look like anyone off the street, it becomes a brand that is for all people rather than only a certain kind of person. It’s also incredibly strong because the idea behind the campaign opens up conversations about self-esteem in general. The campaign generated a multitude of discussions on the internet about topics like anorexia, body image and race. Question 4
The first of Dove’s advertising as a part of “The Campaign for Real Beauty” were its “Tick-Box” advertisements. These were very creative billboards designed to incorporate the opinions of the consumers about the product, but also about the campaign itself. The ads caught the attention of the public, and many people voted “oversized” at first, but “outstanding” quickly took over. Based on these results, it’s apparent that Dove had gained support in their campaign and message. The next series of Dove advertisements for the campaign are known as “Firming” advertisements.
These ads featured six “real” women posing in plain white underwear. The imagery is simple, clean and pure – all aspects associated with the Dove brand and products. This ad is a great representation of the brand’s new vision. It featured women of all shapes, sizes and colors, smiling and baring their bodies comfortably. This is exactly the type of feeling “The Campaign for Real Beauty” was created to portray. The next step in the campaign was the creation of a video that didn’t even mention the selling product.
The video featured young girls admitting things about themselves that they wished were different or didn’t like. The advertisement still remains controversial. This ad demonstrates the big picture behind “The Campaign for Real Beauty,” in that Dove wants to open up discussion about what it means to “beautiful” in today’s society. With the “True Colors” ad, the company doesn’t let the product get in the way, but rather lets the campaign take over the brand. This is most likely why the ad received so much praise, and ran during the 2006 Super Bowl in front of 90 million viewers.
Stage four of the campaign was mostly unplanned. The “Evolution” video was created as a way to entice people to attend Dove-lead self-esteem workshops in Toronto, Canada. After the North America team saw the film, they decided to air it more publically on YouTube. In a matter of months, the film received over 3 million views. Using YouTube at the time was an extremely smart idea considering how popular the site was becoming. It opened the Dove brand up to the social media craze of the time, and created a dialog within the internet in the form of blogs, video responses and forums.
The same can be said for the “Onslaught” film that Dove put up that thoroughly depicted what it can be like for women and young girls to walk down the street or watch television, and be bombarded with these images of what it means to be “beautiful. ” Question 5 Billboards in Grand Central Station Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” is described by Harousseau as “breaking every rule in the company. ” Dove’s marketing objective for the campaign was to create a buzz and get people talking about the company itself and the message it is trying to portray.
By using billboards in Grand Central Station, the company was taking advantage of the huge amount of foot traffic and diversity that the station offers. This technique in getting people’s attention obviously worked when Katie Couric spent 16 minutes on the Today Show talking about the ads and Dove’s new direction. Using the billboards in such a culturally mixed environment allows all sorts of potential consumers the opportunity to be introduced or reintroduced to the Dove brand and “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” Super Bowl Advertising Dove’s usage of the Super Bowl was all about exposure and introducing “The Campaign for Real Beauty.
” The idea to advertise during the Super Bowl was at first rejected with good reason: the Super Bowl has always been a way to advertise beer, cars, chips and other “masculine” products; it wasn’t the place for Dove let alone a campaign set out specifically for women. However, the Super Bowl offers an audience of over 90 million people which would surely get Dove and the campaign some buzz. After its ad ran, Dove experienced continued exposure in conversations by news outlets, Oprah Winfrey and late night personalities. The ad was a huge success in making consumers aware of Dove’s mission.
However, in exposing its brand and campaign, Dove opened itself up to ridicule and satire which is an unfortunate side-effect of advertising to an entire nation rather than your intended market. YouTube Release of “Evolution” Dove released the “Evolution” ad on YouTube using no paid media. Overtime, the word-of-mouth phenomenon went into effect, and the ad was among the most downloaded commercials on YouTube despite never appearing on television as paid advertising. However, the ad did make it into the media in the context of news programs, newspapers and radio.
This advertising technique most appropriately demonstrates Dove’s new direction and mission. It shows people that what they perceive as beautiful isn’t actually real. Dove wants women to realize this, and love themselves naturally. The “Evolution” message is an important one for all consumers to understand. The Dove Two Dozen and Dove Real Beauty Award The Dove Two Dozen was a very behind the scenes media technique. It involved introducing the campaign to significant women in the media whom Dove believed shared its vision.
Through this vehicle, the company hoped to gain the trust of influential consumers who would hopefully pass on their praise of the product and the campaign to everyday consumers who would also appreciate the brand’s efforts and goals. This is a good marketing technique because celebrities and well-known personalities have a lot of influence in the consumer market, so passing on “The Campaign for Real Beauty” idea to these individuals increased the likelihood of attracting the appropriate demographic. The “Dove Real Beauty Award” is a very clever way of introducing the campaign into the world of media and female empowerment.
Dove created the award as a part of the American Women in Radio and Television’s annual gala. Although this offers minimal exposure since it is only an annual award, the influential characters that would attend this gala could possibly bring the brand and campaign to a larger audience. Global Self Esteem Fund This was the final step in Dove’s overall media planning process. The company created the fund to support uniquely ME! , which is an organization that partners with the Girl Scouts of the USA whose goals include building self-confidence in girls ages 8-17.
This fund was mentioned on the Girl Scouts website, and linked to the campaign’s standalone website. Creating this fund helped garner exposure, but also added to Dove’s corporate social responsibility which is incredibly important in the overall view of the company and helped the campaign establish a monopoly on female self-confidence and self-esteem. Question 6 The introduction of “The Campaign for Real Beauty” definitely changed the brand meaning of Dove. The brand started out focusing on only the functional uses of its products, but the campaign transformed the brand to encompass an idea that was more powerful than mere functionality.
The Dove brand remains pure and simple in its advertising, and still promotes its one-quarter moisturizer claim. But on top of that, Dove now stands for promoting self-esteem and self-confidence in young girls and women around the world. The brand also challenges the modern societal view of beauty which is monumental considering that no other company dares do it. Exhibit 2 shows a new brand association map that portrays the Dove brand after the launch of “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” A few of the original associations have shifted and a few have been added: original, empowered, happy, extraordinary and confident.
Most notably is the shift of the “beauty” association. Originally it was placed directly on the “Emotional” axis, and closer to the lower end. After the introduction of the campaign, beauty has shifted to the higher ends of both the “Emotional” and “Self-Expressive” axes. Another significant change is the addition of the “confident” association. Beforehand, Dove wasn’t known for instilling confidence in women, but after the introduction of the “Tick-Box” and “Firming” advertisements, that changed. It showed “real” women smiling happily, while baring their bodies despite them not matching societal expectations. Question 7: 1. Price Premium
Aeker uses price premium as a measurement of loyalty. It represents of the extra amount of money that a customer is willing to pay for a brand compared to the generic option. Based on information provided in the case, there is no evidence to show how much financial growth “The Campaign for Real Beauty” has given the Dove brand. Although, in 2006, Dove was cited as one of the 10 brands with the greatest percentage gain in brand health since 2003. This acknowledgement is due to the fact that the brand had grown by $1. 2 billion in only three years. No one is sure how much of that growth can be credited to “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” 2.
Satisfaction/Loyalty In brand equity, loyalty leads to satisfaction; this involves a customer’s experience with a product. Considering that Dove has been a well-known and well-loved brand for over 50 years, it can be easily deduced that there is a high level of loyalty behind the brand. Before “The Campaign for Real Beauty” concept, Dove focused on the functional benefits of its products; mainly on the fact that Dove’s cleansing products contained one-quarter moisturizing cream. This differentiation between Dove and other cleansers is what made Dove the number one cleansing brand in 2007 and contributed to the brands largely female following.
“The Campaign for Real Beauty,” although it started a lot of chatter about the brand, didn’t necessarily enforce more loyalty from new or existing customers. It would appear that Dove, while still using the campaign, is still focusing on its brand’s functional benefits to maintain loyalty. 3. Perceived Quality A products performance that varies from the object quality is the perceived quality. “The Campaign for Real Beauty” is an idea/message that Dove brand managers came up with in order to create a story on which they could sell their quickly increasing product line.
The Dove products are still the same – they haven’t altered the ingredients of the products because of the campaign. However, the quality of the brand itself has shifted. Because of the campaign’s focus on self-confidence and self-esteem in women and young girls, consumers began viewing Dove as a pioneer in the fight for societal acceptance of all. This view point is extremely important because the issue of body image in American culture is very prevalent, but companies refuse to address it in fear of being rejected by the masses for going against the “young, white, blonde and thin” norm.
Because Dove decided to step out in protest of these so-called “norms,” the company runs the risk of being rejected. As Alicia Clegg stated: “Talk about real beauty all you want – once you’re the brand for fat girls, you’re toast. ” 4. Leadership/Popularity The first series of Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” ads came out to the public between 2002 and 2005. Since then, Dove has launched several ads following the messages inspired by “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” In 2007, Dove was “the world’s number-one “cleansing” brand in the health and beauty sector, with sales of over $2.
5 billion a year in more than 80 countries. ” This shows that 3-5 years after the introduction of “The Campaign for Real Beauty,” Dove remained the leader in its market. Also, since the campaign’s reveal, the brand grown by $1. 2 billion which can be mostly attributed to the brands product extensions, but also because of the campaign’s success. 5. Perceived Value The perceived value of Dove is the perceived brand utility relative to its costs. Dove is one of the more expensive “cleansing” brands in the market today, but it also offers more moisturizers which makes your skin softer and healthier.
Since the perceived value focuses mainly on the functional uses of the product, “The Campaign for Real Beauty” does not affect the brand’s perceived value. However, the campaign could increase or decrease a consumer’s individual perceived value if they support or reject the message that Dove is putting out with its campaign. 6. Brand Personality Dove’s brand personality links the brand’s emotional and self-expressive benefits to the consumer’s needs for social approval, personal expression or self-esteem. The idea of self-esteem is the whole basis of “The Campaign for Real Beauty.
” After rigorous surveying and planning, the brand managers found out that only 2% of women worldwide consider themselves to be beautiful. Dove also found out that this is mostly because of the images women see every day in the media which depict women whose beauty is even unattainable to them (hello, Photoshop)! In response, Dove wanted to create its brand personality to encompass the idea of loving yourself in your own skin no matter your shape, size, color, etc. This new personality was embraced by consumers and the media, most notably Katie Couric and Oprah Winfrey.
7. Organizational Associations Organizational associations urge consumers to connect the organization’s employees, values and programs with the brand itself. This is very well done in Dove because of “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” Because the campaign is an idea, it offers many values out to customers that reflect what the Dove brand is all about. Because of the campaign, Dove, to the hope of the brand managers, will become a brand synonymous with “natural beauty” and “self-esteem” – extremely powerful words in the beauty market in America. 8. Brand Awareness
Brand awareness refers to how aware consumers are of Dove and its products. Because of the dramatic shift in brand personality and ground-breaking advertising series, Dove has created a lot of chatter. This is centered on “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” When the advertisements first surfaced, they were so different and controversial that the media got involved and did news reports on the campaign. This was fantastic free advertising for Dove. Because news outlets and media personalities were discussing this campaign and the Dove brand itself, it got customers interested.
Like a wildfire, word spread across the internet and people were creating blog posts, YouTube videos, updating their Facebook and Twitter accounts mostly in praise of the campaign. 9. Market Share Nothing is stated in the case about the market share of Dove, but its competitors include Proctor and Gamble’s Ivory, Kao’s Jergens, and Beiersdorf’s Nivea. However, it can be assumed that since Dove has been a leader in the health and beauty sector of the market since its introduction, it has a fairly large market share.
This share may have been increased due to the brands $1. 2 billion increase from the introduction of an extended product line and “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” 10. Market Price and Distribution Coverage From personal experience and knowledge, Dove products are generally on the higher side of the pricing scale. They use high quality ingredients, and use more moisturizer than other brands so the skin stays softer and healthier. Dove sells all of their health and beauty products in grocery stores, convenience stores and drug stores.
Because Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” focuses on the everyday woman, it wouldn’t make sense for the company to try and sell in high end stores like Macys, Sephora or Nordstrom. Placing Dove products in places where any woman could find it increases the likelihood that the campaign will stick in the minds of target consumers and expand from there. Overall, “The Campaign for Real Beauty” is positively contributing to Dove’s brand equity. In a majority of Aaker’s markers, the campaign has clearly added a positive spin on the brands total equity. This is especially true in the brand’s personality.
The campaign completely transformed the brand from one that merely focused on the functional benefits of the products to the feel and meaning of the brand as a whole. This is important because now that Dove has a large line of different products, creating a meaning behind the brand itself makes creating a story easier. Questions 8 and 9 Each of the consumer-created responses listed poke fun at the advertisement efforts of the Dove brand. Despite the existence of these mock advertisements and social messages, it doesn’t seem that the Dove brand or “The Campaign for Real Beauty” was hijacked by consumers.
A brand hijacking is defined as “the consumer’s act of commandeering a brand from the marketing professionals by seizing control of its ideology, use and persona, and driving its evolution. ” Based on what’s been accomplished by Dove and its campaign and the efforts of these consumer’s, saying the brand has been hijacked based on these few responses unrealistic. “Slob Evolution,” a consumer-created YouTube parody of Dove’s “Evolution” video features a normal looking man being transformed into a “slob” by make-up artists and the use of Photoshop. This specific video has a little over 1.
5 million views on YouTube in the last six years. In contrast, the Dove video has almost 16 million views on YouTube in the same amount of time. Because so few people saw the consumer-created video as compared to the real video, I don’t think one could say that Dove lost control of the campaign’s initial meaning. In addition, majority of the comments in response to “Slob Evolution” don’t even mention the Dove brand or “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” The same could be said for “Dove vs. Axe,” a consumer-created response to Dove’s Onslaught film. There are only 5,500 views in the last three years.
There hasn’t been enough exposure of these mock films to trigger a hijacking. One of the most powerful consumer-created videos is the “Onslaughter” video. It was created to get the message across that Dove allegedly uses palm oil from Indonesia that was planted after the destruction of lowland forests. While this is a powerful statement and potential problem for Dove, this advertisement doesn’t focus on “The Campaign for Real Beauty. ” It does, however, present a problem because its name is very similar to the name of one of Dove’s real advertisements for the campaign.
When the actual video’s name, “Onslaught,” is typed into Youtube, the consumer-created video is one of the first to come up. Again, this isn’t necessarily hijacking “The Campaign for Real Beauty,” but rather a small attack on Dove. Question 10 Based on the qualitative and quantitative success of “The Campaign for Real Beauty,” I think Dove should continue investing in the campaign. The brand has experienced phenomenal sales growth in the last five or so years, and has introduced several new products into the market through the campaign.
Dove can continue to advertise using the values and messages from “The Campaign for Real Beauty,” and continue to open up dialogue about self-esteem and body image. There has been such a positive response to the campaign itself and already so much investment into programs and funds. As young girls grow up seeing Dove’s ads and messages, they will develop a loyalty and understanding of the brand. In addition, hopefully with Dove’s messages and influence, there can be radical change in the way girls view themselves.
Since “real” women are the majority of women who buy Dove products, it’s important that Dove continue their focus on them. By reverting back to merely focusing on functional benefits, consumers could easily forget what Dove stood for in the past and simply change to another brand that may be cheaper and offer the same benefits. Dove must continually emphasize “The Campaign for Real Beauty” so people do not forget the social responsibility that Dove is trying to take on. In addition, no other brand or company is willing to take this similar risk, so Dove can continue to profit unopposed using this strategy.
