+HEC

Branding Strategies in Consumer Goods Elective Course for MIB-CEMS Prof. Jan-Philipp Buechler

Dove Men+Care
Simon Eckert
Paris, 19-Nov-12

Dove Men+Care
Our vision is to extend the Dove brand promise and expertise of superior care to men [...] theres a huge gap in the market as there are currently no toiletry brands specifically catering for more mature men, which the new Dove Men+Care range is set to fill. Paul Connell, Brand Manager, Unilever UK

1 The global male grooming market

Product categories like mens facial skin care and grooming tools electric shavers, trimmers and home hair clippers are said to be amongst the largest growth drivers in the personal care industry, boasting an overall sales growth of 12 per cent up from 9 per cent in the last twelve month alone. Hair care products are also gaining popularity as leading marketers such as P&G, and Unilever begin to offer a plethora of hair care products across relevant categories. Multi-functional and technologically advanced products are also doing well due to the convenience of having a number of benefits in one product while the use of natural ingredients is another rising trend, especially those with fewer natural ingredients, but higher efficacy. According to a market researcher at Kline, men are increasingly using skin care products such as anti-aging creams, eye creams, energy-boosting serums, tinted moisturizers, blemish balms, and hand and body lotions as a part of their everyday routine. The segments growth is due to a wider range of consumers opening up to and becoming comfortable with the idea of male grooming, technologically advanced products, innovative packaging, and clever marketing strategies targeting consumers exclusively. According to Kline & Company, sales of mens cosmetics and toiletries in the U.S. could hit US$ 3.2 billion by 2016, up from an estimated US$2.6 billion this year and US$ 2.2 billion in 2006. As far as the European market is concerned, sales of skincare products have boomed from 289 million euros in 2005 to 420 million euros in 2010 in the continents five biggest markets - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK - according to Mintel. The surge in sales is also affecting new markets. With an expected sales volume of nearly RMB 10 Billion (~ USD 1,6 bn) by 2014 which signifies and increase of more than 20% especially the Chinese sector stands out in the male grooming industry. According to a study by RNCOS male consumers in China are ready to spend more on cosmetics products due to the rising affluence, increased product knowledge and exposure, and desire for better lifestyle.

Currently, the hair care segment is dominating the market, however, with the introduction of innovative products, the skin care section is to see rapid growth in the future. Going forward, it seems immanent that manufacturers ensure they are marketing their products the right way in order to get the most out of the markets potential if the sector is to continue to do well (Yeomans, 2012). Although in Figure 1-1 a growth trend can be seen already, the male grooming segment bears significant further potential to be exploited. Saatchi & Saatchi strategy director Huntington points out that marketers are still far more informed about womens industry and their needs, while not even having scratched the surface when it comes to men (MaryLou Costa, 2010).

Global Retail Value in mio $

35000 30000 25000 20000 15000

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Figure 1-1: Euromonitor Beauty and Personal Care (2012): growth in male grooming market Promotions seem to be a popular (and logical) approach of targeting men, particularly with product launches, as the mens skin care industry is currently more elastic than the female equivalent. Unilever used this approach when they introduced the Dove Men+ skincare range in January 2010; they had 34 offers on the range between its launch and June that year (Ankutse, 2011).

Global Brand Market Share Male Grooming in %

Global Company Market Share Male Grooming in %

Procter & Gamble Co

Gillette 30,4 Nivea L'Oral Paris 62,1 5,4 1,7 0,4 Dove Other 3,5 5,6 5,8 12,8 39,0 33,3

Unilever Group Energizer Holdings Inc Beiersdorf AG L'Oral Group Other

Figure 1-2 and Figure 1-3: Euromonitor 2011. While Procter & Gamble is clear market leader with Gilette in the male grooming industry, men's toiletries are set to overtake sales by 2014. The shaving category's slowdown can be attributed to the "three-day beard" trend, causing men to shave less often. Growth in men's toiletries is due in part to skin care, the most dynamic category in men's grooming. Deodorants are also boosting revenues, with innovations such as additional moisturizing properties, as well as an increasing alignment with fragrances both driving sales (Ibid.).

2 Doves growth strategy

Dove a flagship brand of the Unilever company had its origins in the US during the postWorld War II era. Dove introduced its first product a beauty bar in 1957, which claimed not to make the skin dry as soaps did. Ogilvy and Mather created the advertising campaign for the product launch. The message was Dove does not dry your skin because it is one-quarters cleansing cream. Dove soon went on to become a popular brand icon in the US. As the brand grew, there were minor changes in the message with cleansing cream being replaced with moisturizing cream. But the overarching theme was still that it did not dry skin for over 40 years. During the 1980s, Dove became the leading brand of cleansing through endorsements from dermatologists and physicians. Throughout the 1990s, Dove extend its product line by introducing body wash products, a Sensitive Skin Bar, Facial Care Cleanser, etc. The brand was growing at a rate of 20% annually in 1999, expanding geographically and depending on its functional benefits to gain market share.

In 2000, when Unilever embarked on its Path of Growth strategy, Dove was chosen as a Masterbrand and in succession became an umbrella brand and a wide variety of products (deodorants, hair care products, facial cleansers, body lotions and hair styling products) were brought under its wings. Only a few of these product categories were performing well, which is why the company decided to search for a new brand message. The process lead to The Campaign for Real Beauty (CFRB), which was to be the new brand message. The campaign entailed the launch of new products over the next years, such as Dove Intensive Firming range and the Dove pro-age range for women aged above 45. Dove growth strategy was firstly to build a strong identity, which goes far beyond the functional, i.e. hydration, and places the woman at the heart of the brand. Secondly, it build an emotional relationship with the consumers by persuading them to be less self-conscious about their bodies. By 2010, Dove was the worlds number one cleansing brand with sales over 2.5 billion year across 80 countries. The brand was one of the companys strongest performers and taking advantage of this stable situation, Unilever was pursuing further growth of the brand through the launch of Men+Care product in the male grooming market in 2009. It was Unilevers biggest brand launch that year. The company hoped to take advantage of the growing mens personal-care market, currently dominated by Axe and Old Spice.

3 Entry strategies
3.1 Unilever Dove Men+Care
In 2009, Unilever launched Dove Men+Care range of products in Europe, a first of its kind in the male grooming market. Although Dove was the worlds number one cleansing brand with sales of over 2.5 ($3.4) billion a year across 80 countries, the brand was considered a feminine brand and had strong associations with beauty. The Dove Men+Care range claimed to bring greater skin comfort and care without compromising on performance and targeted men over 35 years in order to complement Unilevers other male brand Axe which was targeted at a younger audience. Doves vision was to extend the brand promise and expertise of superior care to men across deodorants and shower, the two fastest-growing sectors in male toiletries at the time. According to Paul Connel, Brand Manager at Unilever UK, before the introduction of Dove Men+Care men were forced to accept discomfort and irritation as a necessary compromise for performance. Dove saw a real category opportunity and decided to develop a range of products which were formulated with male specific requirements in mind

and include a body and face wash that fights dryness, and an antiperspirant deodorant that offers 24 hour protection and skin caring action. Dove Men+Care also includes a range of deodorants that are tough on sweat, but not on skin. Over half of Men think antiperspirant deodorants dry their skin and 50% of men claim to experience underarm irritation from using deodorant, which is why the Dove Men+Care Antiperspirant Deodorants feature the moisturizer technology for which Dove is already well known. The packaging was in keeping with the familiar Dove family of products, but with a masculine design and color scheme. With a background of strong grey, each product had bright color coding so that shoppers could clearly see which variant they were choosing, giving the range great standout on shelf (Dove reveals its masculine side - Dove Men+Care, 2010).

3.2 Beiersdorf Nivea for men

The Nivea brand always stood for good quality products that are reliable and easy to use. The brands main values are security, trust, closeness and credibility. When launching Nivea for Men internationally in 1986, the company intended to lever these main values and expand on them. Initially, Nivea for Men was very popular among the male target group as their products belonged to the few that did not contain skin-irritating alcohol. While the brand started out with traditional marketing tools such as ads in fashion magazines, TV commercials and product sampling, in the 2000s it put a stronger emphasis on consumer needs through an increased use of two way communication in the promotional mix, which helped building an emotional connection between the Nivea for Men and its consumers. One of those measures to build a tighter bond with men, was sponsoring. Nivea for Men is the official sponsor for the English football team and it sponsors various events all over the world, such as the AVP Tour (volleyball), rugby and motorsports (BHARTI et al., 2010).

3.3 LOral
LOral Men Expert has deployed outstanding marketing expertise. By cleverly acknowledging the expert in all men and then aligning us with Patrick Demsey, Gerrard Butler, Eric Cantona and Hugh Laurie, LOral Men Expert has appealed to all men and more importantly it understands what goes on in a mans mind. Compared to its competitors, LOral stays true to its appeal as fashion brand and is consistent in its communication through endorsements from masculine Hollywood stars and celebrities.

3.4 Procter & Gamble Gillette and Old Spice

P&G has been highlighting the masculinity of its men's brands, Old Spice and Gillette, amid the high-profile entry of Dove Men+Care. Ads from Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore., urge women to get their men to stop using "lady-scented body wash" in favor of Old Spice. An ad for Gillette's body wash, with a fairly obvious proxy for the new Dove product in the shower, pointedly says, "Just because it says it's for men doesn't mean it is." Procter & Gambles approach is to avoid explicitly stating that the brand was developed for men and instead tries to build a brand which is grounded in men. While Gillette is the unchallenged leader with a 70%-plus market share in razors and blades, it has difficulties translating that success into leadership in any other mens category. In order to leverage the masculine image and popularity of the brand, P&G is trying to increase Gillettes product portfolio with brand extensions around the entire shaving process, which is still the elemental grooming event for men. Therefore it introduced the Gillette Fusion ProGlide razor system, which includes a heating face scrub and moisturizing aftershave with sunscreen protection.

4 Brand extension
Brand extension refers to the corporate activity whereby companies introduce new products, new product variants and product improvements in an existing product category or create an entirely new product category by leveraging the brand equity of the existing parent brand. Former is the case if new products are launched with an existing brand name, such as a Dove shower gel, which is a new product (Dove started out as a soap) in the same category and with the same brand name. Brand extensions into completely different product categories are not very common in the FCMG industry, however, in other industries they can be feasible, eg: Porsche, which extended a very successful sports car brand to design products, such as sunglasses, watches or smartphones. Most companies are already exploiting their possibilities when it comes to brand extensions in terms of product variations, nevertheless sometimes the market allows the development of a new product category or a segment. However, each extension of a brand bears the risk of leaving the brands core competency and entering a hazardous zone of brand extensions, which could lead to a dilution of the brand and therefore negative repercussion on the brand equity (Kapferer, 2004). In order to analyze the potential of a brand extension several steps are necessary, which are illustrated in Figure 4-1.

Figure 4-1: Esch 2005, p. 313. First of all it depends on the strength of a brand to what extent it can be expanded. It is not feasible to extend a weak brand that is little recognized. Instead one should establish and improve the strength of a brand before brand extensions can lead to sustainable growth in market share or sales. Secondly, possible product categories that could profit from a brand extension have to be identified considering potential market opportunities as well as capabilities within the company. The fit between the new product category and the brand is essential and reasons for a good fit should be explicitly communicated, in order to leverage them later on when implementing the brand extension. Since Dove basically stays in the same product category, a good fit between product category and brand is given. Although Dove is a very strong brand its marked feminine characteristics can pose a hurdle for an extension to Doves Men+Care product line. Thirdly, the internal company framework and external market environment in which the new product category is launched has to be analyzed. Market barriers, intense competition, lack of technical know-how and shortcomings in human or financial resources pose possible difficulties for a market entry that have to be considered beforehand. A company has to decide if it wants to make or buy: In Doves case the company is producing making its on products for the male grooming market, since it can leverage is

extensive knowledge on personal care products. Fourthly, the brand extension has to be positioned in the market and is to be communicated through all means possible, from product design to advertising in all channels. One of the main advantages of a brand extension is the increased presence in the market and hopefully in consumers minds, but this fact also bears some risks: The degree of adjustment to a new product category is crucial to the success of the brand extension and the acceptance of the brand in its category, while it also has consequences for the umbrella brand. If the degree of customization to the new category is too high, it can dilute the brand image and therefore weaken the entire brand. It is therefore important to keep the brand identity in mind throughout the entire process of launching a brand extension (Esch, 2006).

5 Dove Men+Care strategy

5.1 Opportunities
Creating a sub brand such as Men+Care allows Dove to cater specifically to mens needs and add new, more masculine associations through differentiation. Additionally, a sub brand signals the recentness of the product line and draws a clear line between pure Dove products and Men+Care products, which reduces the risk of a negative image spillover (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). Consumers trust Dove and appreciate the values and quality it represents, which can prove beneficial for the success of Men+Care. Since many potential consumers are already aware of the brand, they also tend to buy a product which seems familiar as it reduces the time necessary to search for an appropriate product. The probability of consumers buying a the product of a brand they are familiar with is higher, than trying out a completely new brand. What is more, not only the acceptance among distributers is higher for an extended brand, it also improves Doves shelve presence and is therefore more visible to the customer. Possible synergy effects and economies of scale in marketing activities present another advantage of brand extension over the introduction of a new brand. Since the sub brand builds on certain Dove values, the construction of a completely new brand identity can be avoided which leads to significant savings in time and costs.

5.2 Risks
Generally speaking, there are three main reasons which can lead to a lack of acceptance of a brand extension: First, if the knowledge and awareness about the umbrella brand among the
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consumer is not extensive enough, the brand can not be leveraged in order to gain acceptance of a brand extension. A second potential source of possible risks is that the brand image of the extension does either not fit well to the image of the new product category or is just not relevant. Third, managers might misjudge potential synergies and economies of scale of marketing activities and consequently cause a promotional and advertising deficit. If for one or more of the above mentioned reasons the launch of a brand extension turns out to be a failure, not only has it a negative result for the new product line or category, it might also damage the image of the umbrella brand. The greatest challenge for Unilever is to keep up the balance between the feminine Dove umbrella brand and the masculine Men+Care sub brand.

5.3 A success story

Given that Dove has historically been a family brand, it is crucial to consider family values when extending the dove brand. Dove has made women less self-conscious. Will the Men+Care brand have the same success with regard to men? The film for its launch (released in the U.S. during the Super Bowl and which was ranked 11th with 76% positive opinions) features a man who has surmounted all the difficulties of his life, from birth to his first child in a humorous tone. The brand then steps in to tell him that now he has found himself in essence, that he is feeling confident about himself and that should also feel comfortable in his skin. Now that you are comfortable with who you are, is not it time for a comfortable skin?. Dove Men+Care empowers men, telling them they are up to lifes challenges. This message is important and is the exact counterpart of the one concerning womens beauty: In both cases we have a message deeply rooted in a social reality. Dove doesnt say Be a man (which is the common message used by beauty brands for men) but in conveys empathy and well-being with who you are, which is consistent with the Dove brand identity. Dove shook up the market for male personal-care products through innovative products and stepping outside of the paradigm it had constructed for itself as a womens brand. Moreover, Unilever was well aware of the evolution of the male customer and the male grooming segment. The market for mens products had been (and still is) rapidly expanding, and the idea of a product designed to take care of men and feeling good about oneself was much more accepted than it would have been 20 years ago. All in all, Doves Men+Care product line is very consistent in packaging, communication, design and functionality. For instance Doves well-packaged shower scrub gives men a means to literally connect with Doves signature body wash product, while at the same time further differentiating it from Doves
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traditional female-skewed brand. Not only does it have practical application, but the masculine color palette and package design maximizes its appeal to their target customers. It is important to understand that for every successful brand extension, there are many more that fail. Dove Men+Care played its cards just right and is therefore rightfully reaping its rewards.

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6 Bibliography
Aaker, D. A., & Joachimsthaler, E. (2000). Brand leadership (p. XII, 351 S.). New York, NY: Free Press. Ankutse, E. (2011). Industry report: Male Grooming 2011. Ape to Gentleman. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://www.apetogentleman.com/brands/industry-report-malegrooming-2011/#fn-6872-4 BHARTI, V., SINGH, V. K., YADAV, V., SINGH, V. K., RANJAN, V., & RAI, V. (2010). Nivea for Men. London. Dove reveals its masculine side - Dove Men+Care. (2010).Talking Retail. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://www.talkingretail.com/products/product-news/dovereveals-its-masculine-side-dove-mencare Esch, F.-R. (2006). Wachstum mit Marken: Marken dehnen und Allianzen bilden. Marketing Review St. Gallen, 23(3), 1115. Kapferer, J.-N. (2004). The New Strategic Brand Management: Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity Long Term (5th ed.). London: Kogan Page. MaryLou Costa. (2010). What men want from a brand relationship. Marketing Week. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/analysis/coverstories/what-men-want-from-a-brand-relationship/3018175.article Yeomans, M. (2012). The rise of the male grooming sector. Cosmetics Design Asia. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from http://www.cosmeticsdesign-asia.com/Market-Trends/Therise-of-the-male-grooming-sector

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