EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

This report is a brief insight in to the quality of the Dove Beauty bar, its evolution and its strengths and the threat faced by the competitor.
Dove brand evolved in early 1957and is owned by Unilever.
Dove came up with the different strategy and that is the Real Beauty concept. They emphasized that beauty of a women is not the outer beauty but the actual beauty is her inner self. There ads included normal ordinary women who were not only slim trimmed and toned but they were fat, simple and aged too.
Dove differentiated its beauty bar by emphasizing that it contains moisturizing cream and milk and unlike other soaps namely like Lux it does not leave the skin dry but its moisturizing cream effect softens and moisturizes the skin.
Initially Dove did not have many competitors but now the completion has been strengthened by the new entrants and therefore Dove now needs to safeguard it equity constantly.
Hope you all enjoy reading this report as much as I enjoyed compiling and completing it.

INTRODUCTION

 Dove is a personal care brand owned by Unilever.
 It started in 1957
 The brand came to India in 1995.
 It is imported and marketed by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL).
 By the end of the dove firming “Real Women” Campaign, dove has become a national talking point and was ranked number three in the body lotions market, ahead of L’oreal, Garnier, Neutrogena and Olay.
 In the year 2004, Unilever won the ‘marketer of the year’ award for its brand Dove

PRODUCT STRATEGY

 A combination of moisturizer and softness so as to satisfy the particular need which was earlier not met.
 Focused on women (“non-models”) – beautiful in their own way.
 Based on global study on perceptions and attitudes of women with regard to personal beauty and well-being.
 Point of differentiation-moisturizer and pH =O and also met consumer needs.
 Strong personal, emotional connection between brand and consumers.

Brand evolution: the Dove story
The Dove Campaign for Beauty has made the topic of beauty itself controversial, but marketers have kept the message itself positive.
The message: Real beauty can only be found on the inside and every woman deserves to feel beautiful. The image: Real beauty is portrayed by women who do not have "runway model" on their resumes -- they are the women passing by in grocery aisles or sitting in the office next door. The result: A dialog between Dove and its consumers about the definition of beauty.
Dove's marketing push defied conventional stereotypes and advocated for unconventional beauty and self-esteem. But before Unilever committed to the controversial campaign, it secured evidence that the majority of their consumers would relate to it. "The Real Truth About Beauty," a global research report commissioned by Dove, reported that only two percent of women worldwide describe themselves as beautiful.
This is what sets Dove apart from other brands: its beauty campaigns touched a cultural nerve by challenging the current super-thin, silky-hair, perfect skin standard. The campaign spurred conversations in the media and among product consumers. Ultimately Dove's brand image grew because people began associating concepts of true beauty with Dove and its products.
Since the brand was launched in 1957, the Dove advertising message has been a constant: It's not soap. It's a beauty bar. The picture of cream pouring into the bar was the iconic image Dove used in ads for nearly five decades.
In 2002, Unilever downsized from 1,600 brands to 400, nominating Dove to be one of its master brands. No longer just a beauty bar, Dove was to be a beauty brand, encompassing products such as body wash, deodorant, hair care and body lotion. Nothing in its heritage had prepared the brand to represent all of these functions. Dove now had to come up with a message that could speak for all its products.
"The exploration for this advertising is as interesting as the result," said Deighton.
The Campaign for Real Beauty, conceived in 2002, united the entire Dove product line under one message, delivered via traditional media. Ads featuring women who were not models appeared on billboards, and invited people to vote whether these real women were "fab" or "fat." The billboards were placed strategically in locations such as Grand Central Station, where they would be sure to catch the eye of producers and reporters. The intention of the advertisement was to engage people to participate in the campaign, and at that they were successful. While "fat" eventually logged the most votes, Dove marketers were not discouraged. They decided to take the concept a step further and talk about self-esteem.
The Campaign for Beauty expanded into the Self-Esteem Campaign during the 2005 Super Bowl. The message in the commercial had an enormous impact and the story was picked up by credible media and bloggers alike.

COMPARISION BETWEEN DOVE AND LUX

The strongest and most old competitior of Dove is Lux. Stated below is the SWOT analysis of Dove and Lux.

STRENGHTS OF LUX
• Strong Market Research (door to door sampling is done once a year in Urban and rural areas)
• Many variants (Almond Oil, Orchid Extracts, Milk Cream, Fruit Extracts,
• Saffron,
• Sandalwood Oil, and Honey to name a few)
• Strong sales and distribution network backed by HLL
• Strong brand image
• Positioning focuses on the attractive beauty segment
• Dynamically continuous innovation of the product and brand rejuvenation – new variants
• Aromatic Glow and Chocolate Seduction and Lux White Spa body wash) and
• innovative
• Promotions (22 carat gold coin promotion – ‘Chance Hai’)
• Perceived to have high value for money (strong brand promotion but
• relatively lower price
• Which is a winning combination in the popular segment?)

STRENGHTS OF DOVE
• Unconventional strategy

• Effective advertising, Free publicity

• Continuously evolving the campaign
• Strong emotional touch
• Cross-selling Possibilities

WEAKNESSES

WEAKNESSES OF LUX
• Lux is mainly positioned as beauty soap targeted towards women, hence it lacks unisex appeal
• Usage rate/ wear rate is high and is generally mushy and soggy
• Some variants like the sunscreen, International variant did not do well in the market
• Certain advertisements like the recent one with Shah Rukh Khan resulted in controversial interpretations of the message of the advertisement and lead to some loss of focus
• Stock out problems - replenishment time is high in semi-urban/rural areas

WEAKNESSES OF DOVE
• Contradictory in nature
• Objectification of women
• Women featured were comparatively slim
• Use of idealized images in other brands under the same flagship Contradictory Japanese campaign

OPPORTUNITIES OF LUX
• Soap industry growing by 10% worldwide.
• Beauty segment’s Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is very high. An indication of this is that Fair and Lovely’s segment is increasing at a fast rate - LUX must reinforce its presence in the beauty segment
• More promotions like price-offs and samples
• Retentive strategy required as the soap segment is in the mature stage of its product life cycle
• Line extension – probably with more variants catering to the beauty segment like natural, herbal soap etc
• Liquid body wash is currently in the growth stage – Lux should come out with more variants in this segment

OPPORTUNITIES OF DOVE
• Target male customers
• Maintain better standards of quality
• Unified advertising throughout the globe
• Continuous innovation

THREATS OF LUX
• New entrants/local competitors/MNCs would increase the competition
(Camay, P&G)
• High internal competition – Pears also catering the beauty segment
(also from HLL stable)
• Excessive dependence on beauty segment makes Lux vulnerable to changing customer tastes
• Technological change makes the existing products obsolete – Lux should focus on technological innovations like Body Wash

THREATS OF DOVE
• Risk of being a brand for “fat girls”
• Involved marketing risk
• Copy by the competitors

REVIEWS OF DOVE USER’s:

iliketheway from Atlanta
12 days ago
Pros Made skin glow and vibrant
Cons Clogs pores and acne breakout
Bottom line I wouldnt purchase the soap again. I only tried the beauty bar because my grandmother recommended. I will go back to using dial white antibacterial soap because it keeps my face pimple free majority of the time.
Recommended No
Price paid $4.49
Acne severity moderate

Whitney from Alberta
2 months ago
Pros My skin is soft, and it seems to me my acne is clearing! I don't see how this soap could clog pores if you are rinsing your face properly after use.
Cons Have yet to experience any.
Bottom line I am 21 years old and have had acne since junior high. I have tried everything, like anyone else, save prescription pills like Acutane. I never have been willing to take acne pills because of horror stories that I have heard! Just a few weeks ago I started using Dove because it is what my boyfriend uses and he's got beautiful skin. Since starting using it a few weeks ago my skin has changed quite a bit! A few months ago I started using Hydrogen Peroxide 3% after washing to kill any bacteria (after research I found using HP was safe for my skin). After using HP I moisturized with Aveeno Baby Lotion but just switched this week to LiveClean Baby lotion with is 95% organic ingredients, hypoallergenic, and all those other wonderful things! Twice a week I use a gel mask in the shower that is 100% organic by Alba Botanica, and I love it! I also have a hard time clearing out dead skin cells from my skin so I started shaving my face below my browline to get rid of anything extra (of course not shaving over pimples, that is not a good idea! This I only do once a week and use a scrubbing sponge once a week.

What I also did was switch my makeup to Bare Minerals because using liquid foundations and everything felt really gross. I believe this has been a contributor to the change in my skin.

I drink lots of water, take multivitamins, and eat fairly healthy, but I have never believed much that diet had any baring on my sensitive skin outside of the fact that drinking as much water as possible can't be bad for it.

I wanted to tell everyone not to give up! It really depends on a lot more than what skin type you have. I think where you live also has a lot to do with it (weather-wise: if it is humid or dry, lots of sun or wind etc.) You just need to find the regimen that works right for you.
Recommended Yes
Price paid $1.00
Acne severity moderate

Josie from Lynn
2 months ago
Pros - Nothing
Cons - Dried out skin
- left some residue
Bottom line This was the worst product i've ever used so far. It did nothing for my skin and even though it is supposed to be for sensitive skin it irratated my skin and made my acne worse
Recommended No
Acne severity moderate

Anonymous101990042 from Alberta, Canada
3 months ago
Pros My skin felt clean and soft and not dry. It helps the shininess on my face too. It lasts a lot longer that a bottled cleanser because it's a bar.
Cons It did not help my acne at all, and it even worsened my body acne.
Bottom line The bottom line is that I bought it for my acne but it did nit solve my problem. However, I now use it as a regular soap for the rest of my body because it leaves your skin smooth.
Recommended No
Price paid $4.00
Acne severity light

MARKET SHARE OF DOVE

MARKET SHARE OF DIFFERENT BRANDS:

MARKET SHARE CAPTURED GLOBALLY BY DOVE

PORTER’S FIVE FORCES MODEL OF COMPETITION OF DOVE

1. THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS:

• Consumers are becoming aware of the new upcoming products due to increased influence of media in our lives therefore Dove too like all other brands have a constant threat of consumers switiching to the new brands having the same or better benefits.
• Himalaya Herbal is a threat to dove as the entered the market with herbal products and created a new perception that herbal products enchances the skin glow and helps keeping skin acne free.
• The switching cost is not much and the variety available is huge therefore Dove needs to guard its brand equity by making sure they provide quality that exceeds consumer satisfaction.
• Santoor herbal and beauty soad is another new entrant in the market and a new threat for Dove.
• People are willing to try new products as they are willing to experiment and explore better products.

2. THREAT OF SUBSITUTE PRODUCTS:
Subsitute products for dove beauty bar could be:
• Himalaya Herbal beauty soap and face wash
• Santoor herbal beuty soap
• Soaps of other category like anti septic soap of Dettol and other herbal and aurvedic soaps.
• Other imported/local brands.
• Body wash of Lux, Lifebuoy and Dettol etc
• Face wash of various brands like Himalaya herbal, Palmolive and clean n clear etc

3. BUYER POWER:
• There has been a change in the economic status of the people and there buting power has increased. Thus consumers prefer the premium brands.
• There is a great range of choice thus leading to confusion in the selection of the desired brand.
• Media has a great influence in increasing the buyer power.
• Consumers are open to expirence new brands.

4. THREAT OF SUPPLIER POWER:
• Due to the increase in the prices of palm oil there has been a change in the terms and conditions of the suppliers.
• Earlier animal fat was used in the soap as a raw material but now due to the ban by the governments vegetable oil is used.

5. RIVALRY AMONGST EXSISTING FIRMS:

• People are willing to pay high prices for PEARS and DOVE not because of brand loyalty but because they are not willing to use LUX until and unless the prices of other two became very high. Thus shift from them to LUX is highly price sensitive .
• People willing to pay a further premium of Rs 10 on DOVE before swithching to LUX brand and a premium of Rs. 4.65 before switching from pears brand to LUX.
• Himalaya Herbal is a competition to the Dove beauty bar.
• Brand equity of Dove is greater then that of Peras.
• DOVE and PEARS are niche market Brands.LUX is for masses, LUX international competitive with them in urban and uppermiddle class segment.

RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION:

Dove has an image of a beauty bar for female only. However with the growing popularity of uni sex beauty bars I would recommend dove to extend the focus and target males of the society as well as beauty or skin care is no more only female consideration.
The quality of Dove has mixed reviews from the public. In my opinion the beauty bar of dove is a good product to use and have its share of pros and cons. I would personally recommend Dove to all as my expierence with dove has been good always.