Learning Objectives: To study The Chanel ad campaign with consideration given to Industry issues, regulation, marketing, promotion.
Marketing/ Promotion
Since its launch in the 1940s, Dove by Unilever has evolved from a mediocre company to one of the most trusted beauty product makers in the industry.
In a time when soaps were simple and known to dry out the skin, Dove was marketed as a more gentle option that was actually not soap at all but a product of careful military research.
The company was slow to take off with a lack of global identity and a decentralized product.
A lack of corporate strategy also played a part, and the small amount of products the company released did not rank high among competitors.
However, by the 1970s, Dove’s popularity as a gentle beauty bar had risen.
It was marketed as a skincare bar containing 25 percent cleansing cream.
In a time when soaps were simple and known to dry out the skin, Dove was marketed as a more gentle option that was actually not soap at all but a product of careful military research.
The company was slow to take off with a lack of global identity and a decentralized product.
A lack of corporate strategy also played a part, and the small amount of products the company released did not rank high among competitors.
However, by the 1970s, Dove’s popularity as a gentle beauty bar had risen.
It was marketed as a skincare bar containing 25 percent cleansing cream.
By 1980, it was the leading brand recommended by physicians.
Eventually, the company launched body washes, shampoos and other beauty products.
But how did their marketing change to make this a success as more and more companies released gentle soaps and hygiene products?
Dove’s unique strategy focused on revealing the natural beauty in every woman instead of spotlighting famous celebrities or models.
By using ads and campaigns to focus on everyday women and how each one has a different look or body shape, the company was able to successfully increase consumer awareness and sales.
Dove launched ads celebrating curvy women and older women.
While most brands focus on the importance of the product itself, Dove’s key message was the importance of every woman feeling good about herself. (Compare to Coco Mademoiselle with a different key message about luxury helping women to feel empowered).
A strong emotional touch was one of Dove’s main goals.
Dove product displays showed pictures of women who did not fit the tall, white and thin society stereotype showing just as much self-esteem.
This is the idea that makes the product appeal to the majority of women.
The company also has evolved to use social media for feedback and sharing innovative ideas.
One of the company’s most successful ads was a video that went viral called, Dove Real Beauty Sketches with over 55 million views on YouTube.
Dove continues evolving to keep up with the changing world.
By using advertisements with women from all age groups, the brand has a broad enough reach that all ages have developed trust and loyalty to its products.
Two of the main ideas that keep Dove going strong are developing adaptive ways to market the brand while also keeping a smaller product base.
By lowering their original amount of 1,600 brands to just 400, they were able to select master brands and categorize the remaining products under those to avoid confusion.
Dove’s story of marketing changes that eventually led to great success is a good example of how changing strategies can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty. Some companies make the mistake of narrowing the appeal of their brands to a small group of people without intending to do so. Some ideas may work for a while, but technology and your target audience are constantly changing, so companies must also adapt their marketing strategies to embrace these changes.
It seems as if they are selling hope. When a woman goes to buy the product she is inspired by all these things. And when she sees the Dove container she makes an association to the advertisement and its signs.
Quote you could use:
Quote you could use:
An advert“should do more than just label or identify the product; it should also bring flattering associations to mind, associations which will help to sell it” (Dyer 1982: 141).
Dove encodes a message in their adverts, a message that their desired audience can decode, because the advertiser's message can only make sense if both encoder and decoder are speaking the same code “Our messages and texts become meaningful or signifying because they are constructed with the semiotic substances of codes”(Danesi 1994: 18);
Many texts, however, do have global appeal and points covered may include:
• Type of product
• Theme, narrative, genre
• Use of stars, celebrities (or not in the case of DRW)
• Distribution and marketing
• Internet
• Audience factors – links to theory (e.g. Uses and Gratifications, audience pleasures).
E-mail your answers to Mr Ealey when complete.
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Dove has launched its next campaign aimed squarely at young girls and teenagers. According to Dove's research six out of 10 teenage girls think they would be happier if they were thinner and while 30% of eight- to 12-year-old girls want to be slimmer.
Rather than promoting a product, Dove's new campaign promotes a fund set up to donate money to charities that promote wellbeing and raise self-esteem.
It has also produced a schools teaching resource which aims to help pupils understand and cope with how they feel about their physical appearance.
This raises the question: Are the methods Dove is using to sell soap, lotions and potions less insidious (seemingly harmless) than those used by brands that perpetuate the myth of female physical perfection and persist in peddling the sexualisation of women (Like Coco Mademoiselle)?
Dove can surely be commended for making an effort to change perceptions of beauty in advertising, however you need to discuss another point of view in the exam.
Take the first campaign, the six real women in white underwear. The unusualness use of women in the ad glosses over the fact that the product it is pushing is a skin firming lotion. If the women shown were that happy with your bodies they wouldn't need a skin-firming lotion.
L'Oreal was criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority for making "misleading" claims about a similar kind of cellulite cream.
The new campaign, says Dove, aims to encourage adult women to help girls and teenagers feel better about themselves. But if girls as young as eight are concerned about their appearance, they are also ideal targets as the new generation of beauty product consumers, ripe to get hooked on a particular brand.
(Homework Task 1: Answer the following past exam question:
(Homework Task 1: Answer the following past exam question:
How global is the appeal of your three main texts?
Some chosen texts may not have global appeal – you can argue that they are essentially British in theme, tone, distribution etc like the Paddy Power 'mischief campaign'– this is wholly acceptable. Many texts, however, do have global appeal and points covered may include:
• Type of product
• Theme, narrative, genre
• Use of stars, celebrities (or not in the case of DRW)
• Distribution and marketing
• Internet
• Audience factors – links to theory (e.g. Uses and Gratifications, audience pleasures).
E-mail your answers to Mr Ealey when complete.
