Campaign for Real Beauty” Does Not Have a Product-Specific Focus Which Limits Opportunities to Highlight the Brand’s Functional Superiority.

Problem: Dove’s  “Campaign for Real Beauty” does not have a product-specific focus which limits opportunities to highlight the brand’s functional superiority.

Analysis: Originally Dove was only a brand of soap, but after Unilever decided to bring down its number of brands from 1600 to 400 “Masterbrands”, Dove became the name associated with a large line of beauty products. These products included deodorants, hair care products, facial cleansers, and body lotions(pg 2). From 1957 to 2000, the Dove brand depended on its claims of functional superiority (exhibits 1,2,3). But as the brand grew to extend over multiple products, the marketers decided that Dove should stand for a “point of view” rather than emphasize functional benefit. Dove used market research and consultations with psychologists to explore women’s feelings toward the beauty industry and their own looks (pg3, exhibit 4). From this Dove began an advertising campaign that celebrated women’s natural beauty and attempted to break down stereotypes of what the beauty industry has typically portrayed in advertising. According to Dove, their mission was “to make more women feel beautiful every day by broadening the narrow definition of beauty and inspiring them to take great care of themselves”.  The advertising campaign mostly did not advertise a specific product, but did “become a catalyst for a societal debate” about beauty standards and women’s self-confidence issues (pg7). By 2006, Dove was one of the top 10 brands with the most growth in brand health and business value in the past 3 years (pg 7). It was unclear how much of the growth was related to the “Campaign for Real Beauty”, but the campaign had clearly been successful in reaching the  public in a tangible way and creating positive publicity.

Solution 1: Dove can continue to keep a more generic focus in their marketing, relying on the strength of the “campaign for real beauty”. The branding can stay focused on the underlying general notions of beauty connected to the brand name rather than the products associated with the brand. They can use marketing promotions similar to those such as “outsized” or “outstanding” billboards or the “Evolution” video.

Solution 2: Dove can leverage the social impact made with the “Campaign for Real Beauty” and the positive attention directed towards the brand to its advantage while also beginning to market in a more product-specific manner. The Dove brand can stay true to its mission statement while also emphasizing the functional superiority of their products. One example of this is the ad for skin-firming cream that featured “real” women in an effort to “change they way society views beauty”(pg 4), but also highlighted the functional benefit of firmer skin. Another line of marketing Dove used that incorporated both the “real beauty” idea and a specific beauty product was the Real Ads by Real Women contest used to promote the Dove Cream Oil Body Wash.