Example Product Analysis Report: Unilever

Target audience: Internal leadership

Value Proposition:

Dove is a owned by a major consumer goods company. Unilever has its hands in many of our day-to-day consumer items, ranging from Foods & Refreshments, to Beauty and Personal care products. The represent over 500 brands from Dove to Lipton. This is the beauty and personal care sector of consumer goods. The pandemic did have little effect on the company as a whole, however it has changed how consumers view their personal hygiene. Many more consumers have come out of their quarantines being more concerned about the origins of their products. They are focused on reducing greenhouse gases, creating biodegradable and recycled materials in their packaging. Natural ingredients in their products that are better for the consumer. These consumers for health and personal care are known as the conscious beauty market segment. Having more care in where their products are coming from, what the companies are like with their social responsibilities, if they are giving back to their communities.

Profitability:

The pandemic had little effect on their revenue in 2020 which was over 51 Euros. However Unilever has seen a somewhat consistent annual revenue, there was a slight drop in 2020 (50,724 Euros) from 2019 (51,980 Euro). This project/blog will be focused on one of their brands in particular, Dove. The health and beauty industry under Unilever has helped more than 1 billion people to improve their lives.

SWOT Analysis Strengths:

The company Unilever is a industry leading company with little competition. The represent high profiting brands, and have a large growing portfolio. Unilever has a global presence with a wide variety of loyal consumers. They also have a successful, proven marketing strategy.

New Product Projections:

The effects of the pandemic can be seen within the consumer’s homes. They are spending more time at home and with their families, rather than going out and commuting to an office. This could be a positive in a lot of ways, as certain industries have seen a changes in revenue within the last few years. Families are getting furry friends, and with the added concerns about quality products, the desire for trusted pet products is being sought. In this time, releasing a product that is conscious about keeping these new pets healthy would open up a new untouched market. This shift would be described as adjacent innovation, shifting an existing profitable company into a new product and market.

Product or service singularity:

Dove demonstrates this social awareness with their new release of their Dog shampoo line. The same trustworthy story with a new tail. Knowing the product you’re using for your new family member will improve the quality of their lives. Customized for the needs of your new pet. Itchy skin? Shedding? Dove has something for each paw. Live and Love with your dog longer.Dove has a reputation of philanthropic projects and is partnering with local animal shelters, and dog breeders to offer their new dog a shampoo with Dove’s new Dog shampoo line during their pet pick-up!

MarketLine. (2021, December 9). MarketLine. Retrieved January 7, 2022, from https://advantage-marketline-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/Company/Summary/unilever-united-states-inc

Viki, Tandayi. How Large Companies Can Act Like Startups. Retrieved February 28, 2016, fromhttps://medium.com/the-corporate-startup/how-large-companies-can-act-like-startups-436d93c01134

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION. Form 20-F. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/217410/000119312520067343/d836658d20f.htm#tx836658_29

Revenue of Unilever Group worldwide from 2007 to 2020. Statisa. https://www.statista.com/statistics/269190/global-revenue-of-the-unilever-group-since-2007/

Example Informational Blog

Target audience: People interested in marketing strategy

Marketing objectives are an essential part of any companies’ marketing strategy. Having objectives can create a baseline structure for how a marketing team is, step-by-step, going to proceed in an organizing and executing their marketing for a new product or service. The marketing objectives should follow the rules of SMART criteria.

S-specific

Having specific objectives will clarify what the expectation will be for the proceeding directives.

M-measurable

Having measurable feedback on how well the product or service is being viewed by the intended audience will create more traceable information that can then be built upon to improve or maintain outreach.

A-achievable

Having goals that are achievable will create realistic expectations for how the strategy will progress, and what the proper step will be proceeding the last. Small steps can be more feasible in the planning strategy given particular circumstances.

R-relevant

The aspirations to the marketing strategy MUST be relevant to the product or service, as well as maintain the companies’ mission, voice and tone.

T-time frame

The time frame for the promotional material needs to be delivered to the consumer in a timely manner to achieve brand awareness. Having a deadline for the particular objective to be accomplished will keep the strategy on track and organized.

Each company has a mission that is the overarching objective for how the business is there to serve their consumer. This mission statement should be the foundation for how the company will actively proceed with their consumer and will impact all other facets of their marketing campaign. The objectives need to align with the company’s mission statement. The goals of a business are helpful to keeping expenses down for the company, while increasing consumer outreach, and increasing productivity and profit. “Here, offering values to customers, partners, clients, and society is the core essence of an ethical marketing campaign” (Bhasin, Hitesh. Marketing Ethics – Definition, Importance, Role and Examples). Having a social responsibility will broaden the company outreach within specific communities. Having ethical marketing will increase customer loyalty and company credibility.

Maxwell Ranasinghe. How to develop Marketing Objectives. Feb, 22, 2012. https://www.slideshare.net/maxwellranasinghe/how-to-develop-marketing-objectives

How to define and Measure Marketing Objectives: A start to Finish Guide. https://blog.alexa.com/marketing-objectives/

Bhasin, Hitesh. Marketing Ethics – Definition, Importance, Role and Examples. April 26, 2021. https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-ethics/

Example Informational blog

People wanting to learn how to segment their audience

Market segmentation is an important process in identifying who you are selling your product or service to. Choosing a particular segment of consumers to sell to can be the difference between success and failure. A segment of market has to include the potential consumer’s age, projected income, demographics, needs, wants, priorities, interests, lifestyles, and psychographic behaviors. The more customized the target market the more specialized the brand will be.

The idea of marketing segmentation is the ability to develop a product or service around the right person, at the right time. Along with analytic research into this specific person, having tools to provide insight into that person’s lifestyle will optimize the outreach and touchpoints to reach that segment. Through utilizing segmentation analytical tools, such as qualitative research to determine the specific parameters for the exact behaviors of the target market. This could be through focus groups, interviews, surveys, and observations. This research can be an asset to how to format a marketing plan specifically for that consumer. It may inform the marketing team what they are expecting from this service, what isn’t working for their current provider. Having this background will narrow down the optimal qualities about the product or service providers consumer.

The main segmentizing details are Behavioral, psychological, geographical, and demographic. Behavioral segmenting is the idea of selling to a person based off of their actions. Psychological segmenting is the idea of selling to a consumer on their lifestyle. Geographical is location, and demographic would include all of the details of the person’s situation (age, religion, salary, gender, etc.)

Miss Mobile wants to provide a service that brings women in need feminine products, contraception, supplements and healthcare called Miss Mobile. This service would be mobile and go wherever it is needed. This could be a national service, and with the potential to expand and help more in need. The market segment that this service would be directed toward would be lower income areas, specifically underprivileged women, who are between the ages of 11-50. Neighborhoods that are not in the ideal situation to provide their community with the proper education background about their bodies, or the means to take care of it and maintain their health. Women who occupy these neighborhoods generally do not have access to or the financial security to receive the proper health care and product services that their bodies might require and knowledge to self-sustain. This can send them into mistrust of the healthcare system and ending them in worst situations than when they started. Situations that can jeopardize their health, and their safety. The more informed they are, the less chances of them making the wrong decisions for themselves.

The scope and impact of mobile health clinics in the United States: a literature review. Yu. Stephanie W. Y. 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5629787/

Heath, Sara. Nov. 7, 2018. How Do Mobile Health Clinics Impact Patient Access to Care?

https://patientengagementhit.com/news/how-do-mobile-health-clinics-impact-patient-access-to-care

Example response blog

Target audience: Responding to negative feedback

Tylenol was the number one over-the-counter pain reliever in the United States. They had a steady following, and no primary competitors. As a mystery began to emerge in 1982 individuals were dying in what seemed to be random order, of all ages, all over the state of Illinois. There was no connection to the mysterious incidents except that they were in the same geographical region of the country, and upon further inspection, after the autopsy reports, were all said to have cyanide poisoning. Their relatives were gave testimony that all victims took a dose of Tylenol before they passed. The company determined the only possible explanation for the regrettable instances was from tampering after the capsules left the warehouse distributor. “Before the 1982 crisis, Tylenol controlled more than 35 percent of the over-the-counter pain reliever market; only a few weeks after the murders, that number plummeted to less than 8 percent”(Markel, Dr. Howard. How the Tylenol Murders of 1982 changed the way we consumer medication). This clearly had a huge impact on the consumer engagement with the brand, and effected their overall sales.

Johnson & Johnson came back with a campaign that was purely focused upon righting their wrongs. They publicly apologized for the unforgivable incident and invested a good portion of money into efforts of finding the culprit and bringing them to justice. They eventually found him and he was sentenced to 20 years in jail for his crimes.

With this public apology, as well as locating the individual responsible, Johnson & Johnson refocused their efforts on bringing their reputation back into the minds of their consumers. The real issue here lied in the safety of their product. They reinvented the product, from capsules to tablets. The brand offered for consumers to send in their old products to be replaced with the new product at no charge. This was not successful in reinventing their brand. They did however come up with a new packaging that was more secure and prevented any tampering with the bottle without the consumer becoming aware of it. This innovation was the spark that sent their consumer engagement back up to its original peak. The safety of their product was restored, and copied by their top competitors, and has now become how we buy over-the-counter pain killers today.

Markel, Dr. Howard. How the Tylenol Murders of 1982 changed the way we consumer medication. Sept 29, 2014. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/tylenol-murders-1982

Caesar-Gordon, Andrew. PR Week. The Perfect Crisis Response? https://www.prweek.com/article/1357203/perfect-crisis-response

Example Informational blog

Target audience: Marketers setting SMART goals

SMART goals offer the marketer an opportunity to initiate with a goal and strategize a plan of attack on how to accomplish said objective effectively. This will ensure and support the success of the business and can be applied to different facets of business development. Many businesses do not allot for this supportive strategizing before setting goals that they potentially want to achieve. Staying ahead of the competitive market will set the firm apart from others. SMART stands for:

S-Specific

Pinpointing a very specific goal and putting it at the core of all of businesses’ efforts. Ask the 5 W’s (What, When, Where, Who, Why). Asking these questions will ensure that the plan has been evaluated from every angle given specific details.

M-Measurable

Measuring tactics to stay timely and record development at every step of the way. Having a specific checklist to cross off steps every step of the way.

Achievable

Creating goals that are realistic and achievable as not to become discouraged and to manifest practical solutions.

R-Relevant

Recognizing steps that are helpful and relative to the end goals. Relating details that will promote progress and lasting results.

T-Time-related

How to manage your time appropriately to optimize the process. This concerns meeting deadlines and sticking to them. This demonstrates a definite amount of time that the team should be spending on each strategy.

SMART goals encourage having a tactful plan to achieve a goal will differentiate your business from your top competitors. Having clear and concise steps on how to attain these intentions will put you ahead of the potential competition. The overall goal may change, but the strategy will remain complete. People and consumers tend to react the same, that remains constant. These steps allow clarity for those steps on how to achieve a particular outcome, targeting the exact tactic that you are focusing on, creating timely solutions to these ideas, and utilizing your resources all while making strides to achieve the desired result throughout the process not just the end result.

However SMART goals give an organized plan for how to produce a desired result on a short-term basis, they may vary depending upon a given circumstance in the long term. Understanding and executing these various steps can be vital to the firm’s success.

SMART Goals: How to Make Your Goals Achieveable. Mind Tools. Retrieved by  https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm

Marketing Strategy vs. Tactics- explaining the difference. June 16, 2019. Retrieved by http://charliesaidthat.com/digital/digital/difference-between-marketing-strategy-vs-tactics-an-example/

Trader Joe’s has been rated one of the top places to work in retail by multiple sources (i.e. Glassdoor, Reddit, Business Insider). “Trader Joe’s also made the list in 2017, 2013, 2012, and 2011″(Trader Joe’s is one of the best places to work in the US — employees share the 7 best parts of the job, Aine Cane). It offers its employees much more than just a job. Employees who were interviewed for this article said that they truly enjoyed working for the company.

Trader Joes offers its employees great benefits; vacation pay, affordable insurance, retirement plans, as well as substantial income. Although, in addition to these various benefits, they also provide a carefree and supportive work environment. Their work ethic is focused on creating a accepting, free work atmosphere, that drives up their employees morales. They hire people based on their personailty and how it will assist in contributing to their already outstanding reputation.

Their work is evenly distributed, and not dumped on lower status employees, who are treated with as much respect as the more senior employees. The responsibilities are shared by all employees and the creates a more happy employee and a “sensible chain of command”.

Trader Joes also donates to many community efforts to give back to their community, for their continued support. “Through our Neighborhood Shares program it’s been our long-running policy to donate 100% of products that go unsold but are safe for consumption to local food banks & other non-profit food recovery partners”(Trader Joes, Donations and Sponsorships). In addition to this they also donate to many local non-profits to promote their efforts, as well as local school districts, and hospitals.

Trader Joes. 2020. https://www.traderjoes.com/contact-us/donation-sponsorship

Cain, Aine. July 11, 2018. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/trader-joes-jobs-best-parts-2018-7#a-sensible-chain-of-command-7

Example comparison blog

Target audience: Those learning about brand strategy

Coke and Pepsi have been rivals for many years. Coke has maintained their lead through many years however, over Pepsi. They both have similar marketing strategies, utilizing celebrity sponsorship to appeal to their audiences, supporting global efforts, such as eco-friendly efforts, healthier alternatives, user friendly applications, as well as maintaining similar prices for a near identical product. Both are ubiquitous brands. Coca-Cola has decided to use a segmented target marketing toward a younger generation than Pepsi. PepsiCo was advertising in a more general marketing, and emphasizing their taste over their top competitor brand.

Coca-Cola launched a new product containing more sugar that was attempting to compete with Pepsi, and came across as a reaction to Pepsi’s new targeted advertisement about their classic flavor. This immediately backfired on the company and Coca-Cola promptly reverted back to their classic formula, and rebranded. PepsiCo then did the same reactive response to Coca_cola by targeting their audience to a more youthful consumer.

When it comes to their active ingredients, Pepsi has a higher sugar content then Coca-Cola does, making it sweeter and more powerful in the initial taste test. Coca-Cola contains more subtle vanilla flavors and contains less sugar. However Coca-cola dominates in the soda department, PepsiCo seems to be doing steadily better in their alternative products (snacks, Gatorade, Tropicana).

Coca-Cola has still remained on top, becoming an international brand, while PepsiCo is slightly under Coca-Cola sales. In order to keep up with Coca-Col as the market leader, PepsiCo should focus more targeted marketing, choosing a specific demographic to market toward. They attempted this in an advertisement directed toward the political aspects of the Black Lives Matter movement. Being a brand that is more driven toward having a good time, not creating it as a serious political brand. Coming at social awareness with a more unification standpoint. They have recently started utilizing their old logo to create more awareness of the here and now. They must maintain what their brand stands with, and holding true to their brand.

I personally prefer the taste of Coca-Cola over PepsiCo, not being much of a sweet person, I find that subtle taste of coke more appealing.

King, Katie. Posted June 30, 2022. Do you Know the Difference Between Coke and Pepsi? https://www.wideopeneats.com/difference-coke-pepsi/

Sievers, Clarissa. Posted Feb 23, 2020. Coke or Pepsi? An in-depth Look at Decades of Marketing Rivalry. https://pinckneymarketing.com/coke-vs-pepsi-rivalry/

C., Ken. Posted Aug 1, 2019. Coke vs. Pepsi: The Story Behind the Biggest Marketing Rivalry in History. https://contentwriters.com/blog/coke-vs-pepsi-the-story-behind-the-biggest-rivalry-in-history/

Under Armor is a company that had started with a a very specific product, that would replace the typical fabric that were worn underneath Football pads, to a much more breathable, and practical fabric. From there Under Armor became one of the largest competing fitness apparel brand’s to date beating out Adidas for number two athletic brand after launching their ad campaign, “I Will What I Want”. This campaign was targeted toward expanding Under Armor into the female market. Beginning with a specific product, the fabric worn underneath football pads, demonstrates an example of niche segmentation.

“By 2013, Under Armor had expanded to shorts, shoes, and even hats, and was already a success within the men’s athletic-wear market”. (Under Armor’s Willful Digital Moves). Now that they had a standing market in the men’s athletic market, they wanted to expand their possible sales into a women’s based line. They utilized social media, YouTube, to advertise their new female focused line. Their ad was released shortly after Adidas published their YouTube and it only received 400K views on YouTube, where Under Armor went with a celebrity sponsor to target and got 4 million views.

They utilized celebrity sponsorship to promote different active sports to develop a campaign clearly around women’s physique as well as celebrate women’s mental strength and determination. Celebrities such as Misty Copeland, and Gisele Bündchen signed with the Under Armor brand Brand. These celebrities were specifically chosen to advocate for a nontraditional celebrity endorser, and it assisted greatly in boosting the brand.

It is important to find a definite market segment to target in running ad campaigns. “Smaller segments can actually be more profit- able when there is less competition.” (Cardes, Frank, Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy). Having a large range of products can make the chance of successful competition much more challenging to compete with, this is called marketing aggression. They also use differentiated marketing to appeal to various types of consumers, directing specific products depending on the consumer’s needs and lifestyle.

I definitely would like to see more active-lounge wear which has become much more popular to wear for day-to-day. Expanding on this market with clothing that is designed for people to be comfortable but also trendy when they are out and about.

https://services.hbsp.harvard.edu/lti/links/content-launch

Cardes, Frank, Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy. pg 43-45.

Consumer behaviors can affect how marketers must conduct their marketing research to target different motives that consumer may have. Consumers interest can vary depending on their motive for buy different products. These customers may be motivated by individually motivated depending on the commodity. “Consumer behavior entails all consumer activities associated with the purchase, use, and dis- posal of goods and services, including the consumer’s emotional, mental, and behavioral responses that precede, determine, or follow these activities”. (Consumer Behavior, Kardes, F., Cronley, et al).

I am personally more of a Need-Based Consumer, mostly buying products as a need-by-need basis. However when it comes to other products, I can be more impulsive. I definitely have brands that I like to shop, for instance in athletic shoes. So I show my loyalty consumerism in specific instances.

I am a one person income household, so budgeting how much I am spending on my needs versus my wants helps me to prioritize where my money is being spent and what it is being spent on. Quality for me can be more important that price. Also recieveing recommendations from other friends I have that have tried the product and I have similar taste to give me more motive to sample different merchandise. I am also highly influenced by advertising, maybe even more than I want to be.

I do not seem to experience any post purchase behavior for certain items. If I am purchasing food, I believe that I value quality of the item over the cost. Obviously if there are sales, I may try to navigate my meals more around what may be discounted that week. Or if there are buy one get on deals. GOing into a grocery store I have a clear idea of what I will be purchasing, and rarely stray away from those items. When I am browsing however, that may create a different motive. Same could be said for clothing as well, however this is not a need and it is a more luxury item, which has different circumstances to need products. Spending too much on these types of items may cause me guilt after purchasing.

DJ Team. Types of Consumers. June 25, 2020. https://www.demandjump.com/blog/types-of-consumers-in-marketing

Kardes, F., Cronley, M., & Cline, T. (2012). Consumer behavior (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

The new product being released by PepsiCo is a calorie counting app called PepsiFit. It is an app that allows the user to record their daily intake of calories while also being provided with more nutritious alternatives to their favorite Pepsi products. It will give already loyal customers a new perspective on their favorite brand. The world’s consumer’s are becoming increasingly aware of where their food is being sourced from, and beginning to build healthier lifestyles and diets. This trend is on a steady rise, especially in the United States where Pepsi’s consumer base is located. Pepsi already has a very well organized app that allows the user to receive discounts, and delivery of their products. Adding on the PepsiFit feature to this preexisting app with be low cost and easy solution to tapping into a different niche market. This product is unique to the brand, no other major competitor, Coke-Cola, is offering it. Having an already loyal consumer base will only help the app’s success because their customers already know and trust the Pepsi Brand.

There are no future trends that may inhibit the success of this app because the increasing awareness of what our daily intake of food is doing to our bodies is only spreading. Also test marketing the app in already health conscious states will provide a basic understanding of the targeted market’s feedback and responses to the new features of the app.

Offering this new app that is more focused on the health of their consumers could open up new possibilities for the PepsiCo brand to manufacture more nutritious alternatives. These products will be listed as suggested products for people who are already utilizing the delivery feature of their Pepsi app. The food delivery service is also on the up because of the current state of the world with the pandemic having no end in sight. Many customer’s are purchasing food for delivery straight to their homes.

As long as PepsiCo is open and honest about their promotions with this new app, there shouldn’t be any question about the validity of the test marketing and release of this product. They are asking responders to participate in this test marketing through means of email, social media, and their brand’s app. All participants are consenting to being the first to test the product, which will induce excitement and popularity as the preliminary members tell their friends about their experience. Having a smaller sample market to test the product in will give a more definite response to what needs improvement, and what the sample participants are satisfied with.

Babin, B. (2018), Essentials of Marketing Research, 7th Edition, Cengage Learning US, [Insert City of Publication]. Available from: MBS Direct.

Capritto, Amanda. June 3, 2020. Retrieved by https://www.verywellfit.com/best-calorie-counter-apps-4777302