PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING subject name doves marketing strategy analysis in vietnam market and make proposals

SomeUnilever's brands such as Dove, OMO, P/S, Clear, Pond's, Lifebuoy, Sunsilk,Lipton, Sunlight…have become familiar products of every Vietnamese family.. As a result, moreand more Unile

MINISTRY OF FINANCE UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE – MARKETING

FACULTY OF MARKETING

-

-ESSAY PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING

Subject name:

Dove's marketing strategy analysis in Vietnam

market and make proposals

Ho Chi Minh City - 2021

Teacher: Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc

Student implementation: 1 Ung Thi My Duyen: 2021008423

2 Hoang Thu Ha: 2021008431

3 Le Dinh Cat My: 2021008476

4 Pham Thi Huynh Na: 2021008481

5 Nguyen Mai Bao Vy: 2021008595

Dear Ms Minh Ngoc,

First of all, we would like to thank you for being with us this past semester.Although we still have many mistakes and the epidemic has caused a lot ofobstacles, we are very grateful to you for imparting us useful knowledge as well

as enabling us to complete the course in a timely manner

This essay was done within three weeks and it was our first time doing it.Therefore, our knowledge is still limited and mistakes will inevitably be made,

we hope you can sympathize with it Finally, we wish you good health andmore and more success in your teaching career

Thank you again and all the best to you!

01 INTRODUCTION 1

02 MARKETING ENVIRONMENT 3

I Microenvironment 3

1 The Company 3

2 The Supplier 3

3 Intermediaries 4

3.1 Reseller 4

3.2 Physical distribution firms 5

3.3 Marketing services agencies 5

4 Competitors 5

5 Publics 7

6 Customers 7

II Macroenvironment 8

1 Demographic environment 8

2 Economic environment 8

3 Natural environment 9

4 The Technological environment 9

5 Cultural environment 10

6 Political and social environment 10

03 SEGMENTATION – TARGETING – POSITIONING 11

I Segmentation 11

II Targeting 13

1 Target Strategy 13

2 Target market 14

III Positioning 14

TABLE OF CONTENTS

04 MARKETING MIX 16

I Product 16

1 Type of product 16

2 Individual product and service decision 2.1 Product attribute 16

2.2 Branding 16

2.3 Branding strategy 17

3 Product mix 18

4 Product Life Cycle 21

II Price 22

1 Pricing Method 22

2 Pricing Strategies 22

2.1 New – product pricing strategies 22

2.2 Product mix pricing strategies 23

2.3 Price adjustment strategies 23

III Place 24

1 Channel Behavior & Organization 24

2 Channel Design Decision 25

IV Promotion 26

1 Promotion Mix 26

1.1 Advertising 26

1.2 Public relations 27

1.3 Personal selling 29

1.4 Sales promotion 29

2 Promotion Mix Strategies 30

05 PROPOSE 32

REFERENCES 34

Unilever is a multinational company founded by the UK and the Netherlandsspecializing in the production and sales of personal, household and foodproducts, officially established in Vietnam and put into operation in 1995 SomeUnilever's brands such as Dove, OMO, P/S, Clear, Pond's, Lifebuoy, Sunsilk,Lipton, Sunlight…have become familiar products of every Vietnamese family

DOVE

DOVE is a typical brand of Unilever, contributing a significant part to Unilever'sreputation Dove’s product first appeared in 1957 as a soap bar used bysoldiers during World War II After that, with improvements in the formula, Doveimpressed consumers with its ability to moisturize in a cleansing product This

is also a unique feature that makes the brand become one of the world’s mostbeloved beauty brands Up to now, Dove has become a prestigious globalbrand with more than 50 years of experience in the cosmetic chemical industry.They offer a wide range of products: body washes, hand and body lotions,facial cleansers, deodorants, shampoos, conditioners and hair stylingproducts…

built the belief in natural beauty in the hearts of women around the world andalways strives to help women overcome stereotypical beauty and developpositive feeling with the way they look Dove also try to raise their self-esteemand be more confident with their own body with the philosophy: "Only naturalbeauty lasts forever”

Besides enhancing the beauty of women, Dove also cares about men In 2015,Dove launched a men's product line with the message: "Men only becomemasculine when they know how to care for their family and themselves" Notonly that, the brand's goal is to target all those who identify as female and non-binary with the aim of breaking down gender, color and racial discrimination tocreate equality in modern life

ACHIEVEMENT

Today, Dove has become a trusted friend of women in over 80 countries and their products are offered for both women, men, and babies In VietNam, with the “Ad makeover campaign”, Dove has successfully pushed back 171 million banners with negative messages The company reached more than 5.5 million female users – half a million more than its original target What makes Dove successful not only comes from the product quality but also from the value Dove brings to customers It is a long

image of beauty without stereotypes

1 The Company

Mrs Nguyen Thi Bich Van has officially been the

chairman of Unilever Vietnam since 2017 With

more than 25 years working at Unilever, she has

made significant contributions to the management

plan's design, ensuring that the departments can

work together effectively Today she and 1500

other employees continuously makes efforts to

accomplish Unilever’s mission: “Striving for a

better Vietnam”

To realize that goal, Unilever’s R&D centres invents new products andimproves existing products to delight Vietnamese consumers It costs themmore than 300 million dollars to invest in the Vietnam market As a result, moreand more Unilever’s products including Dove shampoo are well known toVietnamese people.

2 The supplier

Dove has a strong base of reliable suppliers of raw material to help thecompany overcome any supply chain bottlenecks Dove cooperates with theirpartners: Firmenich and Givaudan They are Swiss multinational manufacturer

of flavours, fragrances and active cosmetic ingredients As of 2017, these arealso the 2 largest companies in the world in the flavour and fragranceindustries Beside that, In Vietnam, Unilever- parent company of Dove, iscurrently purchasing some key raw materials from Vinachem and Vinachem's

Figure 1 First chairwomen of Unilever Vietnam

MARKETING ENVIRONMENT

0

I MICROENVIRONMENT

member companies This also contributes to more consistent and long-termsupply of production materials for Dove.

3 Intermediaries

3.1 Reseller

Up to now, Unilever has more than 150 distributors and 300.000 retailersnationwide Their wholesalers are some popular supermarkets in Vietnam suchas: Lottemart, Coopmart, GO, Mega Market… Besides these big markets,Dove is also distributed to retailers like Vinmart, Bach hoa xanh, Circle K andsome grocery stores, local markets in customers’ area In recent years, Dovealso has a strong system of e-retailers like Shoppee, Lazada, Tiki…

Figure 4 Popular E-commerce Figure 2 Supermarket in Vietnam Figure 3 Convenience store in Vietnam

3.2 Physical distribution firms

The main mode of transportation is trucks and containers Since 1995, Unileverhas established Lever Haso and Lever Viso to manufacture and distributepersonal care products at affordable prices to Vietnamese consumers Theywant to ensure that their product can be delivered to mountainous and ruralareas and everywhere in Vietnam

3.3 Marketing services agencies

Although Unilever has their own Marketing department, they still cooperate withmany prestigious agencies such as WPP, Omnicom and Interpublic

120.000 – 150.000 VND (650g) 60.000 – 90.000 VND (320g)

Dove's average price in the same product segment is extremely high when

compared to its main competitors like Clear and Sunsilk This is a significant disadvantage for Dove in the Vietnam market

Besides, Vietnam has a hot and humid climate, with high temperatures in mostparts of the country This is why dandruff-cleaning shampoos are needed.While Dove’s products just focus on restoring and moisturizing, Clear hasquickly developed a number of anti-dandruff and cooling shampoos As aresult, Clear's products dominate the market in central and southern Vietnam.

Apart from the tagline "Real Beauty," Dove hasn't had a slogan that has had ahuge impact on Vietnamese consumers Sunsilk, for example, uses experts inits TV commercials to increase the brand's verifiability in the face of so manyhair care companies competing with it This demonstrates that Dove needs toinvest more in TVC in order to reach a larger range of users

Figure 5 A survey made by Q&Me

5 Publics

General public

In 2017, Dove faced criticism in its shower gel ad The advertising contentshows a black girl wearing a dark brown t-shirt, after she takes it off, she turnsinto a white girl with a completely different look After being released, this admade thousands of people angry, calling for a boycott of Dove shower gelbecause they thought the ad was racist This brand was forced to change thebrand name of its top-selling skin-lightening product in India from "Fair &Lovely" to "Glow & Lovely", after public outcry over negative stereotypesagainst people with dark skin This scandal made Dove understand theimportance of the general public’s reaction to their brand

6 Customers

Customer-centricity is Dove's guiding principle Two main customers of Dove

in the market are reseller and consumer Dove products are suitable for both men and women in the different age groups However, most of Dove's

consumers are young, independent and affluent women between the ages of

18 and 34 Customer-centricity is Dove's guiding principle The brand has launched many campaigns over the last decades to educate customers about

Figure 6 Dove's controversial advertisement

changing people’s social perceptions, especially women Therefore, Dove’s products try to influence people both physically and emotionally.

1 Demographic environment

The current population of Vietnam is approximately 98 million based on thelatest General Statistics Office data in April 2021 68% of the population is theage of 15-64 and half of the number is the people below 34 This shows thatthe population of Vietnam today is a young population and has a large laborforce This is one of the potential markets for Dove to grow its business As ofApril 2019, the number of urban centers in the country has increased to 830.The urbanization rate of the country is estimated to reach about 40% by theend of 2019 This proves that more and more citizens want to access urbanliving environments instead of rural areas Dove can fully take advantage ofthis to increase human resources as well as reach more consumers As aresult, Dove is increasing output, particularly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city inorder to meet rising urban demand

2 Economic Environment

The Vietnamese economy is rapidly changing with remarkable speed In Covid

19, Vietnam’s economy has remained resilient, expanding by 2.9% in 2020,

II MACROENVIRONMENT

Figure 7 Nielsen Vietnam research 2020

one of the highest growth rates in the world and growth is expected to reach6.5% in 2021 Despite cutting spending on food services, travel, luxuryshopping and entertainment, Vietnamese consumers tend to have a higherdemand for health care and personal hygiene products According to research

by Nielsen Vietnam in 2020, the personal care product category is one of thecategories with increased consumption during the time of Covid 19 Besidethat, the standard of living of people in big cities is becoming better and better.With higher income, the price of personal care products will become less of apriority and instead, quality is more important

3 Natural environment

According to Dove’s company, the majority of the resources areagricultural raw materials As a result, the natural environment plays a criticalrole in Dove production However, concerns about environmental sustainabilityhave steadily increased in recent years Our natural resources, particularlynonrenewable sources such as oil, coal, and natural gas are rapidly depleting

in the environment Awaring this problem, Dove is trying to transport theirproducts from road to rail and sea to reduce their environmental impact Inresponse to ecological concern, they are also investing in more sustainableplastic choices to reduce the use of virgin plastic, using alternative materialsand packaging innovations for their products

4 The Technological Environment

Unilever's products are easily provided to consumers at low cost and in ashort time thanks to current science and technology This improves thecompany's reputation and leads to a significant growth in profitability

On the other hand, technological innovation in each product is vitallyimportant in the 4.0 technology era This will be the deciding factor in Dove'sability to compete with larger competitors Dove, in particular, works with

Research and Development professionals and dermatologists to developadvanced technologies and ingredients for signature Dove care

5 Cultural Environment

Vietnamese women have always favored black, long, bouncy, lustrous hairand smooth, bright skin, which is a symbol of Asian beauty Natural elementshave traditionally been appreciated by Vietnamese women as a source ofbeauty The more society develops, the more women tend to look for naturalthings Recognizing this demand, Dove has constantly promoted production aswell as widely communicated on the mass media about their products to beable to reach closer to Vietnamese customers Typically, Dove has launched aset of products called Dove Nourishing Secret with lotus extract and rice water– two natural ingredients that are close to Vietnam’s tradition

6 Political and social environment

Due to the appearance of various foreign brands in Vietnam, the Vietnamesegovernment has enacted a number of laws to encourage Vietnamese citizens

to support our country by purchasing Vietnamese goods, such as the

"Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods" program These laws have asignificant impact on how customers shop

In 2010, working closely with the Vietnamese government, global Unileverlaunched its Sustainable Development Plan (USLP) which aims to doublegrowth, halving environmental impact and enhancing positive socialeffect They have set practical goals such as: Committed to bettering the lives

of Vietnam's 20 million people by increasing sanitation and health for all,minimizing the environmental impact of production and commercial activities,

as well as product consumption…

• Children:

3-10 years old 13-17 years old 18-40 years old 40-65 years old

Income Financiallydependent Financially dependent Middle to high

Status Single/Dating Single/Dating/Marri-ed/Have kids kids or grandchildMarried/Have

Occupation Kindergarten

Student Student Student/Working Working/retire

PSYCHOGRAPHIC

Social Class Financially dependent Middle and upper class

Lifestyle Depend on

their parents Energetic, pay moreattention to their Busy with work and Busy with work

I SEGMENTATION

appearance family

Open-minded

and family Stable Healthy

Personality

Like catching product, cartoon character

eye-Easy-going Trendy Feeling

Independent Preferpolite packaging and luxury

Consistent Prioritize quality Careful

Price

sensitivity

Depend on their parents Medium Medium High

Daily use, sale-off, gift for coworker

Daily use, off, gift

sale-Buying

place

Depend on their parents

E-commerce platforms, convenience stores, supermarket

Online, supermarket, grocery store, market

Supermarket, grocery store, market

User status Mostly first-time users

Potential users First-time users Regular users

products)

High

Cleaning sensitive skin, Moisturizes easily dehydrated skin

Nourish bouncy and lustrous hair

Long lasting scent, take care and keep color for chemically treated

Treat hair loss, long lasting and relaxing scent, nourishing hair

1 Target strategy

Dove focuses on differentiated marketing strategy so that they can provide awide range of products suitable for each skin and hair problem according todifferent genders and ages For example, in the same shampoo and bodywash segment, there are 3 different lines specifically for men, women, andbabies Particularly for shampoo products for women, there are 5 main types:

- "Dove nutritive solutions intensive repair" for women with weak, split ends,damaged hair

- "Dove nutritive solutions oxygen moisture" is suitable for dry and flat hair,helps to nourish hair soft, bouncy but not sticky

- "Dove nourishing secrets thickening ritual" for thin, flat hair, helps tomoisturize and plump hair

- "Dove nourishing secrets glowing ritual" is suitable for handling dry, frizzy hair,making it shiny and straight

- "Dove nourishing secrets hair boost ritual" helps protect hair from damageand breakage, for naturally strong hair

II TARGETING

Based on 5 different types of shampoos being sold in the Vietnamese market,Dove is using differentiated marketing to reach a diverse range of customersand dominate the shampoo market.

2 Target Market

Dove shows that their main target market is women between the ages of 20and 45, who are already financially independent and have a middle or highincome This target market is women of mature age who especially care abouttheir appearance and are willing to spend money on beauty products Dove'sproducts are quite expensive compared to other brands on the market.Therefore, women with a high average income will often have easier access totheir products On the other hand, women of this age are those who have givenbirth, are giving birth or intend to have children The stage they will usuallybegin to have changes in appearance, especially the skin and hair So thearrival of Dove will be a good solution for them

III POSITIONING

Positioning map

According to the positioning map, Dove has a high qualified product line at a reasonable price Tresemme, on the other hand, is regarded as high quality but has a much higher price than Dove According to an online survey, Dove's popularity among female clients is barely 15% Mid-priced but high-quality shampoos like Clear and Sunsilk, on the other hand, accounted for 22% and

18 percent of the market, respectively Dove needs to develop even more to

compete with these competitors in the long run because their competitors knowhow to please their clients by offering low-cost, high-quality products.

Dove positioned itself as a brand that appreciates realistic beauty standards

by building consumers self-confidence, self-esteem and self-acceptance Theyare always committed to bringing Vietnamese women real experiences, realvalues to awaken the beauty in each person Dove is different from othercompetitors by focusing on the real thing: not trying to become better but beingaware of true beauty No other brand in its category has authentically achievedthis and Dove has gained a competitive advantage in this category due to this

smart positioning strategy “Dove is an oasis of calm in a sea of hysterical voices telling women to obsess over their imperfections.”

HIGH QUALITY

HIGH PRICE LOW PRICE

LOW QUALITY

I PRODUCT AND SERVICE DECISION

1 Type of product

Dove’s products are convenient products because they belong to thepersonal care category which is used for regular human demand As a result,it’s purchased with little planning, little comparison and high shopping effort

2 Individual product and service decision

2.1 Product Attribute

Dove always focuses on their product attributes They made a strongpositioning through their unique product attributes Dove always claims thattheir product is moisturizing, milky cream, with soft lather, less fragrance, andthere are no side effects All of the products are made focusing on benign andmild Name of the product, tagline, logo and everything is focusing femininesimplicity and so Dove can easily capture the concentration of women

2.2 Branding

Branding

DOVE means dove, a kind of bird that is known as a symbol of peace,happiness and pure beauty It has a simple, easy to remember name that iseasily attracted to women who appreciate beauty and femininity Moreover,

"DOVE" is also a unique name that captures the core of the product and brandidentity After more than 50 years, the name DOVE has remained firmly in themarket, and is still consistent with the company values built from the first days:taking care of real beauty, respecting and cherishing women

Logo