Free Essay with the Example of Marketing Strategy

The beginning of Old Spice history

Old Spice is one of the product lines for the Proctor and Gamble Inc., which is an American multinational consumer goods company. The old Spice is characterized by various male grooming products which include deodorants; shampoos, body washes antiperspirants and soaps. The old Spice was previously known as Early American Old Spice. Apparently, it had been launched by Shulton Inc., in 1937 which was the company owned by William Lightfoot. Upon its entry into the market, the Early American Old Spice had targeted women. However, towards Christmas of 1937, the company started producing products that can also be used by male population thus diversifying its market.

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With time, it was realized that men’s products under the Old Spice product line were the success when it comes to the volume of sales and its overall market share. This prompted Procter & Gamble to change its production strategy. This prompted the company to concentrate more on the manufacturing and supply of Old Spice for men than for women. In the 1970s, there were multiple shifts and changes in the production process adopted by Old Spice production. This encompassed abandoning of the old brand which had focused on the manufacturing of the shaving products moving to the manufacture of the fragrance brands (Surhone, Tennoe, & Henssonow, 2011). The introduction of the signature scents in the form of Old Spice Burley highlighted the entry of the fragrance products affiliated with the Old Spice product line to the market.

Differentiation strategy of Procter & Gamble

On June of 1990, the Shulton Inc. underwent remarkable changes in its operations, compelling it to sell the Old Spice Fragrance, Skin Care, and Antiperspirant and Deodorants brands to an American Corporation called Procter & Gamble (Surhone, Tennoe, & Henssonow, 2011). The Procter & Gamble Company has since introduced different types of deodorant, body washes as well as body sprays under the umbrella of the Old Spice product line. As a way of trying to be appealing to the targeted market, Procter & Gamble Company embarked on using differentiation as the core marketing technique. This was characterized by the use of different scents, labeling and packaging when it comes to the production of the deodorant, body washes and body sprays products.

Furthermore, the packaging of the Old Spice products is characterized by different colors with the main ones beings red and white, which have been used as the logo of the company. Other colors include gray and off white. Some of the scents associated with the Old Spice product line is After Hours, Arctic Force, Denali, Game Day, Matterhorn, Pacific Surge, Showtime, and Swagger, just to name the few (Surhone, Tennoe, & Henssonow, 2011). This strategy of differentiation through manufacturing of different products on the type of the scent has been successfully implemented by Procter & Gamble; which has since widened consumer choices.

A marketing strategy consists of the selection and analysis of a target market

Procter & Gamble is one of the key players in the grooming industry of men. This industry is identified with many trends which have been significant to the company’s development of marketing plan. Castro (2016) asserts that men’s grooming industry has experienced an economic upturn since the early 2000s, with estimated returns of over $21 billion in 2016. This implies that men, especially the young generation have started getting more knowledgeable on the beauty matters. This indicates that men are now paying extra attention to their looks thus investing much efforts towards their grooming aspects. A large number of young men are have embarked on spending more on the deodorant, hair care brands and skincare products. Consequently, the volume of sales regarding men’s hair and skin products have increased with massive proportions in the recent times.

Men's attitudes towards their looks or physical appearance have changed over time. Men no longer want to be perceived as “macho men” which can be attributed to their refined sense of fashion and physical look. For instance, apart from increasing number of men using skin and hair products, it is also revealed that men are also venturing into grooming service industry, with most of them working in various saloons (Tungate, 2008). According to the survey conducted in 2015 by Professional beauty and hairdressing, it was indicated that at least 25 percent of salon customers were men. All of these trends highlight overall changes in men when it comes to their perceptions towards grooming or self-care. This implies that Old Spice brand is thriving in an industry with numerous opportunities due to its anticipated future growth.

An old spice marketing

SWOT Analysis.

Strengths:

Old Spice is between the main brands in the men’s grooming industry. Procter & Gamble Inc. is a well-established company which is the sole manufacturer and supplier of the Old Spice products. This has since led to the escalation of popularity and reliability on the Old Spice brands thus acting as an appealing factor to the targeted market. Apparently, Old Spice has employed favorite marketing techniques, which have been more viral as compared to its rivals. Procter & Gamble Company has the tendencies of using funny commercials which are appealing to the young people.

Old Spice has also been aggressive in its marketing activities which can be attested by its increasing market share. Old Spice product line is also made up of 18 different scents. Some of the scents associated with the Old Spice product line is After Hours, Arctic Force, Denali, Game Day, Matterhorn, Pacific Surge, Showtime, and Swagger, just to name the few (Surhone, Tennoe, & Henssonow, 2011). This strategy of differentiation through manufacturing of different products on the type of the scent has been successfully implemented by Procter & Gamble; which has since widened consumer choices.

Old Spice’s Market leadership increased in the recent times as compared to its rivals. For instance, between 2009 and 2010, Old Spice witnessed its market share grow from 6.2% to 10.1% whereas its close competitors such as Axe saw its fortunes in the form of a market share decline from 7.7% to 5.9% (Surhone, Tennoe, & Henssonow, 2011). By the end of 2010, Procter and Gamble had become a global leader due to its dominance in the men’s grooming industry, especially after acquiring Gillette. Globally, Procter & Gamble boasts of over 180 countries through which it sells its products (which are more than 180 products)

In a swot analysis, which of the following would be considered a weakness of a company?

The brand image of the Old Spice is a point of its weakness. This brand has been on the market for many years. Before changing its marketing strategies, the company had channeled most of its efforts trying to win over older generation. In spite of the recent campaigns targeting the young users, the Old Spice brand is considered to be more affiliated to the older generation than the younger generation.

Another aspect of weakness is that for a long time, Procter & Gamble Company has always embarked on the acquisition of the brands and product lines from other producers. The overall impact is the emergence of the competition from these commodities. Apparently, the acquired brands typically rival the existing products when it comes to the volume of sales made as well as market share. For instance, Old Spice is competing with various brands such as Gillette, Tag, Prestobarba, and March3, which are the product lines owned by Procter & Gamble.

Old Spice's market growth

There is the possible collaboration with other popular fashion brands which can be utilized in the seasonal or occasional packaging design. The brand should also consider expanding its product line to various accessories such as commodity bag or traveling tote. The expansion of the product categories should also accommodate stationary for students which can be used as a gift.

There is also the growth of the market. Old Spice has been diligent in expanding its targeted market as portrayed by its strategy that focusses on winning the loyalty of young people. Old Spice has been restructuring and redesigning its brand identity as a way of trying to appeal to young men, who are a larger group as far as the demographics of the targeted consumers is concerned (Tungate, 2008). Castro (2016) asserts that men’s grooming industry has experienced an economic upturn since the early 2000s, with estimated returns of over $21 billion in 2016. Consumers consider brands of the Old Spice to be affordable and less costly.

Economic instability influence

Intriguing government regulations are viewed as a threat to the growth and profitability of the Old Spice product line. Recently, there has been an introduction of policies and regulations in the grooming industry not only in the United States but also in other countries. Failure to cope with the inception of these new rules can spell doom to the Procter & Gamble, with Old Spice brand being affected the most.

Competition is also another element that makes Old Spice brand to be vulnerable when it comes to the maintenance or seizure of the market share. Apparently, male grooming market is still experiencing steady growth, thus attracting more entrants. This implies that Old Spice is forced to cope with fierce competition from existing brands such as Axe, Nivea and Gillette which are a significant threat to the success of the Old Spice brand. It is also revealed that product competition was emanating from the cheaper substitutes which non-name brand is also a challenge to the Old Spice brand.

Global economic instabilities (recessions and doldrums) have also been a challenge to the expansion and general operation of the Old Spice product line. Consumer spending forces dwindled greatly during the global economic downturn of 2008. The increasing costs of production due to exorbitant expenses incurred in the acquisition of the raw materials as well as escalating costs of shipping raw materials to the manufacturing center.