Essay Example: An Analysis of Dove Campaign For Real Beauty

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a strategy used by Dove company for a marketing campaign aimed at promoting women's natural beauty by using Fast moving consumer goods products such as deodorants, soap, and shampoo and lotion.It was started by Unilever in 2004 by a photography event organized by Dove, Ogilvy, and Mather. The earliest campaign was carried out in Germany and United Kingdom mainly on billboard advertisements. The marketing campaign is over a decade old. Ordinary women were used in the photography and ratings were made from votes of the people on the billboards. The adverts triggered media attention making the campaign more popular, thus spreading worldwide. The campaign extended its prosperity after the release of more viral advert videos such as "Daughters" and "Beauty Crackdown." Currently, the marketing campaign is linked to over 80 countries consuming the products for example

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Dove Campaign for Real Beauty properly plans its marketing strategies to promote all the brands. Since the products are mainly used by women, proper planning to attract them have to be used, for example, during the launch of the marketing campaign, ordinary women were used in the photography rather than using popular models.Ordinary people every consumer who is considered to be common just like featuring in the advert feel part of the products. The use of billboards in the campaign attracted the majority of the people thus developing the market. Majority of the adverts give clear information through procedural demonstration creating more awareness to the consumer. Dove campaign for real beauty has been promoted using tools such as campaign posters, flyers, newspaper and magazine advertisements, MS and social networking sites, for example, Facebook and Twitter.

Despite the struggles and prosperity, Dove Campaign for real beauty experience some challenges. In many instances, a lot of negative criticism has been released by individuals about the campaign. Since Unilever produces other similar product brands such as Fair and Lovely which are mainly advertised for turning a dark skin into light, people have reacted differently over the same claiming that there is total contradiction what is contained in the Dove Campaign For Real Beauty and Unilever's other brands. In a good number of instances, the campaign has been criticized for making adverts believed to promote racism. In 2011 the advert for "visible Care body wash" started with a black woman's photo which after that turns to a white woman appearing to be "more beautiful." In another instance an advert considered to have racist content, the advert starts with a black woman removing a top and turns to a smiling white woman. Dove Campaign for Real Beauty has faced such challenges which have forced the management to apologize to the consumers and get the advertisements removed from social networking sites and other platforms.

Dove campaign for real beauty has relatively deviated positively with the most significant consumer being women. It has gained popularity from the well-strategized promotions and adverts making Dove the products among the most used by customers worldwide despite stiff competition from other brands such as Nivea. The variety of products associated with Dove campaign for real beauty have further attracted more consumers. For instance, the production of various shapes of bottled products that resemble women has drawn consumers while some have negatively responded to the same. Despite the fact that dove campaign for real beauty's products are targeted for women when it comes to general concerns men also significantly influence product consumption. They have joined the consumers in analyzing the outcomes mainly through the adverts where men are consumers. Some of the criticism has come from both men and women thus derailing product promotion primarily in the common fault of contradictions and racism in adverts.

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty just like any other business enterprise has several strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Unilever being the mother company and famous for its quality brands makes the marketing campaign more attractive. It has a long market chain linking it to more than 80 countries worldwide thus making it stable. The marketing campaign is associated with a variety of products for example soap, deodorant, and creams. Products can be easily purchased online, in stores and top supermarkets. The marketing campaign mainly targets female making the products unfamiliar to men. Some of the videos photos have portrayed racist content triggering criticism hence discouraging potential consumers. The marketing campaign can have a target on men being fruitfully by increasing male related products. More market opportunities can be achieved through extending products to countries that initially had no supply. Among the threats to the marketing campaign is the stiff competition from other brands such as Nivea.

To promote Dove Campaign for Real Beauty's further success in the Middle Eastern Region, Dove should concentrate on product innovation and marketing. Proper planning on all strategies should be done and all activities should be monitored especially videos and photos used in adverts should be appropriately scrutinized to avoid adverse reactions from consumers. Diversification of more products should be done to increase product consumption by non-consumers especially the male who are not a significant target for the marketing campaign. More chains of the market should be created in countries found in the Middle Eastern region to counter competitive brands such as Nivea.

References

Goins, K. E. (2016). Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. The University of Alabama. Bissell, K., & Rask, A. (2010). Real women of real beauty: Self-discrepancy, internalization of the thin ideal, and perceptions of attractiveness and thinness in Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. International Journal of Advertising, 29(4), 643-668

Murray, D. P. (2013). Branding "real" social change in Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. Feminist Media Studies, 13(1), 83-101.