Friday 21 February 2014

Advertising Industry - Dove and INDUSTRY

Advertising is a paid form of communication, delivered through media from an identifiable source,
about an organization, product, service, or idea, designed to persuade the receiver to take some action, now or in the future.
Dove - Industry Issues

Production
The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a worldwide marketing campaign launched by Unilever in 2004 that includes advertisements, video, workshops, sleepover events and the publication of a book and the production of a play. The aim of the campaign is to celebrate the natural physical variation embodied by all women and inspire them to have the confidence to be comfortable with themselves. Dove's partners in the effort include such marketing and communications agencies as Ogilvy & Mather, Edelman Public Relations, and Harbinger Communications (in Canada). Part of the overall project was the "Evolution" campaign.

Consumers were asked to make judgment about a series of photos of women who didn't fit the glossy mag mould. Was a plus-sized woman oversized or outstanding? Was a woman with small breast half empty or half full?




Background/Context 
The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty was conceived in 2004 after market research indicated that only 2% of women consider themselves beautiful. The campaign's mission is to "to create a world where beauty is a source of confidence and not anxiety." It was created by Ogilvy & Mather Brazil.
The ads invited passers-by to vote on whether a particular model was, for example, "Fat or Fab" or "Wrinkled or Wonderful", with the results of the votes dynamically updated and displayed on the billboard itself. Accompanying the billboard advertisements was the publication of the "Dove Report", a corporate study which Unilever intended to "[create] a new definition of beauty [which] will free women from self-doubt and encourage them to embrace their real beauty."
Following this success, the campaign expanded into other media, with a series of television spots (Flip Your Wigs and the Pro-Age series, among others) and print advertisements ("Tested on Real Curves"), culminating in the 2006 Little Girls global campaign, which featured regional versions of the same advertisement in both print and screen, for which Unilever purchased a 30-second spot in the commercial break during Super Bowl XL at an estimated cost of US$2.5M.

Marketing/ Promotion

What We Can Learn From Dove’s Marketing Strategies?
Since its launch in the 1940s, Dove by Unilever has evolved from a mediocre company to one of the most trusted beauty product makers in the industry. In a time when soaps were simple and known to dry out the skin, Dove was marketed as a more gentle option that was actually not soap at all but a product of careful military research. The company was slow to take off with a lack of global identity and a decentralized product. A lack of corporate strategy also played a part, and the small amount of products the company released did not rank high among competitors. However, by the 1970s, Dove’s popularity as a gentle beauty bar had risen. It was marketed as a skincare bar containing 25 percent cleansing cream. 




By 1980, it was the leading brand recommended by physicians. Eventually, the company launched body washes, shampoos and other beauty products. But how did their marketing change to make this a success as more and more companies released gentle soaps and hygiene products? Dove’s unique strategy focused on revealing the natural beauty in every woman instead of spotlighting famous celebrities or models. By using ads and campaigns to focus on everyday women and how each one has a different look or body shape, the company was able to successfully increase consumer awareness and sales. Dove launched ads celebrating curvy women and older women. While most brands focus on the importance of the product itself, Dove’s key message was the importance of every woman feeling good about herself. 




A strong emotional touch was one of Dove’s main goals. Dove product displays showed pictures of women who did not fit the tall, blonde and thin society stereotype showing just as much self-esteem. This is the idea that makes the product appeal to the majority of women. The company also has evolved to use social media for feedback and sharing innovative ideas. One of the company’s most successful ads was a video that went viral called, Dove Real Beauty Sketches with over 55 million views on YouTube.   Dove continues evolving to keep up with the changing world. By using advertisements with women from all age groups, the brand has a broad enough reach that all ages have developed trust and loyalty to its products. Two of the main ideas that keep Dove going strong are developing adaptive ways to market the brand while also keeping a smaller product base. By lowering their original amount of 1,600 brands to just 400, they were able to select master brands and categorize the remaining products under those to avoid confusion. 



Dove’s story of marketing changes that eventually led to great success is a good example of how changing strategies can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty. Some companies make the mistake of narrowing the appeal of their brands to a small group of people without intending to do so. Some ideas may work for a while, but technology and your target audience are constantly changing, so companies must also adapt their marketing strategies to embrace these changes.





Regulation



1. advertising and regulation recap lesson from ealeya




Task 2 (June 3rd): Answer this question in relation to the Dove campaign only. 

B2. How effectively is your selected industry regulated? Refer to your chosen texts in your answer. [30]
Global Implications

Here is a sample WJEC question on global implications:
With reference to your selected industry, explore how far your chosen texts are 
global. 
Here is the examiner's response to the answers submitted:

This was quite a broad question but it was not a popular one. Some candidates responded
extremely well and were able to write about the content of their texts (e.g. setting, themes,
actors/stars/celebrities) as well as the global ownership, distribution and audiences for their
selected texts. However it was disappointing to see how few candidates knew anything
about the context of their selected texts and too many made quite bland statements claiming
their texts to be global without really understanding the term itself.
This is what you need to consider for an answer on global implications:

 ADVERTISING: 
• Product, brand, identity and status
• Promotional strategies
• Use of international celebrities
• On-line adverts
• Facebook, Youtube

Task 3 June 3rd Homework: Answer this in relation to the Dove campaign only.

B4. To what extent are your three main texts global? [30]


Distribution/ Exhibition

The first stage of the campaign centred around a series of billboard advertisements, initially put up in the United Kingdom, and later worldwide. The spots showcased photographs of regular women (in place of professional models), taken by noted portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The series received significant media coverage from talk showswomen's magazines, and mainstream news broadcasts and publications, generating media exposure which Unilever has estimated to be worth more than 30 times the paid-for media space.

In 2006, Ogilvy & Mather were seeking to extend the campaign further, by creating one or more viral videos to host on the Campaign for Real Beauty website. The first of these, Daughters, was an interview-style piece intended to show how mothers and daughters related to issues surrounding the modern perception of beauty and the beauty industry. It was during the production of Daughters that a series of short films entitled "Beauty Crackdown" was pitched to Unilever as an "activation idea." The concept was one that art director Tim Piper, who proposed to create Evolution with the budget left over from Daughters (C$135,000), pushed. It was originally intended to get people to the Campaign for Real Beauty website to see Daughters, and to participate in the workshops featured on the site.

In April 2013, a video titled Dove Real Beauty Sketches was released as part of the campaign. It went viral attracting strong reactions from the public and media. In the video, several women describe themselves to a forensic sketch artist who cannot see his subjects. The same women are then described by strangers whom they met the previous day. The sketches are compared, with the stranger's image invariably being both more flattering and more accurate. The differences create strong reactions when shown to the women.

Related links:


http://www.dove.co.uk/en/

the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-the-dove-campaign-for-real-beauty


selfesteem.dove.co.uk


dove-evolves-real-beauty-celebrity-glitz

How-Doves-Real-Beauty-ad-plays-false-idea-women-actually-feel-MORE-attractive-really-are

doves-real-beauty-campaign-faces-real-backlash

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