Dove's Foray into Men Care: 'Journey to Comfort' or an Uncomfortable Journey Ahead?

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"Each of Unilever brands tailors their efforts to reflect the unique interests and needs of its audience. With Dove Men+Care, we are speaking to men whose life experiences, such as professional and financial success, or fatherhood, have allowed them to reach a level of comfort in themselves, but they haven’t found a product that offers total skin comfort."¹

- Kathy O' Brien, Vice president Marketing for Personal Care, Unilever, USA, in 2010.

"What the men’s market really needs is a men's range that isn't just a women's brand with 'for men' on it." ²

-Alexandra Richmond, senior insights analyst at Mintel Group Ltd. ³, in 2010.

In February 2010, Unilever's global personal care brand Dove forayed into the men's personal care market with the launch of a full-fledged male grooming line, Dove Men+Care, in the UK. Considered to be Unilever's biggest brand launch in 2010, the Dove Men+Care line included a range of shower gels and deodorants specifically targeted at the mature man. The launch was supported by a £4 12 million marketing investment including a year-long advertising campaign which used public relations, promotions, mobile, digital, and social media in addition to television ads. Commenting on the launch of the new line, Paul Connell (Connell) Brand Manager at Unilever UK, said, "Our vision is to extend the Dove brand-

-promise and expertise of superior care to men across deodorants and shower, the two fastest-growing sectors in male toiletries.Up until now men have been forced to accept discomfort and irritation as a necessary compromise for performance. Dove Men+Care is a new men's grooming range for men that is clinically proven to provide both skin comfort and top efficacy".⁵Dove was one of the biggest personal care brands of Unilever. The Dove Beauty Bar launched in 1957 was marketed as an alternative to soap. Over the years, Dove expanded its brand franchise in the women's personal care market to include antiperspirants, deodorants, body washes, beauty bars, lotions, moisturizers, hair care, and other related products. Some experts opined that the brand had changed the way women cared for their skin. However, while Dove had a very extensive product range, not all its products were picked up from the shelf owing to the intense competition in the women's personal care market. Unilever therefore decided to target a totally new segment of customers. Building on the strength of its range of products for women, Dove entered the men's grooming market by launching deodorants for men.

Dove's Foray into Men Care: 'Journey to Comfort' or an Uncomfortable Journey Ahead? Contd... - Next Page>>

1]"Case Study: Unilever's Dove Dives into Male Grooming," www.emarketer.com, April 6, 2010.

2]Maisie McCabe, "Campaign for Real Men," www.allbusiness.com, January 20, 2010.

3]Mintel Group Ltd. is a UK based market research firm.

4]As on August 2011, £1 was approximately equal to US $1.64.

5]"Dove Reveals its Masculine Side – Dove Men+Care," www.talkingretail.com, January 15, 2010.

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