Case Study on Unilever (Axe and Dove)

1. CASE STUDY

4. World’s Most popular male grooming
brand

5. Targets young men Uses
humor
and
sex in
ads

6. AXE won numerous advertising awards for its
creativity as well as effective use of media channels
Mobile Apps
Youtube

7. Launch’s New fragrance every year

8. #1 Dermatologist Recommended
brand in the US, Canada and France
and strongly endorsed by
Dermatologists across the world.

9. Social Mission
Personal marketing strategy, also improves Public
relations and brand image

10. First Phase Of ‘Real Beauty’ Campaign

11. Second Phase Of
‘Real Beauty’
Campaign
Third Phase
Of ‘Real
Beauty’
Campaign

12. Dove used a series of short films for
their campaign
• Videos had a viral marketing effect
• Won both a cyber and film grand prix at the
International Advertising Festival

13. List of Short
films :
• Daughters
• Evolution
• Onslaught
• Amy

14. What makes personal
marketing work? Why
are Dove and Axe so
successful?
• Personal
marketing
approaches each
consumer as one
of a kind
• It employs
individualization

15. Axe and Dove use personal marketing to reach out to their
target consumer segments
Axe induces a feeling of confidence in its target consumers
irrespective of their demographic attributes
Dove communicates and reinforces the notion that beauty
comes in all shapes, sizes, ages and colour.

16. Can a company
take personal
marketing too
far? Explain.
Unilever does not
take personal
marketing too far.
They increase
consumers
confidence and self
esteem by
recognizing today’s
misconceptions and
attempt to rectify the
perception of beauty.

17. Breach of
privacy

18. Is there a conflict of interest in the way Unilever
markets to women and young men? Is it un-
doing all the good that might be done in the
‘campaign for Real Beauty’ by making women
sex symbols in Axe Ads? Explain.
No conflict
of interest
Wrong to use
women as sex
symbols

19. Latest Axe campaign shifts focus from
employing humor and sex

20. SUMMARY

21. DISCLAMER
Created by Udaibir Singh Sandhu, MIT
Manipal, during a marketing internship
under Professor Sameer Mathur, IIM
Lucknow