Dove - SWOT Analysis

(illustration by the author)

Dove has a high market share and offers its products at competitive prices. The brand has gained international brand recognition through its strong marketing campaigns that generate buzz and word-of-mouth. Thanks to its real beauty campain, Dove is often associated with a positive body image in consumers’ minds. The campaign „Real Beauty Sketches“ has won many awards for Dove, among them the Brand Genius Award in 2013.

Dove belongs to Unilever, a big corporation with a large pool of resources. Thanks to Unilever, Dove has access to financial resources and many research & development activities. Over the past years, Dove has managed to constantly grow its range of beauty products.

Dove faces tough competition on the body care market. The brand’s marketing concept might make it harder for Dove to introduce certain potentially profitable products to the market, like anti-cellulite and body firming lotions.

Compared to other brands, Dove has a high level of Marketing expenses. While Dove receives a lot of positive feedback to its marketing concept, there are also many critics of the „real beauty“ campaign that do not believe in the authenticity and credibility of the campaign.

The fact that Dove belongs to Unilever is also somewhat challenging. Unilever is often criticized for its use of chemicals and animal testing. This kind of negative publicity also affects Dove. Unilever’s brand portfolio which includes company’s like Axe which portray skinny women in an overly sexual way and its promotion of skin-whitening creams in countries like Thailand affect Dove’s credibility.

However, Dove has many opportunities to grow its product line through the introduction of post-natal and more natural products. Furthermore, the target market could be expanded, e.g. by specifically targeting teenagers and men.

The fashion world seems to become more resistent to using overly thin models. This might be a chance for Dove to cooperate with the fashion industry. In addition, the brand could become the sponsor for feminist organizations to enhance their credibility. In general, all activities that help elevate the marketing concept to become the core of the business, present a huge opportunity to Dove.

Although Dove has received many positive responses to their marketing campaigns, they are following a risky strategy, as the image they are trying to promote is not coherent with the in the industry prevailing ideal of beauty. The „fat or fabulous“ campaign, which featured average looking woman in a picture asking the internet community whether the girl was fat or fabulous, was removed after the majority of people commented „fat“. This had an impact on Dove’s authenticity due to the fact that the brand simply removed the picture including all comments after not receiving the response they had hoped for.

To sum up, thanks to its marketing campaign, Dove enjoys a strong and unique position on the market. However, the concept comes with certain risks, as the brand’s success depends entirely on the credibility of its marketing. The fact that Dove is part of Unilever further challenges Dove’s authenticity. Nevertheless, there are many possibilities for Dove to grow and enhance its future success.

- Anke S. 

sources: 

http://www.businessinsider.com/dove-wins-brand-genius-award-the-brief-2013-9#ixzz2js7dToYt

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/04/18/unilever-faces-criticism-for-real-beauty-ad-campaign

http://www.unilever.com/brands-in-action/detail/Dove/292077/