Target market of Dove soap

Client: Dove  Industry sector: Beauty  Target audience: Women Media channels: Consumer magazines, TV, outdoor, road shows

IntroductionSince the launch of its moisturizing soap in 1992, Dove’s brand growth has been phenomenal, with a product portfolio now encompassing some 50 products in seven different categories. Dove has recently been voted as UK women’s favorite personal care brand, with over a third of British women purchasing its products – the largest penetration in the sector.  Throughout this growth, Dove has used magazines as a key partner in its marketing strategy, recognizing that consumer magazines are themselves beauty power brands, with the ability to set the national agenda and enrich the Dove brand.

StrategyAs the brand has grown, so has its investment in magazine advertising. Dove regularly uses magazine advertising to place itself at the heart of the beauty arena, highlighted by its £2.8m spend in 2004. It has also maintained a firm commitment to display advertising and sampling while rolling out major integrated campaigns for its Hair, Deodorant, Body Lotion and Shower products. 2004 saw the launch of the “Real Beauty” debate, which Dove chose to introduce through a channel with both the authority to encourage that debate and where “Real Beauty” advertising could be juxtaposed alongside other advertisements. Last year also saw Dove working closely with magazines to create a series of “Pillar Partnership” campaigns, which offered magazines marketing opportunities in return for building Dove’s beauty credentials.

ImplementationDove’s use of magazines in the marketing strategy has gone far beyond regular display advertising to promotions including the “Face in the Crowd” and the Dove/New Woman “Silk Purse” competition.

Additionally, Dove consistently uses magazines as the lead medium in a number of multi-channel, short-term, product-focused projects. For example, to promote the Dove Firming range, the company set out to dispel the beauty myth that only

models are “beautiful” by using “real women” to front the campaign. While Dove has always taken the “real women” approach in its advertising, the company knew that it needed magazine journalists to champion this campaign and debate its significance.

Dove recognized that magazines presented the most effective medium via which to spearhead national debate on this subject, and consulted beauty editors of magazines including Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Elle for advice on the subject. Working with Red magazine and supported by poster campaign in London, lightweight TV activity and magazine PR, Dove