Case study Nivea Essay

NIVEA FOR work force cherished to improver its sh ar of the UK phallic pare downcargon grocery. This case study examines how NIVEA re-launched the NIVEA FOR work force turn over in 2008. This was part of its overall purpose to stand up the range in the UK. It shows how the community burgeon forthed a selling plan for the relaunch and coordinate its commercialize activities to compass its aims and objectives. The study foc subroutines on how a comp whatever send away respond to changes in consumer persuadeations, external influences and pipe government note aims to achieve those objectives.What is a merchandiseing plan?A business needs to set its overall prudence for the association by dint of a business plan. This plan sets bulge out how the company is to achieve its aims. The aims and objectives of a business inform and shape its business plan. A vital part of the overall business plan is the marketing plan. The kinship between the two plans is shown in the diagram.10532184_NIVEANIVEA STUDY V623/6/091525Page 2Marketing involves identifying, anticipating and satisfying guest needs. A marketing plan takes the estated aims and objectives and then puts in taper a series of marketing activities to determine those objectives are achieved. Marketing plans bunghole cover any time period, but normally set out activities for the next one to five years at either a business or smirch level. www.thetimes100.co.ukGLOSSARYBrand A name, attribute or design used to identify a specific output and to differentiate it from its competitors. hit the books epitome Identification and paygrade of the strengths and weaknesses inside a firm and the opportunities and threats in its external environ custodyt. Return on invest manpowert The homecoming on the funds invested in the business. Profits money that is earned in trade or business, after paying the costs of producing and selling goods and services.The principal(prenominal) sections of the plan cover SWOT and competitory analysis to assess where the business or brand is currently and what competitors are doing objectives what the plan needs to achieve the marketing strategy how the objectives willing be achieved sales foretell by how much(prenominal) sales are likely to increase budget how much the marketing activities will cost and how the plan will be financed evaluation how outcomes will be monitored and measured. There is no set model for a marketing plan. The structure of the plan and the amount of detail will play on the size of the brand, the timescale involved and how the market and economy is behaving. However, NIVEAs marketing plan for the relaunch of NIVEA FOR work force follows closely the outline described here.Assessing the marketThe front step in devising a marketing plan is to extend an evaluation of the business, its brands and wares. This should include an assessment of the brands position and the state of the market. NIVEA FOR work fo rce needs to know what its phallic customers lack and what competitor products exist. As profound as scoreing the priapic consumer, women are also an important target market for NIVEA FOR workforce. This is because women lots buy male grooming products for their partners as sound as helping them choose which products to buy. NIVEA FOR MEN used a SWOT analysis to help it assess the market. This takes a detailed look at the internal strengths and weaknesses of the business, as well as external opportunities and threats in the marketplace.NIVEA FOR MENidentified several strengths NIVEA FOR MEN was the UK marketleading male seventh cranial nerve skin care brand*which gave it strong brand recognition. The company had a sound financialbase, so it had the resources to puttogether a strong marketing campaign. It also had staff with relevant skills researchers with the scientific skills todevelop products that men want andmarketing staff with the skills to helppromote these product s effectively.As the leading male facial brand,NIVEA FOR MEN demand also to beaware of any weaknesses Was the product range still relevant forthe target audience? Did it cause the right sales anddistribution outlets? Was its market research up-to-date?S WO TOne go by opportunity was thatthe market was emergenceHowever, as the market for maleskin care products grows, thereare threats NIVEA FOR MEN had seen an increase inthe sales of male skincare products and itwanted a greater region of this market. The company wanted to take advantageof changing accessible attitudes. Men werebecoming more open, or certainly lessresistant, to facial skincare products. Consumers were becoming moreknowledgeable and price conscious.They often expect sales promotions suchas discounts and offers. The risk of competitors entering themarket. NIVEA FOR MEN needed todifferentiate its products in order toensure that, in an increasinglycompetitive market, its marketing activitygave dogmatic return on in vestmentin terms of sales and profits.* NIVEA FOR MEN the UKs leading male skincare brand (IRI Data to 27th Dec 2008).Page 3 put objectivesA successful marketing plan relies on setting clear and relevant objectives. These must relate directly to the business overall aims and objectives. In other words, the marketing plan must fit with the overall company strategy that is set out in the business plan. Beiersdorf states its goal as toincrease our market share through qualitative growth. At the identical time we want to further improve our sound earnings action so that we can full our consumers wishes and needs with institutions today and in the future. This will give us a strong position within the globose competitive environment.The marketing team set SMART objectives for the NIVEA FOR MEN relaunch. These are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic (given the available resources) and Time constrained (to be achieved by a given date). The marketing team used research data to f orecast market trends over the next three-to-five years. This helped them set specific targets for increasing sales, growing market share and improving its brand image. Beiersdorf wanted to increase its UK market share for NIVEA FOR MEN, but also wanted greater market acuteness for male skincare products. In other words, it wanted not skilful a greater share of the existing market it wanted to unfold that market. It wanted more men buying skincare products.One detect aim was to move men from just considering skincare products to making circumstanceual purchases. It also aimed to sell more male skincare products to women. Research had indicated that women were often the initial purchaser of skincare products for men. NIVEA FOR MEN used this separate fact as a way to increase opportunities for sales. another(prenominal) objective was to develop the NIVEA FOR MEN brand image. The NIVEA brand has always stood for good quality products that are reliable, user-friendly and good ran k for money. The brands core value are security, trust, closeness and credibility. These values would be strengthened and expanded on with the re-launch, to get more men and women to judge of NIVEA as first plectron for skincare.www.thetimes100.co.ukGLOSSARYSMART objectives Frameworkfor constructing objectives in a waythat encounters a business aim.Marketing strategies Longterm plans designed to enable anorganisation to identify and meetthe wants and needs of itscustomers.Promotion Making productsand services better known througha range of activities.Marketing strategiesThe NIVEA FOR MEN team devised marketing strategies to ingest its objectives. These strategies set out how the objectives would be achieved within the designated budget set by the management team.Two strategiesThis focus on product development have with an emphasis on consumer needs is a key differentiator for NIVEA FOR MEN. It is a major reason why in the UK the brand is still the market leader in the male faci al skincare market*.Another cornerstone of the UK marketing strategy for the re-launch was promotion. NIVEA sought to demonstrate on and develop the approach it had used in the past. In the 1980s, advertising in mens style and fashion magazines along with product sampling was a major promotional tool. In the 1990s, the company used radio, television and vex advertising together with sampling. Since 2000, there has been a greater emphasis on consumer needs and an increasing use of experiential activities in the promotional mix. existential marketing is about engaging consumers through two-way communications that arrive brand personalities to life and add value to the target audience. This helps build an worked up connection between the brand and the consumers. * NIVEA FOR MEN the UKs leading male skincare brand (IRI Data to 27th Dec 2008).10732184_NIVEANIVEA STUDY V623/6/09www.thetimes100.co.ukGLOSSARYAbove-the-line promotionsDirect expenditure on advertising,such as for a TV comm ercial.Below-the-line promotionsIndirect expenditure on promotion,such as through free gifts, PR orcompetitions.Brand affinity How wellcustomers identify with the brand.Evaluation A systematic processthat seeks to determine the worth,value or meaning of something.Key exploit indicatorsFinancial and non-financialmeasures to monitor performanceacross a range of activities within afunction, department or role.1525Page 4It is important to get the promotional balance right. NIVEA FOR MEN promoted the new launches of its products through a mixture of above-the-line and below-the-line promotion. The use of sport was a key element here. NIVEA FOR MEN supported football events at a grass-roots level through its partnership with Powerleague to build positive relationships with men. This helped create stronger brand affinity for NIVEA FOR MEN among men. It also allowed the brand to build and maintain a consistent dialogue with men, which helps to drive sales.Above-the-line promotion include t elevision and cinema adverts, which reached a wide audience. By using colligate with sport, NIVEA FOR MEN aimed to build a positive male image associated with male facial skincare. The brand also benefited from press advertorials in popular mens magazines, making the daily usage of their products more acceptable. Promotions were used to string new customers. For example, the distribution of free samples encouraged trial of NIVEA FOR MEN products which horde purchase. These promotions have helped build up brand awareness and consumer familiarity which reinforce the NIVEA FOR MEN brand presence. There is a dedicated NIVEA FOR MEN website to support its products and hand over information to educate men on their skincare needs. To enhance the brand a tool called a Configurator was created on the website to help customers specify their skin type and find the product that best suits their needs.Conclusion evaluating the planThe time Newspaper Limited and MBA Publishing Ltd 2009. Whi lst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information, neither the publisher nor the client can be held accountable for errors of omission or commission.The marketing plan is a cycle that begins and ends with evaluation. The final stage in the marketing plan is to measure the outcomes of the marketing activities against the captain objectives and targets. Continuous evaluation helps the marketing team to focus on modifying or introducing new activities to achieve objectives.108NIVEA FOR MEN adopted a range of key performance indicators to assess the success of the NIVEA FOR MEN re-launch in the UK. It looked at market share Did the re-launch accelerate this growth and help achieve its market share objectives? NIVEA FOR MEN is market leader in many countries and is consistently gaining supernumerary market share. overall sales Was this in line with objectives? Internationally, NIVEAFOR MEN skincare products grew by almost 20%. Its sales in the UK market at retail in 2008 were nearly 30 million and in line with expectations. brand image ratings NIVEA FOR MEN was the Best Skincare Range succeeder in the FHM Grooming Award 2008 for the fifth year running. This award was voted for by consumers. It illustrates that NIVEA FOR MEN has an extremely positive brand image with consumers compared to other brands. product innovation In response to consumer feedback and following extensive product innovation and development, the NIVEA FOR MEN range has been expanded and the existing formulations improved.These results show that, in the UK, the NIVEA FOR MEN re-launch met its overall targets, which was a significant achievement, considering the difficult economic climate. The marketing plan for the re-launch used past performance and forecast data to create a new marketing strategy. This built on the brand and companys strengths to take advantage of the increasing change of male attitudes to using skincare products.Questions1. Describe two pieces of data t hat NIVEA used when preparing its marketing plan to relaunch NIVEA FOR MEN.2. relieve why NIVEA used football sponsorship to help increase its sales of NIVEA FOR MEN products.3. Using the case study, put together a SWOT analysis of NIVEAs position just before the relaunch of NIVEA FOR MEN.www.niveaformen.co.uk4. Discuss how effective you think the marketing plan for NIVEA FOR MEN has been.