Retail marketing mix includes assortment, private labels, price and acquisition finance, customer service, communication, store environment, store location, customer loyalty policy. Studies of marketing organization focused largely on its role in implementation of the marketing paradigm are always being made for boosting sales and creating new user base. There are two benefits of marketing for a product. First, it is an important tool used to enable one to see that the marketing manager’s job is, in a large part, a matter of trading off the benefits of one’s competitive strengths in the marketing mix against the benefits of others. The second benefit of the marketing mix is that it helps to reveal another dimension of the marketing manager’s job. Today we will discuss about Niveas marketing measures which has helped it generate great sales.

Nivea, the leading skincare brand is the brainchild of the famous international company named Beiersdorf. Over the last 10 years, the company has grown in all its sectors rapidly in UK. Some of its other products are Elastoplast, Eucerin and Atrixo. The company has well balanced itself in the consumer industry with a strong portfolio of well performing products. Any brand, to be a good success in the market needs to have a range of products that complement one another. So, does the brand Nivea. The entire range of products under the NIVEA brand includes products catering to female body and face products, shaving gel and fairness products for men, a whole range of sun care, age revival and deodorant products.

The market segmentation strategy of Nivea as shown in the above diagram says it all how well individual and consumer requirements are fulfilled. Basically a product or a service to be successful one requires segmenting the market in sub-segments. These help responding to different marketing activities in different manners. The following are the two basis of such market segmentation made by Nivea:-

1. A segment where consumers have similar needs and trends
2. A segment where specific products meet specific needs (The Times 100, 2008)

One can consider this to be the macro way of looking at it covering the entire beauty and skin care market. While the micro level works inside every segment specifically (Kulkarni, 2007). Huge success of Nivea expanded the brand over 14 product categories by the end of the year 2006. In the year 1980, fresh unexploited grounds were explored by Beiersdorf with the launch of their NIVEA for men range. It was an international groundbreaking success. Their first aftershave balm product having no alcohol was the first of its kind in the market.  Soon it became an everyday household name as it gave men irritation less aftershave usage.  By the year 1993 Nivea for men came up with an entire range of products for the growing male consumers. The brand has strong knowledge about the market of skin care products and their research and development team keeps innovating products that customers needed (Anonymous). This new range of product was the marketing game plan for the Nivea brand that brought a new concept in the market that male customers can now indulge into skin care like women.

A whole range of body products catering to male, female and its assorted baby care products has made it a huge success. One can now easily associate the product with its blue and white colored combination. The brand has successfully created an image of being authentic, user friendly, environment friendly and one that offers good quality at reasonable costs. When a brand offers wide range of products to all the age groups, it becomes an ideal choice for an entire generation. Here we will show the marketing mix and advertising strategy undertaken by Nivea and how the brand dealt with the four Ps of marketing. The following is the traditional advertising strategy taken up by the brand to market itself.

Product – In the statement made by Panya Chokchai (2013), consumers today prioritizes only trusted brands which gives credibility and delivers services as per the requirement of the consumer. A brand is considered to be successful only when it is concerned about the benefit it provides and the reputation it derives.  Products are those which are offered to the market for deriving attention, usage or consumption for the satisfaction of a need or a want (Kotler, 2011). Nivea covers these all. For ensuring standard quality R&D becomes an important aspect for Nivea. If one notices their web page one will find there are over 150 cosmetic and dermatological researchers, chemists and pharmacists working with the brand day in and out for improving the result of their products.

Price – The brand claims to be a quality product offering products at a ten times lesser cost than the competition. The advertising strategy to place the cost of its product encompasses the idea “More for the same” where at the reasonable price better quality consumer products are offered. Following are a brief overview of the pricing strategy of the brand:-

1. Focus of cost is based on product and not consumers
2. Initial penetration prices are low
3. Price skimming for unique products.

Place – Virtually you can find the brand everywhere you look around you. One can find the products in supermarkets, cooperatives, and discount pharmacies as well as in high status retail stores. With its strong and varied distribution strategy the advertising strategy of the bran is covered as one can find it everywhere.

Promotion –Activities performed by companies for communicating to existing customers and drawing the attention of potential customers all come under promotion. Numerous channels are used by Nivea for promoting itself. Advertisements of Nivea can be found everywhere in newspapers, magazines, and electronic media and on physical boards.

For creating an awareness of a product in the eyes of a consumer, advertising techniques are used. Although the main task is creation of awareness it eventually ends into sales generations.  Nivea has been using traditional methods of advertising exist till today and is quite effective in its own ways. These are billboards, newspapers, magazines, radios, flyers etc. Billboards are one of the largest forms of advertising and they exist till today in popular locations where it is bound to fetch the traveler’s eyes. Their placement is of utmost important as depending on their placement their success will be determined. Another very old form of traditional advertising tool is the newspaper medium. Every newspaper has a readership associated with it. Nivea advertisements placed in reputed dailies can draw immediate attention of reads to it. Magazines used more than newspapers these days with their high quality printing, color and gloss make brand advertising glamorous. Hence it is a very desirable space to display products. A very old form of traditional advertising tool is the radio. A small Nivea audio commercial ranging from 30 to 60 sec can cover huge customer based as radio signals cover large areas (Lauren, 2016).

New Media Advertising Tools

In the current era, the company focuses more and more on promotions.  Some of the various new media advertising tools used by the company are the mobile media, blogs,  social media, photo sharing sites, QR codes, push notifications, webinars, tweets, podcasts, RSS feeds,  mashups and video sharing mediums. Not that Nivea has discarded its traditional ways but adapting to these new advertising tools has boosted customer reach ability. The brand uses this mix for informing and persuading the end user to make a call to action act with regards to the Neva products. The main purpose is to transform the demand quotient for the products for achieving equal distance in between products and consumers. The brand also believes in giving away a lot of free samples for many of its products.  Attractive packages with amazing offers all comprises of an ideal Nivea advertising promotional campaign (IšoraitÄ—, 2015).

The brand initially wanted to enhance its market share by the launch of skin care products for men under the NIVEA FOR MEN name. They also meant a greater penetration in the market for male customers’ needs. In other words the brand just did not want to have a better market share for the market that exists only. Rather it wanted an expansion to the existing market. It wanted more male customer to be aware the needs for their skin and generate an overall interest to come forward and buy skin care products for themselves. The brand has achieved that successfully by making people think that Nivea is the first skin care choice of product for them.

A recommended advertising strategy will be by creating SMART objectives for its products. These objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. The team can measure and observe data related to these areas over a span of time like three to five years. This helps setting specific targets, forecasting market trends and improving and growing the brand beyond its present performance level. By year 2008, the world saw more male customers spending on grooming and skin care products. Sophisticated marketing product planning must be made for this. Here is how:-

Assess the market – NIVEA previously revealed that as per its initial marketing plan the first step it took was evaluating the market, business along with the various products and brands it wants to display. The company assessment holds a crucial role in determining its future. By carefully examining the SWOT meaning strength, weaknesses, threats and opportunities one can analyze facts that might sound surprising even. For NIVEA one such surprising element was the scale at which men invested in grooming products like women. So, this assessment must be used to bring forward more products in these lines.

Set objectives –The brand based on the SWOT analysis must set up their objectives targeting the NIVEA FOR MEN market to go to their next stage. So, based on marketing plan and organizational goals they will set the new objectives. When research data made previously forecast the upcoming trends the team then sets SMART objectives better for the re-launch.  These specific targets are met which in turn helped increasing sales, improving brand image and growing the market share (Prezi, 2014).

Market it –When the objectives are all set the actual fun begins. It is when the team must advance to the next stage of campaign where marketing tactics are implemented.  Promotions and advertisement to portray the brand in fashion and magazine catering to men was used. Product sampling is another major promotional tool one can use to grow awareness.  One can also use the radio media, television and press advertisement all together for the sampling process. Since year 2000, companies provide more emphasis on the needs of consumers and gets involved in more experimental activities along with marketing and promotional mix.

Evaluate results – No matter how good the marketing or advertising strategies are, it is never complete without a good evaluation. So, the last blank that needs to be filled is to calculate the results of all the marketing activities made in terms of the goals and objectives predefined.  NIVEA marketers must constantly do these market evaluations as this can help them modify or introduce new products. The performance indicators are the key points using which one can devise a new launch plan for the brand (Rahman, 2015).

So, the constant question that the brand must keep evaluating is what can be done to go beyond the basics of shampoo, face wash and shaving creams. What different way of thinking can engage the male shopper better and effectively? How can products me innovated so the average male shopper is overwhelmed by choices available. And in what ways will advertising back such product mixes that the right product reaches the right audience in time. These are the many questions that must be always on the top list of checklist by the brand. Answer to these valuable questions might give the company a better value on return with a far better user base than it has at present (Anonymous, 2013).

Buyers in general never are curious for what a product has. Rather they are curious to know what the product will do for them. Nivea, known for its high standard quality and customer satisfaction continues to be one of the top choices of users. The brand with its ever evolving products and with a policy of continuous improvement has well penetrated in the entire world with its huge range of quality products. The understanding has increased that association of brands are transferred from one product to another which are subsequently introduced in the market. Nivea with its vast portfolio has extended itself into different categories of products all sufficing for some specific area of skin care need. Using social media and other advertising platforms these are communicated to the market successfully (Anonymous, n.d.)

Anonymous. (n.d.). Developing Marketing Strategies. Retrieved from https://ebook.nscpolteksby.ac.id/files/Ebook/Business%20Administration/Marketing%20Management-%20A%20Relationship%20Approach%20(2010)/Part%203%20-%20Developing%20marketing%20strategies.pdf 

Anonymous. (2013). Case Study: NIVEA Uses Humor to Get Men to Face Grooming Facts.

Anonymous. (n.d.). Transfer of Brand Associations Over Time: The Brand Extension of Nivea. Web. Retrieved from: https://marketing.conference-services.net/resources/327/3554/pdf/AM2013_0337_paper.pdf

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Kulkarni, S. A. (2007).  A ‘Nivea’ Case Study of Segmentation. Retreived from: https://profsamkulka.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/niviecase.pdf

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Panya Chokchai, K. (2013). A Study of Factors Affecting Brand Loyalty.

Prezi. (2014). Nivea For Men SWOT Analysis, Retreived from https://prezi.com/pfe01nyyqdzg/nivea-for-men-swot-analysis/

Rahman, A. A. (2015). Brand Positioning of Nivea. Web. Retrieved from: https://ahmedakifrahman.blogspot.in/2015/04/brand-positioning-of-nivea.html

The Times 100. (2008). Developing a Marketing Plan: Nivea for Men. Retrieved from: https://www.ices-study.org/WhatIsEnterpreneurship/CaseStudies/(case%20study)%20nivea.pdf

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