Evaluating the Strategic Use of Integrated Marketing Communications for Dove
Evaluating the Strategic Use of Integrated Marketing Communications for Dove

Evaluating the Strategic Use of Integrated Marketing Communications for Dove

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  • Pages: 9 (2378 words)
  • Published: September 18, 2017
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The emergence of the Internet and innovative media technologies has led to increased velocity in the marketing industry. This text evaluates how Dove strategically applies integrated marketing communications.

New technologies have revolutionized the way marketers interact with consumers, causing a significant impact on traditional media channels, according to Belch and Belch. This report focuses on critically evaluating Dove's official website, examining how the brand employs response hierarchy models to influence its audience. The report also explores the role of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) as a management process whereby organizations engage with multiple stakeholders by presenting messages that evoke behavioral and attitudinal responses. By understanding an audience's communication environment, organizations can create targeted marketing messages that offer substantial value to stimulate engagement.

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) became popular in the 198

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0s as firms recognized the need for a holistic approach that strategically evaluates various communication tools and combines them effectively to achieve maximum impact, according to Belch & Belch (2004). These tools typically include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations, and direct marketing. Additionally, Rowley (2004) notes that a company's website serves as an event for promotion itself by providing a platform for communication between individuals and organizations.

The Dove website is designed as an educational resource for women of all ages, who are the target consumer group. This non-transactional brochure type of website aims to offer extensive information on the Dove brand, products, and Real Beauty ideology. Interactive tools are provided on the site for users to engage with the company. While Dove doesn't sell directly to consumers like the Body Shop, its customer-centric approach towards "Real Beauty" highlights its focus. The objectives of communicatio

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through this site vary from enhancing brand recognition to shifting perceptions and behaviors concerning the company's philosophy.Possible objectives for communication may encompass education, information, branding, image-building, attitude change, loyalty establishment, and reminding (Christopher et al, 1995). For Dove, the overarching communication objective is to supply information that can effectively transform the target user's knowledge, assumptions, and attitudes towards the brand in order to alter their behaviour eventually. The website's focus is on branding, which is achieved through promotional activities driven by marketing communications tools. Disseminating information on both new and existing products, as well as on the Real Beauty campaign and related activities and offers aimed at converting the audience's mindsets, are also among the communication objectives. Besides, creating relationships (Rowley, 2004) and fostering customer loyalty through direct interaction with customers and strategies for endowing more significance in the brand are part of the goals. In evaluating the Response Hierarchy Models' effectiveness, Belch & Belch (2004) maintain that understanding the receiver's response process and how the marketer's promotional efforts influence the targeted consumers' reactions may be the most crucial factor in developing successful marketing communications programs.

The AIDA model, hierarchy of effects model, and information-processing model are three well-known models of the response process (Christopher et al, 1995; Fill, 2005; Belch & Belch, 2004; Huizingh et al, 2003). All three models represent stages with cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. The hierarchy of effects model proposes that a consumer will progress through a sequential series of steps, including awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, and purchase. Although most steps in the information-processing model are similar to those of the hierarchy of effects model, retention is added as

an important step for a customer to retain relevant information. The hierarchy of effects model has been effective in advertising (Belch & Belch, 2004; Fill, 2005) and has been proven to be effective on websites by Huizingh et al (2003) through experimentation. In the following analysis, we identify the tools most effective at each stage of response that link marketing communications tools to response stages.

The website aims to convey Dove's perspective on beauty, which prioritizes diversity in shapes, sizes, and colors. This belief is meant to appeal to women of all ages and differs from the common cultural trend of promoting unattainable idealized appearances. Source: www.unilever.com

The following brand pyramid displays Dove's overall brand image. The website includes a section that focuses on Real Beauty, which incorporates various forms of media such as television ads, inspiring articles, health and beauty articles, campaign promotions, awards, an Ask the Expert feature and interactive beauty tools. There is an ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of ESPs (Emotional Selling Points) versus USPs (Unique Selling Points). ESPs establish a brand's emotional value and imagery while USPs focus on functionality and logic (Fill, 2005). Dove's Real Beauty Campaign clearly promotes ESPs by appealing to women's emotions and creating cognitive and affective responses. One concern is that while Ad Age (Neff, 2004) considers the campaign a step forward, with increasing sales for Dove, its long-term reception remains uncertain. Dove initially launched with a unique functional benefit that was backed by dermatologists and formed a strong emotional connection through its one-fourth moisturizing cream.

The Real Beauty campaign has formed a strong bond of trust with women who appreciate Dove's qualities of simplicity, gentleness, and

truthfulness. However, some may view it as disconnected from the brand's previous positioning. The website offers sales promotions such as free samples of new products and Real Beauty T-shirts with purchases over ?15. These interactive sections act as advertisements online and effectively promote new products, leading consumers through the stages of the hierarchy of effects model from brand awareness to behavioral action.

By joining "YourDove" and registering for Dove Dimension e-newsletter or magazine, the user can get previews of special offers and product innovations, access to beauty editors and expert's advice, and tips to create their own personalised beauty care routines. Toll-free contact numbers are available on the website for customer support and emergency calls. The website also has a "Add Your Details" option and a link to allow the browser to give feedback to Dove. This direct marketing on the Dove website has an effect on the browser at both cognitive and affective stages in the model.

Effective PR has played a crucial role in the success of the Real Beauty campaign, enabling it to influence consumers both cognitively and affectively. The "Dove in the News" section features press releases from various newspapers and magazines. To harness the power of Word of Mouth (WoM), all product pages provide an option for users to email a friend with the page link. And in the Real Beauty section, a link to the campaign's website (www.campaignforrealbeauty.com) provides detailed information on campaign activities, including advertisements, surveys, the Self Esteem Fund, beauty voting, and a message board for women.

The website provides an online platform for browsers to engage in meaningful dialogues about the campaign, resulting in an overwhelming experience.

This takes the effectiveness and power of WoM to a new level, affecting browsers at a cognitive and affective level if heart-warming experiences are shared on the online forum. The website features consistency and clarity in flow, while brand colours, language, and design aspects create a welcoming feel. Of particular interest is the "We're listening" section, which includes FAQs, store locator, and contact information. The FAQ section provides information on Dove's promotions and offers, coupon availability in newspapers and magazines, and plans to make coupons available to Dove subscribers.

Dove's website has a weakness in that consumers who want to track their orders must email the company as no tracking information is provided. However, the website's FAQ section contains valuable information including details on product ingredients, product lifetime, and the brand's values such as its commitment to donating products for charity and stance on animal testing and the environment. The FAQ section also touches on Dove's beauty philosophy, including information on the Self Esteem Fund.

The dilemma lies in the fact that crucial brand information is hidden in a section that is not easily visible to the browser, despite its potential significance in the cognitive stage. The impact of the internet on marketing communications strategies of companies is extensive. Using the hierarchy of effects model to assess Dove's utilization of the internet to influence consumers, it is apparent that advertising, sales promotions, direct marketing, public relations, and word-of-mouth tactics have been successfully employed to affect the browser's cognitive and affective responses. These approaches can have an impact on the browser across multiple stages simultaneously.

According to the analysis, Dove's website has a significant influence on the browser's

cognitive and affective levels through advertising, direct marketing, public relations, and word of mouth. Meanwhile, sales promotion affects the cognitive, affective, and behavioral stages of response. The website mainly focuses on the creative communication platform of Real beauty, which influences the browser strongly at the affective level and is integrated into many features of the website. However, the website's weaknesses include a lack of brand value visibility to the browser, which suggests creating a separate section for brand values.

The website would benefit from better integration, especially for sales promotions that redirect users to external sites. This would enhance the overall user experience. Despite uncertainty regarding its future due to a shift in brand positioning, Dove remains recognized as an empathetic and supportive brand, with their recent Real Beauty campaign generating significant media attention. The website effectively achieves its communication objectives, primarily influencing users at the cognitive and affective response stages rather than behavioral ones – which is acceptable given that it does not facilitate transactions.

This section comprises Appendix, Screenshot 1 to Screenshot 7, and a List of References. The List of References features Kotler, P.'s book titled Marketing Management, 11th edition published by Pearson Education, Inc., as well as a reference from Baker, J. M.

Belch, E. (1996). Marketing: An introductory text, 6th edition. MacMillan Books, pp. 50-66, 342-412.The source book "Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective" authored by G. & Belch in 2004 and in its 6th edition is from McGraw-Hill. Additionally, it references the work of E. Berger.

I., Cunningham, H. P., and Kozinets, V. R.

The authors Berthon and Pitt published an article titled "Consumer persuasion through Cause-Related Advertising" in Advances in

Consumer Research in 1999. The article can be found in Volume 26, on pages 491-497.The Business Horizons journal published an article in 1996 titled "Marketing Communication and the World Wide Web" by Watson, T. R. which can be found on pages 24-32. The article discusses the role of the internet in marketing communication.

Brin? ol, P., Petty, E. R., Tormala, L. Z.

(2004) Cartwright conducted a study on self-validation of cognitive responses to advertisements which was published in the Journal of Consumer Research, Inc. The study is outlined in volume 30, pages 559-573.

(2002) Palgrave Master Series' Mastering Marketing Management book and (2004) Journal of Advertising's "Television and Web advertising synergies" by Chang, Y. and Thorson, E. were published.

The book "Marketing: An introductory text" was authored by Christopher, M. and McDonald, M. in 1995 and published by MacMillan Press Ltd., with page numbers ranging from 75 to 84.

The text discusses a model presented by Elliott in the Journal of Marketing Management in 1998, which describes how emotions influence decision-making. This model is outlined in pages 95-108 of the journal. Additionally, the text provides reference to page numbers 200-250.

The 4th edition of "Marketing Communications: Engagement, Strategies and Practice" by C. Fill (2005), published by Prentice Hall Financial Times, includes contributions from J.B. Hansotia.

The article titled "Direct Marketing for Multi-Channel Retailers: Issues, Challenges, and Solutions," by Rukstales and B. was published in the Journal of Database Marketing, Volume 9, Number 3.

The text reads: "259–266. Huizingh, E. R. K."

A possibleand unified version could be:

The citation "259–266. Huizingh, E. R. K." is included in the text.

E. & Hoekstra, C. J. (2003) investigated the

factors that contribute to consumer satisfaction with websites in the Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing Vol. 11, No. 4, pp.

In the article "Some aspects of measuring Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)" by I. H. Katrandjiev (2000), insights are shared on the topic. The article can be found in Economics and Organisation, Volume 8, Number 8, on pages 350-361.

Between 87 and 93, there was a publication co-authored by Kolesar, B. M. and Galbraith, W.

The article titled "A services-marketing perspective on e-retailing: implications for e-retailers and directions for further research" by R. (2000) was published in the Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy journal, Volume 10, Issue 5, where it can be found on pages.

The article "Effects of the internet on the marketing communication of service companies" by Lagrosen (2005) can be found in the Journal of Services Marketing, Volume 19, Number 2, pages 63-69.

According to Neff (2004) in Advertising Age by Crain Communications Inc., Dove ads are promoting normalcy as beauty. This is viewed as a positive advancement. The article can be found at http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/uploadedFiles/US/campaign_press/advertising_age_092704.pdf. Additionally, Priester's work is relevant to this topic.

The Journal of Consumer Psychology published a study by J. & Petty, E. R. in 2003 on the impact of spokesperson trustworthiness on message elaboration, attitude strength, and advertising effectiveness.

Rossiter, R. (13/4) 408-421

J. ; Bellman, S. wrote a book called "Marketing Communications: Theory and Applications" in 2005, which was published by Pearson Prentice Hall and consists of pages 3-40. This book was authored by Rowley, J. as well.

(2004), Marketing Intelligence ; Planning, Vol. 22 No. - Rowley, J., discusses the role of marketing communications in e-business

and questions whether it is just another channel. The article delves into this topic through an analysis of various strategies and tactics used in e-business marketing, providing insight into the challenges and opportunities presented by this growing field.

The source of the following information is a journal article titled "Remodelling marketing communications in an Internet environment" published in 2001 in the journal Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy. The article can be found in Volume 11, Issue 3, on pages 203-21.The case study of Dove can be found on the Unilever website at http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/casestudies/dove_casestudy.The HTML paragraph tag encloses the text that provides a link to S. Wyer Jr.'s speech at the Goldman Sachs Conference in May 2004. The speech can be accessed through http://www.unilever.com/Images/2004%2018%20May%20Goldman%20Sachs%20Conference%20-%20Speech_tcm13-5247.pdf.The summary of a special session titled "Emergent Moderators of Affective Response in Consumer Behaviour" from Advances in Consumer Research, Volume 32, pages 38-41 was provided by R. in 2005.

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