Introduction
Gillette is a leading company in the shaving and razor business that commands about 70% of the market share globally. Nearly a billion men use its products in different countries around the world. Currently, its brand value is estimated to be about 22.9 billion dollars (Kumar, 2019). The company is well-known for its mass appeal which is largely attributed to several factors including innovation, effective mass communication, and consumer research.
Gillette’s Marketing Strategies
The company has been able to appeal to its men’s client base by demonstrating that their products are more effective with more blades. The company’s visionary outlook of the market has helped it to stay ahead of competition by constantly innovating on its products. Over the years, the company has been able to come up with highly innovative razors by introducing the three-blade, four-blade and 5-blade razors in succession.
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Gillette has been able to appeal to the masses through an effective mass communication strategy, consumer research, and the production of highly innovative blades. The company’s expansive marketing knowledge and marketing campaigns have made it possible to convince the world that the more blades there are in a razor the more effective they become.
Its strategy has worked in the past because it has made good use of its market intelligence to develop cutting edge technology razors to meet the needs of its consumers. The company was able to offer its consumers with high quality products that satisfied their needs at a relatively fair price (Esty and Fisher, 2019). However, some analysts are of the opinion that the company has reached its peak in product innovation (Steenkamp, 2017). There is a feeling that the company faces major challenges in expanding its market share globally. The company can become as successful at marketing to women as it were to men because of its innovative marketing knowledge which makes it able to connect with its consumers. It is able to understand the needs of women the same way it understood those of men.
Sports Marketing Partnerships
The company’s sports marketing partnerships has been able to successfully develop the company’s brand equity in that it helped it to have a worldwide reach. By sponsoring international soccer and athletic activities the company was able to generate over 50% of its sales outside the United States (Babatunde and Ajibola, 2017). Despite the controversies surrounding sports peoples such as Tiger woods and Derek Jeter who have endorsed the company, its brand equity and marketing message has not been adversely affected given the fact that their actions are not directly associated with the quality of the company’s products.
Effectiveness of Overall Marketing Strategy
Gillette’s overall marketing strategy has been highly effective because it has been able to appeal to a large number of consumers. A combination of marketing strategies has enabled the company to have a worldwide reach which has helped it to tap into markets outside the United States (Cheung, 2017).
Recommendations
In terms of marketing and advertising, Gillette needs to find new and innovative ways of out- marketing their competition. The organization needs to have an effective pricing strategy that will make its products acceptable to a wide range of consumers. It should also develop comprehensive knowledge on how the use of its products is influenced by various cultures and religions so as to devise an effective marketing message.
Conclusion
Gillette is a company that dominates the global shaving market and continues to grow gradually. However, there is a feeling that the company has reached the peak of its innovative capacity. It, therefore, calls for the company to improve its innovative capacity as well as it marketing and advertising strategies so as to appeal to more consumers to purchaser its products.
References
Babatunde, S. O., & Ajibola, G. S. (2017). Corporate promotional strategies as correlates of sport development in Nigeria. Retrieved from: http://nuir.nkumbauniversity.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12383/360
Cheung, L. (2017). Divestiture as Conglomerate Merger Remedy, with Case Study of 2005 P&G-Gillette Merger. Auckland University of Technology. Retrieved https://www.nzae.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Lydia-Cheung.pdf
Esty, B., & Fisher, D. (2019). Gillette: Cutting Prices to Regain Share. HBS Case , (720-378). Retrieved from: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3481513
Kumar, B. R. (2019). Procter & Gamble’s Acquisition of Gillette. In Wealth Creation in the World’s Largest Mergers and Acquisitions (pp. 243-250). Springer, Cham.
Steenkamp, J. B. (2017). Global Marketing Mix Decisions: Global Integration, Not Standardization. In Global Brand Strategy (pp. 75-109). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
