Dove case

Imagine you have oversight of this part of Unilever’s business. Are you comfortable with what’s going on? Why or why not?

You may or may not find it helpful to consider the following issues from the case:

(You do NOT need to address every question below. These are some possible issues for you to think about as you develop your answer to the main question above.)

• What is a brand? Why does Unilever want fewer of them?
• What was Dove’s market positioning in the 1950s? What is its positioning in 2007?
• How did Unilever organize product category management and brand management before and after 2000? How was brand meaning controlled before 2000 and how is it controlled at the time of the case?
• What steps did Dove take in building its masterbrand?
• Footnote 1 of the case leads you to a blogger who asks, “Is marketing now cheap, fast and out of control?” Footnote 2 refers to Dove as having started a conversation “that they don’t have control of.” In “When Tush Comes to Dove,” Seth Stevenson writes about the “risky bet that Dove is making.” Do you see risks for the Dove brand?

Reminders:

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