MARKETING STRATEGIES AND COMPETITOR ANALYSIS OF NIVEA

❖   MARKETING STARTEGIES USED BY NIVEA: 

NIVEA,  a personal care brand owned by German based giant, Beiersdorf Global AG deals in skin care products. It's been in market since 108 years, the only reason for its success is its Marketing Strategies. As the competition increased in skin care market it was necessary for Nivea to extend its brand in order to be a-step-ahead of its competitors .To tap all age groups of consumers, both male and female, it was essential for Nivea to extend its brand. Brand Extension is one of the latest product development strategies, which can reduce financial risk by using the parent brand name, so Nivea decided to extend it product categories to tap a brand new set of consumers.

They never use animal fats in any form in their products.Their product is completely made of natural ingredients whatsoever. It has a strong brand personality which is emotionally involving, based on trust and love. Its products meet consumer needs in every form.

It’s a mass market brand which offers the largest skincare assortment to people all over the world.It always works hard to keep its brand young, attractive, energetic and sympathetic to the masses. The Nivea brand has always been closely linked with its consumer base.

To go global with the Nivea brand, they extended their product categories.Geographical conditions of various countries also motivated Beiersdorf to extend their brand to a variety of places. Beiersdorf wanted to increase the brand equity of Nivea, that’s why they adopted the strategy of product category extension. 

 The strategy: The brand focuses on capturing large target audience by smartly introducing product variants to tap every consumer in all corners of the world. 

●      UMBRELLA BRANDING:

An umbrella branding is a brand that covers diverse  kind of products which are more or less related . it applies to any company that is identified only by its brand and history . an umbrella is a place brand used by a locality to attract the attention of different kinds of audiences eg: students, investors etc.

PROS OF UMBRELLA BRANDING: An umbrella branding strategy allows the core brands to be nurtured by association with products with which it is previously associated. Secondly,it also helps companies to reduce the promotional and advertisement cost.

CONS OF THIS STRATEGY: If the brand is not managed well there is a threat for it s associated brands. If the core brand is not stronger than it may destroy the brand image.

• Product strategy: Over a period of time, Nivea has branded itself as a skin care solution for both men and women. It contains a wide range of products which serve multiple skin care market segments. The brand has body care products, sun screen products, hand care products, men and women face care products, talcum powder and deodorants, shower soaps and body wash and lip care. 
• Target Market: Nivea serves wide market which includes people of almost all age and gender.
• Motive: Nivea’s only motive is to be the world’s no.1 body and skin care brand via its wide range of products portfolio. The brand focuses on taking initiatives to be a brand that delivers its customers high class, best quality and innovative products. 

❖ COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

  Nivea has five prominent competitors in Indian market:

1. Pond's
2. Johnson & Johnson
3. Lakme
4. Vaseline
5. Dove

 1. POND'S: A famous brand of beauty and healthcare products, Ponds is also owned by Unilever. Pond’s deals with a wide variety of personal care products. Their main products include talc, petroleum jelly, face wash, cold cream, and beautysoap, Ponds moisturizers, Ponds Cleansers, Ponds Oil, and Face Wipes.

The main target customer for this brand is the women ever since its formation.This brand has a wide product line and the products launched by the company always enhance its brand value. Due to their affordable pricing strategy and strong distribution, Ponds is considered as one of the top Nivea competitors.

2. JOHNSON AND JOHNSON: Johnson & Johnson is a U.S based Company .The company along with its subsidiaries undertakes researches and develops various products related to health and personal care which are available globally. The consumer products offered by this brand are baby care products, oral care products, and beauty products.

This brand has a strong presence within each category of product. It is a most trusted brand by many medical practitioners. As it is regarded as one of the largest healthcare providers, Johnson & Johnson is regarded as one of the top Nivea competitors.

3. LAKME: Lakme was established by JRD Tata. Lakme is an Indian cosmetic brand, Lakme is owned by Hindustan Unilever. It was established on the request of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the year 1952 who observed that Indian women spend on foreign exchange for beauty products.

Lakme has its beauty salons, it has a strong bond with fashion and beauty industry in India, it organizes various events across the country which increases its brand visibility.The famous Indian actress, Kareena Kapoor is the brand ambassador for Lakme. Due to the great product line and its visibility, Lakme is a top Nivea competitor.

5. VASELINE: Vaseline is considered as one of the top Nivea competitors.A well-known brand of personal care, Vaseline is a brand under Unilever and deals in the  petroleum jelly body lotion. Unilever is in the market for more than 140 years, this brand is the largest consumer products companies. The products of Vaseline include plain petroleum jelly, soaps, cleansers, skin creams, lotions, and deodorants.Vaseline and Nivea share almost similar product portfolios and have strong distribution.

  6. DOVE: Dove is a UK based well-known personal care brand. Dove manufactures products for both, men and women in more than 80 nations. Dove offers various products under the category of beauty bars, body washes, deodorants, lotions, facial, and hair care products.     

 Dove products are prepared using salts of animal fats, vegetable oils, and synthetic surfactants. Due to these ingredients, these products are not considered vegan. Dove’s key competitive edge lies in its design where it has a mix of both soap and cream thereby providing a cleansing and smoothing product. It is recognized well in the market due to its advertising and marketing strategies.
Their products are available through offline and online stores. Due to their various distribution channels, Dove is considered as one of the top Nivea competitors.