- Unilever is one of the largest multinational company dealing in fast moving consumer goods. The company is operating in multiple categories including hair-care segment. Three brands selected for the discussion are Clear, TRESemme, and Just For Me. Unilever uniquely positioned all three brands in the same category i.e. hair cleanser. The positioning strategy adopted by Unilever focuses on attracting people from all class of customers. All three products are priced competitively for middle-class people. Unilever positioned all three brands uniquely to inform customers about the distinct benefits associated with each brand. All three brands have different brand image. Clear is positioned as a brand that offers a wide range of hair cleansers that clear scalp and provide nourishment to hair. TRESemme is positioned as a brand that provides salon like hair care at very affordable price. Just For Me brand is developed to fulfill the hair related need of children between ages 5 to 14 (Unilever USA).
- Unilever understands the different needs of its target market and designed its brands to fulfill those needs. Clear shampoos are designed to target both genders; however, the focus is placed on men. Clear shampoos deal with scalp issues such as itching, dryness and dandruff. Therefore, all people who are facing such problems are targeted by the Clear. TRESemme products target women who want to look marvelous without spending huge money. TRESemme products help customers to make their own hair style and provide feeling of the salon. Just For Me brand target children. Just For Me products reduce breakage, nourish hair and provides healthy hair to the child.
- Customers’ requirements cannot be same across genders, age groups, life-styles and social classes. People look for products that fulfill their practical and psychological needs. In the case of hair cleansers or shampoos, people want a product that resolve their hair problems and satisfy their all types of needs. All three shampoo brands of Unilever i.e. Clear, TRESemme, and Just For Me target three different groups of customers and different needs. These brands play a major role in dealing with the competition and acquiring large market share along with increasing customer satisfaction (Carlotti Jr. et al.).
- The amount of overlap between three brands can be evaluated by analyzing characteristics of each brand, target market and benefits. All three brands i.e. Clear, TRESemme, and Just For Me target middle-class segment, and provide healthy, smooth and problem free hair. However, target group of each brand is different. All three brands may provide same result that is healthy hair, but treating different hair problems. For example Clear treats scalp problems, Just For Me treat breakage problem and TRESemme treat dullness, roughness and damages of the hair (Leone and Srivastava).
- I would not recommend Unilever to eliminate any of the brand because all three brands are clearly and uniquely positioned. All three brands cater to the different requirements of the target groups. In competitive market, it is important for a company to serve even small needs of the consumers. Therefore, all three brands should be kept in the portfolio (Kapferer).
- Unilever can add a brand to serve psychological needs of elite customers. The company can look forward developing a brand that is soft on colored hair. It is observed that regular use of hard shampoos quickly take away the color. People of all age and class like to color their hair, and look for a shampoo that does not wash their color in few wash.
Works Cited
Carlotti Jr., S.J., Coe, M.E., and Jesko Perrey. "Making brand portfolios work." November 2004. Mckinsey. 16 October 2014.
Kapferer, Jean-Noel. The New Strategic Brand Management: Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity. USA: Kogan Page Publishers, 2008.
Leone, R.P., and Srivastava, R. "Attribute Overlap in the Modeling of Customer Product Portfolios." Advances in Consumer Research, 7 (1980): 762-766.
"View Our Brands." 2014. Unilever USA . 16 October 2014.
