This article is a cut from the report I wrote about Gillette’s brand equity building strategies. The article provides a brief analysis, problem identification and recommendations on the Integrated Marketing Communication tools that Gillette has utilised to build its brand equity. My method of analysis is based on Keller’s Customer-Based Brand Equity model and it explores the ways in which Gillette has targeted some of the levels of the pyramid.
I. ANALYSIS
Interactive Marketing:
Gillette actively engages in online marketing where it utilises several owned social media channels to create and distribute valuable media content. The most important social media channels Gillette uses are Instagram and YouTube. Together, these channels address the Brand Identity, Brand Meaning and Brand Response levels of Keller’s Pyramid.
To address the first, Brand Identity level of the CBBE model, Gillette uses Instagram. One of the tools Gillette utilizes is hashtags such as #sensitiveskin which Gillette adds toeverypost. This helps to reach the first level by driving Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and thus spreading brand awareness. Another powerful tool Gillette utilizes is Instagram influencers’ testimonials, with their accounts tagged in each post. Tagging contributes to increasing brand awareness among the people who are familiar with the person in a testimonial. The more popular the influencer is, the greater is the exposure of the brand. Study shows that a person is 82% likely to follow a recommendation of an influencer (Linqia 2018). This makes influencers even more important in increasing brand awareness than celebrities. The same study also shows that Instagram is the most effective online platform for influencer endorsement. Which is also confirmed by Forbes article which states that Instagram is very effective in raising brand awareness (Saad & Rosenberg, 2018). Moreover, using influencers endorsement on Instagram also facilitates the second level of the pyramid Brand Meaning. This is done by creating brand imagery associations of the type of Gillette’s users. In this case, the “user profile” that Instagram communicates by endorsing influencers involves inspirational, successful, idealized people.
Gillette uses YouTube to drive the second level of the pyramid Brand Meaning and the third level Brand Response. People say a picture is worth a thousand words. A video consists of thousands of pictures AND words. Because video content can communicate so much in one go, YouTube plays a key role in reaching these two levels for Gillette. It uploaded multiple videos demonstrating the performance of the brand in meeting its consumers’ needs.
For example, to communicate the primary brand characteristics which is the performance side of the Brand Meaning level, Gillette often releases video advertisements that demonstrate its’ products’ design, quality and innovation. To express the superiority and credibility of the brand which is the Brand Response level, Gillette released a “Welcome Back” video that featured a website and infographic that directly compared Gillette’s razors to its competitors. By communicating Gillette’s functional superiority, the video facilitates brand consideration too, (MindTools 2019) which plays a crucial part in building brand equity (Keller, 2001).
Most of Gillette’s videos on YouTube demonstrate functional benefits of the brand which follow the rational (left) side of the pyramid. However, Gillette also time to time releases videos that address social and psychological needs of consumers. Up until January 2019, from the videos it released, Gillette’s brand image was perceived as the one embracing masculinity (Gogarty 2019). More specifically, the messages in Gillette’s videos were consistently built around achievement and self-esteem. They portrayed “sexy confident men shaving with Gillette just before they go and later be successful by acing at work and getting the ladies” (Danao 2018). By featuring successful men using Gillette razors, Gillette hoped to make consumers think that by using its’ products, they can get the same experience of success and express their masculinity (Danao 2018). Besides affecting the Brand Meaning (image) level, this communication also facilitates the feeling of self-respect in consumers which is a Brand Response (feelings) level.
Advertisement:
The three types of advertisements that I am going to focus on in this section are the print media, TV and points of purchase advertisements. If done well, these communications could affect all the levels of the pyramid. However, the primary goal of these channels for Gillette is to increase brand awareness.
For example, Gillette uses printed media in journals and popular magazines. The main advantage of this media is the wide market coverage. To maximize the effectiveness of this communication, Gillette prioritizes the clarity and creativity of its’ messages. This helps to attract consumers’ attention and improve the memorability of an ad, resulting in a cost-effective advertisement. For example, in the #BabyFace campaign, Gillette has published a sandpaper in several popular journals to make men experience what their new-borns feel when they touch their dads’ unshaved faces. It has a simple, clear message: clean shave for your newborn. The creativity side of the campaign left a strong positive impression of the ad which has earned a significant additional media coverage.
Gillette also uses TV advertisement to facilitate brand awareness across a wider range of demographics. The main disadvantage of a TV advertisement is clatter. To go around this, Gillette tries to break through the clatter by featuring powerful elements like celebrities to attract attention of viewers. The most famous example of such TV ad is Campions ad which features three sports legends Roger Federer, Thierry Henry and Tiger Woods.
Another advertisement channel Gillette often utilizes is the point of purchase advertisement. These are usually decorative stands in stores which serve as attention grabbers. Numerous studies have shown, that most consumers make a brand decision in the store (Keller 2013). A point of purchase advertisement helps a brand to stand out in the store increasing the likelihood of purchase affecting the brand consideration and facilitating a greater brand awareness.
II. PROBLEM
Brand Image Distortion:
The traditional masculine image of Gillette was altered in January 2019 with the pro #MeToo, The Best Men Can Be campaign. In a video posted on YouTube, Gillette addressed toxic masculinity to bring social awareness of sexual harassment and bullying. The messages of the same campaign were later distributed all over the social media to support the new image of the brand.
One of the problems with this new campaign from the brand management perspective, is that it is very different from the image of embracing masculinity Gillette was standing for all this time. In our analysis, we identified that Gillette’s customers were buying its products because they wanted to associate themselves with the masculine image Gillette has. Now, many men believe that the new campaign calls masculinity toxic (Carmody 2019) which is conflicting with their emotional incentive for purchasing a Gillette product. Moreover, in contrast with the new #metoo campaign in the past, to communicate men’s confidence in ads, Gillette used to objectify women and often use the models as sexual appeals (Hoft 2019). Because of this drastic and sudden change of meaning, a very large proportion of consumers perceived it as hypocrisy from Gillette.
A study published by MarketingWeek (2019), found that the archetypes of Gillette’s brand and of The Best a Man Can Be campaign are indeed very different. Gillette is perceived to have a Hero and a Ruler personality. Meanwhile, the new ad is leaning towards a Mentor and a Caregiver archetype (Cogarty 2019). The heroes and rulers are strong, inspirational, confident, controlling, and leading (can also be perceived as arrogant). The mentors and caregivers are maternal, selfless, wise and knowledgeable (thehartford.com 2019).
Previously the marketing elements that objectified women were for the most part ignored by the consumers. This is because these elements were consistent with Gillette’s masculine, successful, sexy image, as discussed earlier. Now, however, as the meaning has shifted, consumers are looking at Gillette’s previous advertisements from the new perspective. This contradiction between the old and the new meanings create a conflict and harm the brand’s equity. As a result, the vast majority of viewers got reacted very negatively to the hypocrisy ad. Moreover, the contrast between the pro masculine and the anti toxic masculinity communication contributed into perception of the ad as anti men. Many people called for a ban of the brand and changed their loyalty for Gillette’s competitors like the Dollar Shave Club.
Note: There are many more problems in the ad than just the conflict of the archetypes. The whole approach to communicating the messages in The Best A Man Can Be campaign was not well planned. A much better result could be achieved with the exact the same message by just changing the way of communicating it. Below you can see my recommendations on how to mitigate the long term consequences the campaign had on Gillette’s brand image.
III. RECOMMENDATION
Redefine Brand Image:
To resolve the conflict around the poor fit of the old and new brand meanings, Gillette should redefine the new “toxic masculinity” image by leaning more towards the old, embracing masculinity one, but in a new context. This should be done by finding a middle point between promoting masculinity and enforcing the new socially responsible “The Best a Man Can Be” idea. This will help the public to connect the two meanings, leading to the smoother acceptance of the change and possibly forgiveness from those customers who got offended by the campaign.
To balance the old and the new brand meanings, Gillette should combine the characteristics of the old “Hero” and “Ruler” archetypes with the meaning of the Best a Man Can Be campaign. For example, Gillette could release a video advertisement featuring Gillette users in the following context:
“Being respectful, encouraging, fair, doing the right thing and making a positive difference. This is what THE BEST A MAN CAN BE is like… it’s like being a hero”.
To enforce this meaning, Gillette can use #RealLifeHero to spread brand awareness. Gillette could also collaborate with Marvel to borrow some of its brand image. Marvel has an evident “Hero” archetype, but it also has a strong women empowering image (Sullivan 2019). This is why brands like Marvel would be perfect to balance out the brand meaning for Gillette. In a collaboration, Gillette can use Marvel’s superheroes elements, like the iconic phrases, in its integrated marketing communication strategy. For example, Gillette could set up a competition on YouTube around the real-life heroes’ examples to prove that they are “Worthy and shall possess the power of Thor”. The winner could get an exclusive razor that is designed to depict the collaboration and a financial grant. This will not only enforce the new “The Best a Man Can Be” image in a creative way, but also keep the consumers engaged and influence the feeling section of the brand response level of the Keller’s Pyramid.
References:
Carmody, B. (2018). Gillette defends controversial short film ‘The Best Men Can Be’. The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv- and-radio/gillette-defends-controversial-short-film-the-best-men-can-be-20190116- p50rrl.html [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Danao, M. (2019). How Gillette Dominates the World Market with Innovative Marketing Tactics – Word-of-Mouth and Referral Marketing Blog. [online] Available at: https://www.referralcandy.com/blog/gillette-marketing-strategy/ [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Gogarty, S. (2019). The real impact and effectiveness of Gillette’s ‘#metoo’ ad. [online] Marketing Week. Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/2019/05/13/the-real-impact- and-effectiveness-of-gillettes-metoo-ad/ [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Hoft, J. (2019). #MeToo Boomerang: Gillette Lectures US Men on Sexism — Then Objectifies Hot Women in Provocative Clothing at Their Sponsored Events. The Gateway Pundit. Available at: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/01/metoo- boomerang-gillette-lectures-us-men-on-sexism-then-caught-showcasing-hot- models-in-skintight-jumpsuits/ [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Saad, D., & Rosenberg, A. (2018). How To Build A Thriving Brand Presence On Instagram. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saadrosenberg/2018/01/16/how-to-build-a-thriving- brand-presence-on-instagram/#55ce4a926893 [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Thehartford.com. (2019). The 12 Brand Archetypes. Available at: https://www.thehartford.com/business-playbook/in-depth/choosing-brand- archetype [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Keller, K. (2000). The Brand Report Card. Harvard Business Review. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2000/01/the-brand-report-card [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Diaz, J. (2009). Winning campaign becomes marketing mess for Gillette. [online] Archive.boston.com. Available at: http://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2009/12/11/sports_stars_antics_turn_ gillettes_winni ng_ad_campaign_into_a_marketing_mess/.
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