This Blog is in response to Ge (Lucy) Liu’s blog. Link:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/geliu/2013/11/09/marketing-blog-4-sure/
Deodorant is an interesting industry when the marketing aspects are analyzed. Every brand smells good, has some kind of a cool graphic, has multiple types such as antiperspirant or a gel, deodorant is one of many product lines, and for the most part they seem to target either men or women but not often both. With so many competitive brands with so many similar features product differentiation and promotion becomes even more difficult and important.
Looking at the men’s market leaders Axe and Old Spice you see two companies with almost identical products. What differentiates these brands is their incredibly creative advertising campaigns. Axe has captured males’ attention using its ladies “magnet” campaign with numerous commercials and Old Spice with it’s creative and humorous “Old Spice Man” promotions. Its clear that promoting is how companies gain market share in the deodorant industry.
As Lucy mentioned in her post Sure is trying to reposition itself in an attempt to regain market share. Narrowing down their target market to women is a good start for Sure, but it is not narrowed down enough. This will not compete with Dove and their “Real Beauty Campaign.” In order for them to make a legitimate come back they need to continue to position themselves through promotion like other company’s in the industry do.
In an industry with so many similar products, promotion becomes a very important tool. Success will not necessarily follow those with the best product. This makes it important for firms like Sure trying to reposition themselves to allocate resources to this instead of product. If this is done they will make a name for themselves for Sure!