Link to classmate, Lara Hon’s blog post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/laramarie/2012/09/11/marketing-from-conglomerates-when-hypocrisy-attacks/
Like Lara, I believe Dove’s existence under the umbrella of Unilever is a fatal disadvantage. With Dove’s message being uniquely combative of mainstream media “beauty,” it relies heavily on the consistency of not only its own values but Unilever’s values as well. However, with Axe’s existence – its skinny, young, bikini-clad, beauty-exactly-as-the-media-portrays-it women – under the umbrella, consistency is unachievable.
Dove vs. Axe
What I find cowardly is Unilever’s handling of the situation. Because the messages of its various products don’t align, Unilever has chosen to rely on secrecy, lying by omitting the fact that Axe and Dove are connected, and hoping consumers don’t discover the truth! The lack of full transparency only prompts a stronger backlash upon discovery of the truth.
So can conglomerates do it right? SCJohnson aligns each of it’s products with one another and proudly associates all with the conglomerate (the end of the commercial “SCJ, a family company”).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVgdHQGxzIw
I believe that in carefully constructing each product’s image, SCJ has concurrently pieced together the conglomerate’s image . The result is that any merchandise under the SCJ umbrella automatically shares SCJ’s values of family, safety, and quality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKrm41xAcyo
I believe that just like the teachings of parents affect the attitudes of children, the values of conglomerates affect the products existing under their umbrella. Although a conglomerate’s goods may be diverse, a company must never underestimate the ability of consumers to make connections, to think critically, and to unearth mistakes. A reputation built on the refreshing redefinition of beauty is easily shattered upon discovery that Dove’s creators themselves haven’t yet joined the beauty revolution.
Sources:
http://www.thestar.com/article/280524–taking-the-axe-to-unilever-s-hypocrisy
http://www.scjohnson.com/en/company/principles.aspx
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