NIVEA VISAGE Young: 4 P's Marketing Mix Case Study

Introduction and Case Synopsis

NIVEA is a brand produced and sold by Beiersdorf, a global skin and beauty care company that has been in operation for over a century. Beiersdorf's goal in the UK was to get its products as close to consumers as possible. Its focus with NIVEA was to develop the brand into one of the biggest skin care brands on the planet, a core concept of global marketing (Spillan, 2012). After conducting market research, Beiersdorf found a gap in the market regarding beauty products for young women aged 13–19. There were no organic products available for maintaining healthy skin; products on the shelves were mainly for medicinal purposes. Market research showed that girls aged 13–19 wanted a skin care product that was purely for maintenance purposes and not for medicinal purposes — they wanted something preventive, something that would "keep their skin looking healthy and beautiful" (NIVEA, n.d., p. 1). Using a market-oriented approach, Beiersdorf therefore had to develop the right marketing mix for its new product launch to fill the gap in the market for young girls in need of a great skin care product.

Key Problems and Theoretical Framework

In 2005, Beiersdorf developed and launched NIVEA VISAGE Young for the target market of girls aged 13–19. The company used a balance of the 4 P's — product, price, promotion, and place — to reach this market. Two years later, the company re-launched the product in order to further enhance its position in the market, the goal being to optimize its offering: the product had a new formula, tweaked after examining new market research, along with a new design, new packaging, and a new name. Beiersdorf had to decide on the right approach to the 4 P's to make its re-launch a success.

The primary case problem was to identify the correct balance of the 4 P's in order to achieve an effective marketing mix for a skin care product targeting girls aged 13–19. This was about finding the right strategy, which is essential to an effective marketing campaign, as Collis and Rukstad (2008) show.

The secondary case problem was to implement the 4 P's effectively using the right combination of approaches to keep the product as close to the consumer as possible while also ensuring the product was exactly what the consumer wanted.

The symptoms of the problem were that no product actually existed for this target market. There were medicinal skin care products related to skin problems for the target demographic, but nothing resembling preventive care products — products aimed at keeping skin healthy, fresh, and youthful. The majority of existing products focused on treating acne, dryness, and similar conditions.

The theoretical framework used to identify problems in this case study was that developed by Trout and Rivkin (2006), who argue that the marketer must "differentiate or die" (p. 2). For Beiersdorf, differentiation came by way of taking a market-oriented approach. The company sought to see what the market needed that it did not yet have. To do this, it had to reach out to the market to better understand it. There are multiple ways for this to occur: focus groups, surveys, product testing, and consumer research — all of these techniques offer companies the chance to better understand their market. Beiersdorf not only wanted to understand the market; it wanted to give the market a product that was not yet available. It found a gap for girls who wanted a beauty product that would help them maintain healthy skin. This product could differentiate itself from competitors because it would be preventive rather than problem-oriented, and it would rely on natural and organic compounds rather than harsh chemicals, an approach likely to appeal to young consumers.

Another framework that informed Beiersdorf's approach was new media theory, which focuses on providing consumers with on-demand access to information, tools, tips, and help that enables a type of mediation between producer and consumer unprecedented in earlier eras (Bernhardt, Mays, & Hall, 2012; Downes & Mui, 1998). New media is typically associated with the Internet, and since many young people today have grown up in the Digital Age, it makes sense that new media theory should play a pivotal role in addressing both the primary and secondary case problems.

Case Analysis: The 4 P's

Beiersdorf used the 4 P's to develop the right marketing strategy to fill the gap identified by its market researchers. This strategy consisted of identifying the right product, price, place, and promotion.

The product was designed to meet the needs of a target market that had no existing product to address those needs. First, the company identified the market gap and then sought answers about the type of product the target required. NIVEA conducted focus groups to listen directly to consumers about their needs, gathered data through surveys, online questionnaires, and social media, and conducted product testing to determine which products worked best in which markets. What all of this research revealed was that young consumers wanted more specialized face care with a beautifying dimension rather than a solution-oriented one. Not everyone who shops for face care products has a skin problem; some people simply want to keep their skin healthy, fresh, glowing, and youthful in appearance. Beiersdorf recognized this and understood that all it had to do was develop a product that met this target's needs. It was following the framework of Trout and Rivkin (2006) — the idea that in order to succeed, one must differentiate or die — and since competitor products were all oriented towards problem-solving, NIVEA was onto something new that would fill a market gap and differentiate itself from what was already available to the target consumer.

The company also had to ensure that it did not overprice or underprice its product. It found that the majority of its new product was actually purchased by mothers for their daughters, which meant that the price had to be reasonable and represent good value; otherwise the product would not sell. As Ries and Trout (2009) show, price is critical in marketing — it can make or break a product when the target market is price-conscious. Beiersdorf recognized that price-conscious mothers would do the majority of the buying, so it had to price the product smartly and keep it reasonable. In this way, the product became a market leader and set the bar for all other products in this sector. NIVEA used a combination of cost-based pricing, penetration pricing, and price skimming at various stages to ensure the price was always attractive. On the product's re-launch, the price was set slightly higher than the original to reflect the new formulation, packaging, and expanded product range.

Place was another important consideration. The company wanted to sell its product in locations where the target consumer would purchase it, and research indicated that the target would shop both in high street stores and in supermarkets. Place does not refer only to where a product is sold, however — it also encompasses how a product arrives at the point of sale, meaning that distribution channels play a significant role in place decisions.

NIVEA VISAGE Young sought to use all relevant distribution channels to obtain the widest reach possible. This meant offering products both on the high street and in supermarkets, with an extensive distribution network. Research found that 65% of sales came through high street shops such as Boots and Superdrug, while the remaining 35% came from grocery chains.

When considering distribution, NIVEA also assessed the environmental impact of transportation. The company uses a central distribution point in the UK, with products arriving from Europe, and then relies on wholesalers to distribute products to smaller accounts. It does not sell directly through its own website, as the costs of shipping small individual orders are too high. Instead, it relies on retailers who operate their own websites to move product. This is an efficient strategy that helps the company get its product as near to consumers as possible, and it also reflects sound corporate social responsibility with respect to minimizing environmental impact — an approach that is likely to resonate with a younger target market concerned about sustainability and waste.

Promoting the product effectively was equally important, and for NIVEA VISAGE Young, below-the-line strategies proved most effective. These included branding and consumer-led promotion, which allows the consumer to engage directly with the product by testing samples. NIVEA gave away over one million free samples of its product in 2008. Samples were distributed through goody bags at road shows, in stores, and via the website. Social marketing was also employed to promote the product, which aligns with what Bernhardt et al. (2012) recommend regarding the use of new media in promotion. Since digital technology now permeates everyday life, it makes sense to use the tools of the Digital Age — tools with which the younger generation is entirely familiar. Because this product is aimed squarely at younger consumers, incorporating new media into the promotional strategy was a natural fit.

Conclusion

The marketing mix Beiersdorf developed for NIVEA VISAGE Young was designed to exploit a clearly identified market gap: young women who had no skin care product geared towards beauty and prevention. Because most competitors directed products in this age group towards medicinal purposes, an opportunity existed to develop something that the target demographic could use to protect their skin and keep it looking youthful. NIVEA therefore took a market-oriented approach to determining what the market wanted and then developed exactly that product.

The company then marketed the product by achieving the right balance of the 4 P's — product, price, place, and promotion — in order to get the offering as close as possible to its consumers. The right product was developed by listening to what the market wanted and what was not yet available. The right price was set by recognizing that mothers, as the primary purchasers, were price-conscious and needed to perceive good value. The right place strategy was achieved by using all available distribution channels to maximize product visibility while also demonstrating environmental responsibility. Finally, the right promotional strategy was executed through a consumer-led, below-the-line approach that put the product directly into the hands of the target consumer through free samples at road shows, in stores, and online. Together, these elements enabled NIVEA to differentiate itself in the market — and as Trout and Rivkin (2006) make clear, the ability to differentiate effectively is what separates market leaders from the rest.

References

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Collis, D., & Rukstad, M. (2008). Can you say what your strategy is? Harvard Business Review (April), 82–90.

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Downes, L., & Mui, C. (1998). Unleashing the killer app: Digital strategies for market. Harvard Business School Press.

NIVEA. (n.d.). The use of the marketing mix in product launch.

Ries, A., & Trout, J. (2009). The 22 immutable laws of marketing. Harper Business.

Spillan, J. (2012). A review of 'Global marketing: Contemporary theory, practice and cases.' Journal of Global Marketing, 25(2), 124–125.

Trout, J., & Rivkin, S. (2006). Differentiate or die. In The marketing gurus (ed. Murray). Penguin.