In 2009, Procter and Gamble\'s Gillette brand controlled 20 percent of the shavi

Question

In 2009, Procter and Gamble's Gillette brand controlled 20 percent of the shaving market in India—a far cry from its 70 percent market share in the U.S. Furthermore, sales had recently plateaued, raising further concerns about the company's strategy in capturing the Indian market. After considering what factors might be causing the market share disappointment, the Indian brand management team realized there was an opportunity to better customize the marketing of Gillette to the Indian context. The primary need for customized marketing was that Indian consumers had different motivations for shaving. Indian men have a poor image of razors that were historically double-edge blades, which caused cuts, nicks, and rashes. Cultural norms related to the virility of facial hair along with famous bearded Bollywood actors meant that Indian men were less motivated to shave than men in other Gillette markets. To educate men about the benefits of shaving, Gillette launched an innovative campaign, known as “Shave India Movement.” The overall campaign was anchored on the research insight that 77 percent of Indian women prefer clean-shaven men. Gillette used a number of creative tactics to bring that statistic to life: • Women Against Lazy Stubble: Opinion poll results were published and female celebrities were recorded promoting the appeal of clean-shaven men. • To shave or not? An urban campaign asked India's women to vote on whether men should shave or not. Attention to the issue was amplified on Facebook as Indian consumers debated the question. Bringing more attention to this seemingly mundane task helped Gillette bolster energy for the movement. • Shave-a-thons: Grassroots stunts that increased word of mouth and brought the Gillette brand into everyday conversation. These events took place in crowded urban centers with crowds of women cheering the men on as they shaved their facial hair. One location even broke the world shaving record! It was also important simplify the product to its essential features so the price could be dropped. Gillette was able to reduce the price from $7.00 to $2.30. As a result of the campaign, Gillette increased sales 500 percent and grew its market share to 80 percent. Additionally, the campaign influenced a U.S. campaign called “Kiss and Tell,” which reported that U.S. women also prefer clean-shaven men. Similar campaigns have been found to be effective around the world.

Questions:

1. What is the downside to customizing Gillette's products and marketing in India? What other options did Gillette had in terms of manufacturing and marketing?

2. Perform a brief analysis of the Brazilian market. Do you think Gillette's approach will work there?

Explanation / Answer

1- The downside in customizing in India is that the data and statistics showed by Gillette that women prefer shaved man was not correct.There is not any empirical evidence that female prefer such man.By doing this Gillette somehow forced man to opt for shaving of their beard and facial hair.It plays with the personal choice of the man and had the result and such large scale promotion not carried by Gillette with association with highly followed and rated celebrity in India, lesser people would have opted for shaving their facial hair.In this case Gillette played with emotion of people . Gillette could have made blade which would have beed more comfortable for Indian man to use unlike razor, could have shown how a man look formal and smart with shaved facial hair, how personality of a shaved person and unshaved person reflect differently to outside people etc.

2-In Brazil I think this approach of Gillette will not work.The psychological marketing used by Gillette vary according to culture and places.This style of marketing worked in India but it won't be succeed in Brazil because here man have other tendency and they don't believe that shaved man looks more attractive for women then unshaved one.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse I
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.