Hi, colleagues. I found the following article which I think is a great example of how a 100 year-old company (Nivea) links up with a pop culture icon (Rihanna) to help people connect to the product – body cream. Rihanna is Nivea’s global brand ambassador and her role is to connect people to Nivea by focusing on skin and effective skin care. Nivea hopes that consumers will positively associate the product with Rihanna’s youth and urban chic. The ad reaches out on an emotional level to promote Nivea’s attributes. Plus, it illustrates one example of how companies are using social media to connect with customers on a deeper level and influence buying patterns.
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/05/16/Nivea-100-Rihanna.aspx
Nivea is truly embracing the new “Participation Orientation” approach to marketing. Even stating that for the Men’s segment they are “relinquishing control of the brand to our consumers.” But I would argue that they are not doing anything close to relinquishing control, rather they are changing strategy by guiding their marketing message through celebrities and social networking. They continue to control the message a lot but are guiding customers to believe we are in charge. They use studies to show us that we asked for their product (the study reference was completed by another skin care brand, Noxima) and attract customers to their facebook pages with sweepstakes (you have to “Like” Nivea to enter to win) then consumers can find comments about Nivea from other users. Nivea seems very much in control. Is it also part of the marketing to say they are relinquishing control? Can we think of other examples where brands are saying the consumer is in control?
ReplyDeleteStacy, you posed an interesting question and I have really been thinking of a product/marketing campaign that specifically indicates the consumer is in control. The only example I could think of reality TV shows. For instance, on American Idol, the viewers vote and ultimately choose the winner. This is not a specific product but a very successful entertainment show. Also, in the very broad sense of the idea, the consumers are in control for everything. If we don't believe in the product and don't purchase it, then it will simply go away.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that in addition to appealing to the male/female segments with football and Rihanna, Nivea is increasing their efforts to highlight corporate responsibility. Releasing a special-edition creme that will fund a project to help kids in Guatemala can appeal to many people and it will create meaning for those consumers that want to contribute to a global cause. It does make me wonder if their production processes are equally responsible.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting (or perhaps brilliant) that Nivea is juxtaposing a 100-year-old company with an icon of youth. It is equally interesting that they are using an African American woman to promote a product whose name means “snow white”. One wonders if the African American community takes issue with this.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stacy that Nivea is not relinquishing control of the brand to their customers. They very much control their strategy and their message. However, Kathy has a good point in that consumers are ultimately in control in a free market. Swaying the consumers is what marketing is all about.
Nivea has a sentimental meaning to me personnaly. It was the "all purpose" cream my grandmother, mother, and aunts and I used while growing up in China. It was translated to "Snow Flake Cream" in Chinese. Therefore, the 100 year's of youth theme appeals dearly to me. However, I am surprised that they would pick Rihanna as their ambassador. I just don't see Rihanna as as an image or icon for the brand. When I see her, I think of a pop star who often shows a lot of skin, but not neccessarily healthy nor youthful. It is clever that they purposely put light make-up on her in the video to appear more youthful. On a marketing note, Nivea's association with Rihanna will capture at least part of the pop culture. But it is still an effort to dictate what youth and beauty is about by featuring a popular pop star icon
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that Nivea has found that this traditional method of marketing its brand by having a celebrity spokesperson still works for the main target- young women. In my experience, once a young woman finds a beauty product that she likes, it is very hard to change her usage of that product. However, I find the method of targeting men interesting. I know what they mean by being able to "switch off" when faced with traditional marketing media. I'm not sure if is more of a product issue or a gender issue, but it does exist, because I switch it off all the time. By making the method interactive, it is as much an "experience" as it is a product, and thus is much more likely to be purchased. I wonder how they will sustain the marketing, however, when the competition is over?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Winnie’s comment that using Rihanna is about a pop star and the social networking trend, and maybe not as much about using social networking to improve their skin solutions.
ReplyDeleteThe study in the article explains how important skin is to people, but I found it ironic that not a lot of the article explained what “new” things the company is doing to solve customer’s skin problem.
Makes you wonder if this is a new pitch by an old company, or just a fresh-look on an old pitch. I don’t see new products or new offerings. They just added digital communication to gather people. The real question is if they’ve just changed marketing media, or are they really trying to use social feedback to find a new way to solve skin problems.
Jake has a good point, I'm not sure Nivea has changed at all in the last 50 years as far as the product is concerned. I've seen the packaging change, but can't seem to recall if there were any affective advertising about how they have changed the product consistency to enhance or improve skin care at all...
ReplyDeleteIt seems products which grab a trendy celebrity endorsement and start a Facebook page are just getting in a game which has been being played for a long time. I read the article and think, "it's about time" rather than, "wow! they are so innovative!" But, maybe that's exactly why they've made the move, because now they have related to me, come closer to my world (or at least my wife's). The genius of webisodes on youtube and Facebook profiles is the immediate interaction between consumer and product. There's a lot of risk, but also a great tool in the simple words "comment here." What would previously take follow-up campaigns involving only surveys and statistical analysis of shopping trends has now opened up quicker dialogue and impressions from many who have left comments. People can complain, ask for clarification, ask where products are sold, inquire of directions for use, etc. and are often answered rather quickly. This may be exactly how the consumer is closer to being in the driver seat with these sorts of campaigns. Those comments can (and should) fuel product modification and communicate branding.
ReplyDelete