BRAND HISTORY OF DOVE

 

HISTORY OF THE BRAND DOVE

The Dove brand was founded in the year 1957 by the Lever siblings. They sold amazing cleanser bars when the company first started. Afterwards, they had expanded their product line to so it became inclusive of bodywashes, moisturizers, face chemicals, shampoos and conditioners. Dove's present advertisements highlight their vision of providing legitimate products. Dove has always portrayed actual women in their commercials for almost the past 40 years, however dove has not always sold their products in this manner.

THE ERA OF 1950'S

The first Dove  advertisement for a bathing soap emerged in the year 1957. It was promoting their "1/4 washing cream." They claimed that the normal cleansers left dryness on the face, however as per the advertisement, Dove 'creams your skin while you wash.' This meant that there is moisture retention through the use of the dove soaps and it can also moisturize your skin. Buyers were invited to test this claim themselves by the washing their face with the help of dove and to view the result of doing so.

Another commercial from the 1950s focused on how the shape of the dove soap was better and different compared to the other soaps that were available in the market. It was being marketed as a modern and innovative product in the 1950's. this strategy of marketing worked wonderfully for dove.

THE SUBSEQUENT PERIOD OF 1960'S AND 1970'S

When the brand entered the period of 1960's, it was a relatively established brand. Some amount of customer loyalty had also started being built. due to the increase in their funds they started using various methods to increase the reach of their product. they decided to flow with the trends that were emerging in the world. In the whole world at that time a trend of women's life had emerged. The Governments of various countries started giving various rights to the women of those countries. As a result, Dove started spreading awareness through their campaigns. In the line of this strategy, they also used the colour pink on their dove soap. This was a symbolic representation of spreading femininity and womanhood. 

In the period of 1970's they had moved above the level of just doing the depiction of the qualities of their product. whenever a good product decides to become a brand, it has to go beyond functionality and address the life of it's user either directly or indirectly. The Unique Selling Preposition is their product is that it gives a lifestyle. All those people who care for their skin and desire a certain level of comfort become the natural buyers of this product. Many a times they used to address their product as dove and would generalize all the other product as plain soaps. This increased the recallability of their product.

THE MEMORABLE DECADE OF 1980'S

In the year 1980 the brand decided that it has to go beyond their present product line. As a result, they increased their product line to the products such as hair care products, hair oils etc. Thus, dove also became a leader in the field of shower time products which widened its scope as a brand. It optimized the scope of skin and hair cleanliness. The advantage of moisturizing that was being availed in their body soap segment was now also being availed in the hair care segment.

THE TRANSFORMATIONAL DECADE OF 1990'S

In the decade of 1990 Dove had become a multinational company which was able to sell it's products in 84 different countries. The new product basket of dove also included the Shampoos and Cleaning Agents which were prior to this not reached the middle-class household. It became the primary campaign of their organization to cover the complete spectrum of skin and body care products.

THE STABLE GROWTH OF 2000'S

In this decade Dove moved towards the field of more complex and specialized items. dove also created products that were medically approved in order to gain the validation from the medical fraternity. It is a a peculiarity of this brand that it does not create any cosmetic product. The vision of the product is beauty by embracing your true self. As a result, it did not enter the category of smoke screens, cosmetics, foundations, concealers etc.

THE DECADES OF 2000'S AND 2010'S 

In these decades some of the most iconic commercials of Dove were released. Body positivity was also being embraced by the brand. Due to the advent of social media, people were being demotivated by the unattainable beauty standards of the people. Against this, dove started a campaign of accepting yourself as who you are and not who you are not. This can be considered as a game changer for the wellness industry as a whole as for the first time the brand was telling it's customers that they had to feel secure and content in their looks. This was in strong opposition to the cosmetic products which were being sold via the insecurity of the customers.

CONCLUSION

Thus, it can be concluded that the brand Dove has shaped itself through the thick and thin with the help of innovative products and the consumer centric attitude in their commercials. It can be confidently stated that in the future also, this product would remain a world leader in terms of wellness and body care products.