Perception:
The Real Beauty Campaign
Dove investigated 118 countries discovering most women were not confident in describing themselves as beautiful1. This pushed Dove into working towards their new goal in changing the way beauty is perceived by the media1. Social media platforms like Instagram are changing the way beauty is perceived. Most women feel they need plastic surgery to feel beautiful, and to fit in with celebrities1.
This video illustrates how young girls are beginning to sound a lot like grown women in not being able to define themselves as beautiful5. Dove is raising awareness in an attempt to stop this horrible chain reaction1. Women are the role models for young girls, and Dove recognises this as a huge issue since women are not demonstrating what real beauty is about1.
Perception
The Real Beauty Campaign promoted beauty to be the power and personality of individuals, and is still an ongoing campaign to this day1. Dove also created a Self Esteem Fund to emphasise the importance of feeling beautiful from within1.
As a result of marketing campaigns, many described their perception towards the brand to increase their self-esteem1. The strong message redefining beauty changed the way consumers interpreted Dove.
Packaging Design Influencing Consumer Perception
The packaging design of Dove products also contributes to the increasing sales and level of awareness11. Dove usually incorporates a white background on products. The colour white symbolises youth, truth, fearfulness and cleanliness11. Blue is another colour most frequently included for the font and logo colour. Blue represents trust, confidence wisdom and creativity11.
The incorporation of a Dove bird as part of the logo also supports the idea Dove is portraying4. It is a connotation for “femininity, peace, tenderness”, which symbolises the natural beauty of women4. The Dove bird also demonstrates the feeling women will experience after using the products4.
Emotions may include “softness, tenderness, and joy”4. It is about encouraging and influencing women to make peace with their inner-beauty, and to accept who they are4.
These connotations link immensely to the purpose of The Real Beauty Campaign, as they redefine beauty not only through words, but through the product packaging1.
Sensory System and Receptors
In addition, the sensory system theory allows consumers to feel positive emotions1. The range of soft scents promotes a calm feeling as they utilise their nose receptors, motivating them to purchase the product9. The feel of their skin following the use of products like moisturisers, also relate to the sensory system of touch10.
The nose and skin are the main sensory receptors Dove utilises, which set the mood for consumers to have a desire to purchase Dove products9. The calm mood created also promotes consumers to feel youthful and joyful when purchasing and using Dove products4.
Effective ads
Dove is also effective in stating their key messages through advertisements. In this advertisement, the faces are on the left, while the key message is depicted on the right.
According to the Attention Getting Hierarchy, consumers will view the visual imagery of the faces before the text12. This means once they see three different faces, they will be able to interpret the meaning behind the advertisement once they read the message on the right.
Therefore, Dove effectively conveys relevant information, which builds their brand knowledge of their brand purpose3.
References
1 Amaral, AC, 2017, Dove Real Beauty Campaign: A Local Perspective (Doctoral dissertation)
2 Baby Dove Line Debuts at Retailers Nationwide, image, Beauty Packaging, viewed 27 March 2019,<https://www.beautypackaging.com/contents/view_breaking-news/2017-04-06/baby-dove-line-debuts-at-retailers-nationwide>
3 Bergkvist, LR, Eiderbäck, D and Palombo, M, 2012, The brand communication effects of using a headline to prompt the key benefit in ads with pictorial metaphors, Journal of Advertising, 41(2), pp.67-76
4 Dharmayanti, IGAD, Tika, IK and Sudana, IGP, 2016, Lexical Ambiguity in English Advertisement Slogans of Unilever Products, p95
5 Dove Change One Thing | How our girls see themselves, online video, 25 September 2015, YouTube, viewed 16 May 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c96SNJihPjQ>
6 Dove, image, Well.pk, viewed 16 May 2019, <https://well.pk/brands/dove/43>
7 Dove: “Real Beauty Campaign”, image, A Medium Corporation, viewed 6 May 2019, <https://medium.com/ad-discovery-and-creativity-lab/dove-real-beauty-campaign-aaebfb041f0a>
8 Dove, image, Living Rich With Coupons, 2019, viewed 16 May 2019, <https://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/2016/03/free-sample-dove-dry-oil-moisture-nourishing-body-wash-3-coupon-newdovedryoil.html>
9 Herz, RS, 2011, The emotional, cognitive, and biological basics of olfaction: implications and considerations for scent marketing, In Sensory Marketing, pp. 117-138, Routledge
10 Klatzky, RL, 2011, A Gentle tutorial With Implications for Marketing, Sensory Marketing: Research on the Sensuality of Products, p.33,
11 Mohebbi, B, 2014, The art of packaging: An investigation into the role of color in packaging, marketing, and branding, International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 3(2)
12 O’shaughnessy, J, 2014, Competitive marketing (RLE marketing): A strategic approach
13 Welcome to Dove, image, Dove, viewed 16 May 2019, <https://www.dove.com/au/home.html>
Personality & The Self:
Self-concept
The self-concept refers to the evaluation and beliefs consumers hold about themselves7. Not every aspect you view of yourself may be positive, there might be some attributes you view negatively too7. This is developed over time through psychological and social factors, and during interactions7.
This strongly connects to Dove’s campaign, The Real Beauty Campaign, on promoting how women should feel comfortable in their own skin6. Designing different shaped bottles were used as a way to represent the different body shapes6. Dove also concluded women felt pressure from social media, in looking a certain way to be identified as beautiful6.
Therefore, this proves consumers who purchase Dove products are following the self-concept theory, as they purchase products close to their self-image7. Consumers aim to feel beautiful and by doing so, they believe Dove can offer that. By purchasing these products, they have identified Dove’s brand values to match with their personal values7.
Self-esteem
This campaign also relates to self-esteem. Self-esteem refers to “the positivity of a person’s self-concept”7. An example may be the level of confidence one holds when performing a task7. In this case, it might be the way one feels when in looking in the mirror, and liking what they see.
Increasing attention towards the different body shapes of women, aims to increase self-esteem6. It promotes women to feel comfortable in their own bodies, for example, when wearing a bikini and heading down to the beach in summer. It is also about embracing your natural self, and not feeling like social media is controlling your mind.
Social Comparison
Dove’s campaign aims to avoid social comparison, where consumers are comparing themselves to idealised images such as celebrities on Instagram7. Dove also aims to move consumers from an ideal self-mindset, how the consumer would like to be, to an actual self mindset where consumers are realistic with who they are2. By doing so, when individuals purchase a Dove product, it is a constant reminder to be kind to themselves.
Personality
The way consumers perceive and respond to Dove’s marketing campaigns depend on their personality7. Dove’s campaigns can clearly be identified as a goal to change the current personalities of consumers, who believe they need to look a certain way to be beautiful1.
This can be analysed again through the Real Beauty Campaign, where it aimed to restore self-confidence in women1. Through this campaign, Dove created a clear message where it illustrated how beauty starts within your own personality1.
This also links with brand personality where consumers are using Dove’s personality of freedom, love and beauty to the person they wish to evolve into1.
Trait Theory
Since the Trait Theory focuses on psychological characteristics, Dove can be recognised as a brand who focuses on conscientiousness7 .
Therefore, Dove’s goal is to ensure consumers feel beautiful, despite individuals believing they are flawed7. This is accomplished through changing consumers psychological mindset.
References
1 Amaral, AC, 2017, Dove Real Beauty Campaign: A Local Perspective (Doctoral dissertation)
2 Bissell, K and Rask, A, 2010, Real women on real beauty: Self-discrepancy, internalisation of the thin ideal, and perceptions of attractiveness and thinness in Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, International Journal of Advertising, 29(4), pp.643-668.
3 Discover New Ideas About Dove, image, Pinterest, viewed 16 May 2019, <https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/482659285055655523/>
4 Dove Self-esteem Project, image, Multivu, viewed 16 May 2019, <http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7635651-dove-self-esteem-project-on-pinterest/>
5 People aren’t buying into Dove’s body wash bottle campaign, image, Marketing, viewed 23 April 2019, <https://www.marketing-interactive.com/people-arent-buying-into-doves-body-wash-bottle-campaign/>
6 Powell, M, 2015, Radical Love In A Post-Feminist Age: Reading the Pedagogy of Dove’s” Campaign For Real Beauty”, International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 6(1).
7 Solomon, Michael, Russell-Bennett, R and Previte, J, 2019, Consumer Behaviour, Australian Edition, 4th Ed., Pearson, p.212
8 Trait Theory of Personality, image, Empower Addition Recover, viewed 16 May 2019, <https://risetoshinetoday.org/trait-theory-of-personality/>
bank.fashion.blog 