Comparisons of Sure and Natrel Deodorant / Antiperspirant Products

Branding

Branding is an important part of the promotion of a product. The definition of the word branding is the development of an image or name to fit a specific product. Branding is used world wide in almost everything you find on sale. This is just a cushion for the consumer as he or she can distinguish whether a brand is quality or not. Branding is not just a name and corresponding logo. Although this is a big part of branding there are other parts that need to be considered just as carefully when making a new product. For example the shape, colour, Tone and texture all play a big part in branding because an attractive well produced product will attract more consumers that one that is dull and boring with no feel and emotion put in. This is true because there could be the nicest fragrance in the world but if it is badly advertised then it will never make it off the shelf in time. It is all about image and the way that something is branded. Other parts of branding include the catchy slogan and container shapes. Examples like polo just a simple product but the moment your hear ' the mint with the hole' you automatically think 'polo' this is every companies aim because they want to distinguish themselves as market leaders and they first way to obtain this status is the market branding. Sure has a distinct branding feature it has the tick on the side which people would immediately look at and relate it with sure. This brand feature is as well advertised on the television and in ads as the product itself is which in the long run has benefited sure immensely all by that extra bit of promotion with the familiar tick. The sale of this product because of its brand image has encouraged more people to come along take a look and buy the product. Natrel has taken a slightly different way of branding than sure. Rather than creating an image to fit the company they have reverted to using the natural environment by taking pictures of the countryside and the sun and stars and sea and putting small parts of these images in to one to create the brand logo. This is a great way of promotion because it enables people to believe the product is based on natural sources and it is good on the body. They also portray the image that Natrel is environmentally friendly and that the Anti-persperant is fragrance free. This suggests that it will no damage the ozone layer. In comparison both have found effective ways of branding. Neither have used striking colours but they have stayed with the genuine shape and layout and have managed to sell enormous amounts of their products

Packaging

Packaging is a very important part in the promotion of a new or existing product there needs to be a unique selection of packaging and a combination of colours that stands out to the public. These colours need to be eye-catching for the right reasons because if they stand out for being too bright or dull and horrible then a bad image will be distinguished. Even if the fragrance is the nicest in the world people will not get that close and will just decide that it is horrible and the product will decline in sales before it has begun. Also the product needs to be positioned in the right places to attract the attention of the target market. If the product range is scattered all over the shop in different places on different levels people are not going to get a general idea for the product range and will choose to purchase elsewhere. This is again not good for a business who are trying to get a range of products released. Retailers now choose where a product is going to be placed in what part of the shop or department store. This is done because often the products with the higher names and reputations are going to sell more so they are put in a more recognisable position and in a wider variety. Once these products have proved to be high sellers they will be able to maintain their positions in retail places and will sell more and more as the reputation continues to rise. As more money is made there will be more for advertising and promotion in other areas so this is all good for a company looking to gain profit to produce newer designs much the same as Lynx who produce newer items depending on the profits they make.

Public relations

Public relations is another important part of promotion. Public relation defined means the relationship that a company has with the public and the image that it portrays. There are four key points to public relations which go in to aiding the selling of the product. These are

. Sponsorship

2. Product placement

3. Public endorsement

4. Social marketing

High profile businesses ( businesses with sufficient funds ) often write to sports teams or personalities to sponsor them in aid to advertise their products. This can benefit both parties as it helps gain more publicity. Event sponsoring has also become popular and many companies like Worthington now sponsoring the old English Coca-Cola cup, have benefited form this. Companies would be able to gain more money from this and could even gain bigger sponsorship deals in the future. Sure has in the past sponsored Gladiators on national television it now however is not in sponsorship deals much the same as Natrel, however the company that makes Natrel which is Gillette, have had a long sting of sponsors for different teams and events. Gillette has in the past sponsored major football and rugby tournaments hence the past phrase ohhhhh that was a close shave with the picture being of a football flying over the bar and then Gillette appearing saying sponsored by Gillette. However the producer of Sure which is Elide Faberge has yet to have a sponsorship deal.

The term Product placement means that the product has been advertised in the media. Again this would aid the advertising of a product sufficiently because more people would see it. These is a good way of promotion if obtainable because if a product is used on the television and the other company product in the background is yours people may think what a good combination and buy your product as well as the initially advertised one. A good example of this is Whirlpool washing machines. They struck a deal with Fairy the makers of washing tablets so whilst one benefits so does the other this has probably increased sales of both products. Sure and Natrel do not use this method of promotion because of the type of product they are they do not interact with the media well enough to gain this sort or type of deal.

Public endorsement is used when a celebrity is seen advertising or using the product on television and occasionally although rare the celebrity may even use the product in a live showing. A great example of this is either the Flora margarine advert ( the sponsors of the London Marathon ) or the walkers crisps adverts with Gary Linekar. Before last years marathon Flora used Steven Redgrave Olympic rowing gold medallist times 4 and other celebrities to help promote their product and walkers have a long term contract with Gary Linekar to stay promoting walkers crisp who have experienced a lot of good income since the adverts were introduced. Sure has been known to use celebrities at the time of the Olympics when Jamie Baulch and Denise Lewis Both British athletes were seen spraying sure on then running to one another passing it on and still being fresh. This was effective for sure as the inclusion of celebrities may have helped the promotion in the long run as more people saw and valued the product. Natrel however are yet to use Celebes in promotion.

Either Sure or Natrel does not use social marketing because with such competitive styles we do not see this with companies like these. Social marketing is when two businesses produce a product together and sell it on the market. This is also shown when Businesses decide they want to sponsor and take part in a local or National event I.E. Flora Again in the London Marathon. This basically just gives the public the stability and satisfaction that the companies care about them and their needs.

Sales Promotions

This method is a quick tactical and sometimes forceful way of making the public buy your product. It basically means how quickly sales are made and what impact they have both short and long term. The following points are what may go in to trying to persuade the consumer to buy the product.

. Sampling

2. Price reductions

3. Money off coupons

Because of the length of time Sure and Natrel have been in operation they have both reduced their sales promotions and often offer deals and reductions on various ranges of products. The various types of promotion offered both by Sure and Natrel would be the things like buy one get one free or buy one product and receive another half price. This all helps the sale of the products because people are made to feel the company cares about their expense and that the company are good at what they do. It is usually the point that promotions are decided by the stores. This is because the more that is sold the more can be brought in so the store is in the long run benefiting because more is being sold. The stores cannot make such decisions however without the permission of the company.

Merchandising

There are two types of categorised merchandising these are

. Store merchandising

2. Shelf product merchandising

Merchandising is simply the layout of the display and store to fit around the products it sells. The shops need to organise the correct space to fit the products in bulk because they all want to be in main view and set out as a variety not in different place otherwise the consumer would become confused if everything were jumbled about. Being put together enables the people to find the range their after. Design and labelling need to be considered by the company because each product in the range needs to compliment each other either by the way it looks (colours and shape etc.) or by the writing and style of text on it. The design and front logo of a product are important as it enables them to stand out and be recognised. Most of the bigger named products will have unique designs and corporate images like Nike, Adidas or The laughing cow. Sure and Natrel both have unique pictures on the front so people can tell what range various products are from. Neither Sure or Natrel help to promote other companies or promotional events usually because they don't need the extra publicity and the money spent on the sponsoring of an event would probably not be made up to quickly in the sales as these would probably not rise at all. There is also not a lot of scope with either of these two companies.

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing does not involve the sale of things through a shop or department store. Direct marketing can be done via catalogue and now even the internet. It is mainly done with bigger products and can include weekly or monthly instalments. The companies need to get in to contact with the shop and request the space in the catalogue what is required for the advertising or the product. The company would need to pay the shop extra if a bigger space for advertising was required in a deal in which both people would benefit, the shop would get more people coming in to buy products and see what else they have on offer and the company would have more people buying in to their range. Sure and Natrel are only likely to be advertised in department store magazines Like Boots, Woolies or superdrug because these shops specialise in beauty products and toiletries. You would not see these advertised in the new DIY magazines because they would not be sold there and this would give false implications. Direct marketing would be more expensive for these two companies and there would be no need for them to use direct marketing to promote their products. It is far easier to advertise on a mass scale because more people will see it and this will allow a good amount of sales if the product is up to standard.

Neither one of the Sure or Natrel companies use direct marketing as it is irrelevant to the type of business promotion they would use.

Interactive media

Interactive means digitally enhanced and is used linked to the television or internet. You are able to change the appearance of the channel you are viewing to suit your requirements and you can also buy and sell over the internet. Things like holidays and gifts can now be purchased with the click of a button rather than all the hassle of going to tour operators and travel agents or visiting a crowded store at Christmas. With sure and Natrel you can access the internet and visit websites to find out more about the companies and how they run however they do not have there own websites they are part of two massive companies Gillette and Elida Faberge who do have singular websites.

E-Commerce and the internet

Shopping on line is E-Commerce and can be done now in this day and age by everyone who has access to a computer and the internet. This is likely to become the way of shopping in the future as its rise in popularity has grown enormously since the world wide introduction of the internet in 1995. It is possible to buy beauty products on line like products made by Sure and Natrel. E-Commerce has close relation to the interactive media as you are able to change what you see, you do this whilst buying on line. To find out about Sure and Natrel over the internet you will need to find out the websites for Gillette and Elida Faberge. For both Sure and Natrel the websites provide information on the company structure the products on sale how to shop online and the various other brands offered by the two companies. There are contact number and written addresses for both if you wanted to phone up or write to them on line or through the post.

I am now going to be focusing on the 5 major parts that these companies have to work from as a basis to becoming a successful business. By researching these I will be able to gain a genuine idea as to how the companies are run

The communications process

It is important that businesses communicate with the outside people to try and sell their products. Businesses also need their offspring (their named small companies) to try and send a message across. The big question is who are the target market and who are the companies trying to sell to. Companies try and communicate to their chosen target audience in different ways, For example the methods of communication used are set to reach the people that the business most wants to incorporate. Competition is an important part of the communication process, This means other businesses will be in close competition to sell their product so timing and promotional communication is vital.

Sure and Natrel have a similar target market however Natrels is of a slightly wider scale. The companies responsible for these two Anti-perspirant brands have both aimed the same product at a very similar area of people. Both brands are trying to appeal to the good nature of the people that they are trying to sell to however they just go about it in a different way. Sure gives the impression that it wants to give the people who rush around (ages 16-40) a long lasting fresh feeling with comfortable appliance and nice smell. Where as Natrel tries to fit the image of its name by suggesting natural meaning the smells are all outdoor type fragrances with the logo on the front with the sun, stars and landscapes and that they are environmentally friendly also. They tend to aim form about 18- 50+ years old as it is the elder generation who appreciate the natural smells. Both of these methods are extremely effective.

Product brand positioning

There are four key parts to the positioning of the product and its brand they are

* The value of the brand

* The brand positions (where they are placed)

* The communication plan

* The brand strategies

A brand has to have a unique selling proposition (USP) in order to do well in a competitive market. The decision on whether the product will be cheap or expensive or in the trend or formal is a big one for these companies as they have to consider their best line of selling.

A BRAND VALUE is meant to give someone a direct idea of what a product is if they see the associated logo or slogan for example Nike's slogan is 'just do it' which if anyone heard they would be able to put slogan or picture, as in the tick to the Nike brand. This distinguished stereotype of the tick being automatically linked to Nike has made this sports business huge and is what most businesses are aiming for. Sure also has the tick where someone should look at the product and think 'sure' before any other thought they have. Natrel is less recognisable but if the picture is made out it is so unique any one with an idea of Anti-perspirnats would associate this with Natrel.

ESTABLISHED BRAND POSITIONS have a simple meaning. This is where the company have chosen to aim their product on the market. For this they have to consider the customer they are aiming at and where the best place to position the product would be to gain there attention. Sure and Natrel both being the same type of brand means that their placements will be almost identical. They would end up in supermarkets on the top shelf or where they can be seen to attract people they would also end up in the beauty areas of most shops with the facilities and would end up especially in chains like Superdrug where beauty products are sold.

COMMUNICATION PLAN is better laid out as A.I.D.A. awareness, interest, desire and action. This is the plan that businesses run by in the communication plan because it is direct and quick ideas and results can be gained. You are aware when you see the product, your interest makes you want a closer look, your desire encourages you to buy it and then you take action and purchase your product. For this to happen your product needs to attract in the first place. Sure and Natrel both have a successful advertisement rate so this A.I.D.A process has obviously made goo effect on these products after the rest of the planing and action taken to get the products on the shelves.

BRAND STRATEGY If Sure or Natrel wanted to change the way in which the can of one of their products was to look like they would have to change them all simply to maintain their brand strategies. They may wish to do this because the company feels the original cans are dated or they may do this just for the fact of a desired new image or change. Its all about sticking to one design and promoting it out to the public even if on limited edition as Coca-Cola did with cherry coke in 1998 when they changed the can temporarily to see if it sold and it sold more so they made the change permanent. Neither Sure or Natrel have had changes in design of name to date.

Marketing and promotional objectives

A proven successful aim of some businesses is to keep their customers loyal to them. Companies now give various discounts and offers to their customers to keep them from purchasing from main rivals. Deals like buy one get one free and percentages off encourage people to buy the product. When people fancy a change however it is sometimes important that companies keep releasing new products, for example Lynx for men release on average 2 new deodorants a year to keep the customer satisfied and interested. It's the same with impulse women's spray also. Companies are trying to seek market domination although many know this will never happen because so many companies have the same idea and simply because the money is not there to do so. Market shares are important to a business they always want to make sure that they keep their shares and not sell them to any potential buyers that wish to change the direction of the product. In order not to sell shares a sufficient profit needs to be made. Gillette and Elida are always in direct competition to sell their products whether it be Sure and Natrel or their toiletries, toothpaste for example. Neither company would ever wish to emerge together because they consider the competition to be healthy and good for business. The invention of new products from either company will be indications to show that they want the customers to stay loyal and not purchase from a rival although it is not put forward this way to the public as it would be unhealthy for business. Corporate image is the name of the game and only the best will gain the profit from achieving this status.

Corporate image

Image is of massive importance to the company and people alike. A companies aim is always a good healthy fair image and once they have reached their recognised status the hard part is maintaining it. This means that that have to continually produce top of the range goods with limited faults and good appearance. This area can be linked to Marketing objectives because if the product is not of a good standard then the customers will not stay loyal and defect to using another product. If this happens on a large scale then the company may be in trouble as the image will slip through their fingers and they will be back at square 1. An image is given to a company by the public and will be extracted just as quickly if a lack of quality is seen. Good images can be gain from the corporation's main name like in this case Gillette or Elida. Because both these companies have such strong reputations with other products the offspring will begin with good reputations and their jobs will be maintaining this and making it stronger for the next line of products that come through. The good image Gillette and Elida have is down to the products that have been made previously, by Gillette in particular who specialise in as many as five other areas. If Gillette's reputation began to fall all they would do would be to sell of one of the smaller products they make without they public knowing, take the profits made and keep up with the main businesses hoping for a substantial rise in the quality of production for the products. Because Gillette provide for women and men they are at a good level because they provide what the men and women want and need good quality shaving foam and accessories along with deodorant for men and the Natrel range anti-perpirants for women.

Aspects of the Promotional mix

Each of the four points I have reported on have all been in close relation. The part may have the closest relation to all of the past four yet. Celebrities that promote products on the television are not allowed to advertise the products in commercials whilst their show is on, This rule was made because they don't want people associating the product with a particular person as this may cause damage to the products if to much of a person seen in an advert and also on their own show. Beauty products like Sure and Natrel are only usually shown on channel four or five ( digital also) because BBC don't often allow people to promote other products. The BBC only allows to promote its own television shows and rarely will you see anything else being advertised.

Sure and Natrel both use different methods of advertising.

Sure has in the past produced an advert on the British Olympic runners Denise Lewis the Heptathlete and Jamie Baulch the 400m runner using the Anti-perspirant on a leg of carrying the Olympic torch for the British team signifying that sure is long lasting and for the athletic people.

Natrel however has in the past produced an advert where people in a forest spray themselves with Natrel and blend in with the surroundings signifying that the spay is unique and CFC free. Both these ways have proved effective and have helped both companies to sell in the time that they have been operating.

To keep the good reputations that both these companies own up they will need to keep producing like they have done in the past.

I think overall both companies have got the hang of selling a successful product down to a tee. The ways in which both go about this are extremely effective and this is proved in sales and popularity from the public. Both companies have managed to reach their target markets and are continually improving their ranges.

I feel the brand that works best out of the two is the Sure range. I feel this way because I feel it is more true than Natrel who I think gives the customer the wrong impression when it comes the scent it gives and its highlighted friendliness to the atmosphere. In spite of my opinion I think both have really got what it takes to remain big and grow upon their success, even if Sure seems to be a little more truthful.

Adverts of the current ranges of Sure and Natrel

Adverts used by both of these companies when promoting their products are all quite similar. They both use the same types of advertisement. This is the case because they are a very similar business trying to sell very similar products. The methods of advertising that are used are television adverts and magazine adverts also. The Natrel still magazine adverts are easily recognisable. They use a third of the page to promote the product showing a picture in the set image they want and then the rest of the paper is used to write about and promote the way the company wishes to promote its products. The Sure advert is also very distinctive it includes the Sure tick and promotes the various types of Sure that are on sale. There is more than one advert for both subjects and the range of adverts is used to promote the range of products.

Evaluation

I think both of the Sure and Natrel ranges are extremely popular. This is highlighted in their success, popularity and the amount they sell annually. I think on a more detailed basis each and every part of the advertising and preparation work both of these companies use has a massive positive effect. I think from my own point of view they both have very successful promotion plans and their methods of advertising are spot on. I think they manage to hit their target market very well and this has allowed very good sales in what they do.

The Natrel image is a smooth relaxed natural image that uses all natural smells and is CFC free. I think this image works because people especially the sceptics want a product that is ozone friendly and not just that they want a relaxed smooth fragrance which is not too strong that just keeps you fresh. I think the image sets the scene for a fresh smell and this is what people are going to look for in a successful deodorant. This has clearly proved to work very well and I think it will continue to do so

I think Sure is a more active fragrance which hints that it is long lasting and fresh smelling. The Sure company has produced a number of active adverts and the company has made an excellent job in portraying the image required.

I think to have a reputation a company needs to set an image and work to that. The image needs to be confident and needs to work well for a positive reputation to be acknowledged. I think both Sure and Natrel are both very effective and both manage to portray the image they want to a very high standard. I think they managed to hit their targeted audience and event some that aren't in the audience. I think this is down to solid promotional and advertising work. I think that almost every theme which has been taken out by these two competitive business has come up with positive results.

I think the quality appearance and overall image along with consistently good production has kept the people buying the products. I think when a new fragrance is released people will buy it straight away to see if it meets the standards of the previous fragrances

This part of the assignment was the Sure and Natrel part. The next part takes me to Lynx deodorant for men and the new development of Lynx women's deodorant.