Unilever

1. Based on the information given in the case, how would you suggest that the company go about changing its image? Give several alternatives and develop advantages and drawbacks for each one.

Unilever ice-cream business which started back in 1990, with several brand names across different regions of the world, enjoyed a successful control of the market especially in Europe ( Appendix 7: 50% market share in the UK, 48% in Germany, 34% in France, etc.) Nevertheless, the company faced problems in managing different brand names for different countries; they did not take full advantage of the benefits that can be attained with brand synergies in terms of production and marketing. Also, different brand names and different logotypes mean that the consumer won’t recognize the brand in a different country. Additionally, after conducting various market studies, Unilever recognized that their brands are falling short in many different areas such as: brand image is perceived as outdated, not dynamic and cold brand image, and it is mainly associated with the summer only.

After recognizing that the company must do act in order to retain their competitive edge through branding and marketing, Unilever must respond to the existing flaws and shortcomings by adopting a marketing strategy that will be aligned with their aim of being “Best provider of the best ice cream products” with a certain set of goals: updated brand image to strengthen the position as market leader, be more dynamic and fresh brand, reduce cost through synergies, unify the international identity. To attain these goals, Unilever has different options to go with:

Strategy Pros Cons

Create new brand image that unifies the different brands across regions - Benefiting from synergies in marketing campaigns.

- Reducing costs through centralizing production facilities

- Leveraging regional managers know-hows - Diluting existing brand awareness

- Risk of consumers not accepting the new brand

- Different regions...