Dawn as the Brand free essay sample

Dawn the Innovator in Brand Building Jacquelyn Denton American Intercontinental University Abstract Dawn has created a loyal fan base since its introduction in 1973. Dawn marketers utilized several marketing techniques such as brand equity and positioning to remain the leader of dish soap sales. Dawn has built brand equity by using the original Dawn to spring board their new products such as the ultra concentrated Dawn with power scrubbers. Dawn positions itself in the market by fulfilling the consumers need for a quality product. Dawn has given consumers a new perspective as dish soap by being used to clean animals affected by the recent oil spill. The Dawn brand is an example of how brand building is an essential factor for businesses and their marketing departments An interview was conducted with Terri Perkins, my mother. Terri has used the dishwashing liquid Dawn for many years. Terri has used Dawn dishwashing liquid 25+ years. Terri feels that no other dishwashing liquid cuts grease and gets the dishes clean. Terri has experimented with several other dishwashing liquids when others are on sale or money is short. Terri mentions no other dishwashing liquid comes close to Dawn. Research on the website www. dawn-dish. com states, â€Å"Since its creation in 1973, Dawn dishwashing liquid has been known for superior grease-fighting power†. (www. dawn-dish). Terri believes the old Dawn commercial that stated, â€Å"one drop of Dawn does it all†. Terri feels that other liquid detergents may be cheaper but you use more of the cheaper version. Dawn is rarely on sale but you use less, so it lasts longer. Terri has been a consistent user of Dawn for 10 years without using any other substitution. Terri has tried several other brands of liquid detergent such as Joy and Palmolive dish washing liquid. Terri figures it is not worth paying less money for less satisfaction. Terri doesn’t have any knowledge concerning the concepts of brand equity and brand positioning. The interview is concluded with answering questions concerning Dawn and the concepts of brand equity and positioning. A series of questions were asked by Terri during the interview. The first question, what is the definition of a brand? A brand is simply a name or symbol that is used to identify a product or a source of a product. A famous example is the golden arches, or the yellow M that represents McDonald’s restaurants. The yellow M is so well known a, 4 year old child can identify the McDonald’s brand on site even before knowing how to read. Terri was instructed the original Dawn only came as a blue liquid. Dawn was easily identified as a brand due to the unique blue color. Terri’s next question, what is brand equity? Brand equity was explained in relation to the Dawn liquid. Brand equity can be seen from three different perspectives. The first perspective involves finances. The financial perspective is one way to measure brand equity. The website www. etMBA. com states, â€Å"One way to measure brand equity is to determine the price premium that a brand commands over a generic product†. The financial perspective is why Terri is willing to pay a higher price for the Dawn versus paying the cheaper price for the competing liquids. The willingness to pay the higher price provides essential information about the value of the Dawn brand. The second perspective involves brand extensions. When Dawn first entered the market, only one choice existed. Today many variations of the Dawn brand exist. Dawn has teamed up with Cascade and they offer an automatic dish washer tablet. The website www. dawn-dish. com features several different Dawn products, such as Dawn Hand Renewal with Olay Beauty. Dawn has several extensions from the original scent such as citrus, lavender and a direct foam product. The website www. netMBA states, â€Å"A successful brand can be used as a platform to launch related products†. (Brand Equity 2010). The related brand such as the Dawn Direct Foam is a brand extension. The third perspective of brand equity involves the consumer’s attitude. Terri has a strong attitude towards the Dawn product. Dawn is a strong brand which increases Terri’s positive attitude toward the Dawn brand. The attitude is built based on the experience with the product. The website www. netMBA. com states, â€Å"The consumer’s awareness and associations lead to perceived quality, inferred attributes, and eventually, brand loyalty†. (Brand Equity 2010). Terri’s next set of questions concern brand positioning. Dawn has a dominant place in Terri’s mind. Positioning is the attempt of a brand to occupy the space of a consumers mind. A more detailed definition comes from the AIU textbook entitled Marketing Management which states, â€Å" Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to ccupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market†(Kotler Keller 2009). One drop of Dawn completing a sink full of dishes is the goal it helps consumers achieve. Dawn positions itself has a unique liquid with power scrubbers. In the consumers mind they see little power scrubbers that eat and destroy the grease particles in the water and on the dishes. No other dish washing liquid claims to have tiny power-scrubbers in their liquid that fight and destroy grease. The interview with Terri is complete. Terri has a better understanding of why she feels Dawn is the only dishwashing liquid she will use. The second part of the research will identify how Dawn identifies market segments and targets? How has Dawn developed its brand equity over time? How does Dawn position itself on the market? What is dishwashing liquid? Dishwashing liquid is a detergent made of a mixture of high foam surfactants. Dishwashing liquid is also known as dish soap or dishwashing soap. The surfactants within the liquid causes little skin irritation and is used to wash a variety of dishes such as spoons, cups, utensils, pot and pans. The Dawn website states the product was born in 1973. Dawn’s target market is the average household with dirty dishes. Dawn’s primary market segment is women. The overall target is the average household but the market segment within the household is women. Dawn states, â€Å"Dawn dishwashing liquid has been known for superior grease fighting power†. (www. dawn-dish. com). Men wash dishes but Dawn markets based on the concept that the average household dishwasher is a woman. Dawn markets their dishwashing liquid based on the concept that the average household shopper is a woman. Dawn conducted research and the market segment was chosen to increase company profits and market penetration. Dawn has developed a product that falls under the category of niche marketing. The AIU unit materials states, â€Å"Niche marketing involves selecting an even smaller segment than the target market†. (FAQ: Marketing Strategies n. d. ). In 2008, Dawn developed a new product called Dawn Plus Hand Renewal. Dawn Plus is a niche marketing product. The Dawn website states the hand renewal product places dishwashing into the daily beauty routine. The website states, â€Å"Now users can elevate their dishwashing to a beautifying experience without sacrificing the superb cleaning power that has made Dawn a trusted brand for years†. (www. dawn-dish. com n. d. ). Women age 18-45 is the niche group; women who are concerned with the integrity of their hands and skin while doing household chores. Dawn’s Plus Hand Renewal has identified their product’s strength by identifying an attribute that other competing dish soaps do not offer. The AIU unit materials enforce an important rule for all marketers, â€Å"Pitting your products strengths against the weaknesses of the competition should be the center of your strategies†. (FAQ: Marketing Strategies n. d. ). Dawn developed its brand equity over time. Dawn first introduced itself on the market as an efficient dish soap, where a little bit goes a long way. The first product was the original Dawn, a harmless blue un-concentrated and unscented liquid. The introduction of the original Dawn was unassuming. Dawn was building brand equity by using the original Dawn to spring board future products such as the ultra concentrated Dawn with power scrubbers. Dawn also build brand equity by making using the ‘elaboration’ technique. Elaboration is making the brand easy to remember so the customer will continue to buy. Dawn is the only product on the market that features a blue liquid, it is easily identifiable. Lastly, Dawn uses fortification to build their brand equity. Dawn’s image has remained consistent over time and this has reinforced its place in the consumers mind. Terri has fallen pray to this concept. Dawn offers several new bottle shapes but the logo and image has remained untouched, this helps the consumer develop a special relationship with the product. Dawn positions itself in the market by fulfilling the consumers need for a quality product. The shelves of the supermarkets are filled with a variety of dishwashing liquids. Joy, Palmolive, Ajax and the new market entry of Gain which are all competing dishwashing liquids. What had Dawn done to set them apart form the competition and provide the consumers with a new perspective? An article found on the website www. mnn. com mentions Dawn being used to clean animals affected by an oil spill. The competing dish soaps such as Joy and Ajax can’t compete with this aspect of Dawn. The article states, â€Å" The â€Å" tough on grease† dish detergent, commonly found at kitchen sinks across America, is used by animal rescue and rehabilitation teams to help gently remove oil from feathers, fur , and skin of oil-soaked critter†. (Anonymous 2010). The new use of Dawn to clean oiled animals provides a new conception for Dawn users. Dawn has now positioned their dish soap as a product that helps the dirty sinks of America and the world. Dawn has created a loyal fan base since its introduction in 1973. Dawn marketers utilized several marketing techniques such as brand equity and positioning to remain the leader of dish soap sales. Dawn identified their target market while creating niche markets for new products. The Dawn brand is an example of how brand building is an essential factor for businesses and their marketing departments. References AIU Online (2011). FAQ: Marketing Sgtrategies and Methods. [Unit Materials]. Retrieved from AIU Online Virtual Campus. Marketing Management: MKT305-1103A-10 Anonymous. (2010, April 30). Dawn dishwashing liquid being used to clean animals affected by oil spill. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from www. mnn. com/earth-matters/wilderness Brand Equity. (n. d. ). Retrieved August 1, 2011 from http://www. netmba. com/marketing/brand/equity Dawn. (n. d. ). Retrieved July 31, 2011 from http://www. dawn-dish. com Kotler, P. Keller, K. L. (2009). Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.