Case Study Unilever
Unilever in Brazil (1997-2007):
Marketing Strategies for Low-Income Consumers
Overall winner of the 2008 European Case Clearing House Awards Winner of a 2007 European Case Clearing House Award in the category “Marketing” Winner of the European Foundation for Management Development Case of the Year Award 2004 in the category “Marketing”
04/2008-5188 This case was prepared by Pedro Pacheco Guimaraes, INSEAD MBA 2003, and Pierre Chandon, Associate Professor of Marketing at INSEAD, as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. We thank Laercio Cardoso and Robert Davidson from Unilever Brazil for making this case possible. We also thank Fernando Machado (INSEAD MBA 2003), Mauricio Mittelman (INSEAD PhD Student), Weima Bezarra (RB distributors, Ceara, Brazil), and Luca Lattanzi (INSEAD Executive MBA 2004) for their comments. Copyright © 2007 INSEAD
N.B.: TO ORDER COPIES OF INSEAD CASES, SEE DETAILS ON BACK COVER. COPIES MAY NOT BE MADE WITHOUT PERMISSION.
After three successful years in the Personal Care division of Unilever in Pakistan, Laercio Cardoso was contemplating an attractive leadership position in China when he received a phone call from the head of Unilever’s Home Care division in Brazil, his native country. Robert Davidson was looking for someone to explore growth opportunities in the marketing of detergents to low-income consumers living in the Northeast of Brazil. An alumnus of INSEAD’s Advanced Management Programme, Laercio had joined Unilever in 1986 after graduating in business administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo. He thus had the seniority and marketing skills that were necessary for the project. More importantly, he had never been involved in the traditional approach to marketing detergents and, having witnessed the success of Nirma1 in India, he was acutely aware of the threat posed by local brands targeted at low-income consumers.
Marketing Strategies for Low-Income Consumers
Overall winner of the 2008 European Case Clearing House Awards Winner of a 2007 European Case Clearing House Award in the category “Marketing” Winner of the European Foundation for Management Development Case of the Year Award 2004 in the category “Marketing”
04/2008-5188 This case was prepared by Pedro Pacheco Guimaraes, INSEAD MBA 2003, and Pierre Chandon, Associate Professor of Marketing at INSEAD, as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. We thank Laercio Cardoso and Robert Davidson from Unilever Brazil for making this case possible. We also thank Fernando Machado (INSEAD MBA 2003), Mauricio Mittelman (INSEAD PhD Student), Weima Bezarra (RB distributors, Ceara, Brazil), and Luca Lattanzi (INSEAD Executive MBA 2004) for their comments. Copyright © 2007 INSEAD
N.B.: TO ORDER COPIES OF INSEAD CASES, SEE DETAILS ON BACK COVER. COPIES MAY NOT BE MADE WITHOUT PERMISSION.
After three successful years in the Personal Care division of Unilever in Pakistan, Laercio Cardoso was contemplating an attractive leadership position in China when he received a phone call from the head of Unilever’s Home Care division in Brazil, his native country. Robert Davidson was looking for someone to explore growth opportunities in the marketing of detergents to low-income consumers living in the Northeast of Brazil. An alumnus of INSEAD’s Advanced Management Programme, Laercio had joined Unilever in 1986 after graduating in business administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo. He thus had the seniority and marketing skills that were necessary for the project. More importantly, he had never been involved in the traditional approach to marketing detergents and, having witnessed the success of Nirma1 in India, he was acutely aware of the threat posed by local brands targeted at low-income consumers.