Nivea Sun Case Study
Introduction
In 1911, the German consumer goods company Beiersdorf brought the now virtually universally known skin cream named Nivea onto the market. Nivea has now grown to be the largest skin and beauty care brand in the world, selling products in around 200 countries. Nivea Crème was the first true cosmetic moisturiser, and is still Nivea’s signature product. However, to meet ever-evolving customer needs and to further penetrate the personal care and cosmetics market; it has extended the Nivea product range to include among others: Body, Visage, Beauté, Sun, For Men, Hair Care, and Baby (Beiersdorf, 2009). This strong global presence, along with continuous innovation and product development has enabled the brands in the Nivea portfolio to effectively compete among the global leaders in the personal care market. So much so, that Nivea products are used by half a billion people worldwide and are sold 18 million times a year (Brand Republic, 2007). The Readers’ Digest Most Trusted Brands survey (in which over 23 000 people participated) voted Nivea as the most trusted skin care brand every year since 2001 (Readers’ Digest, 2009). This further reinforces Nivea’s brand values of security, trust, closeness, and credibility. I would further assert that this consumer attitude towards Nivea is not only applicable in a European context, but also in a broader international and particularly South African context. Evidence of this exists in the Ipsos Markinor/Sunday Times Top Brands Survey 2008, which places Nivea 8th and 9th in the “Beauty Products for Facial Skin Care” category in 2006 and 2008 respectively (Ipsos Markinor, 2008).
Nivea’s first brand extension was actually outside the skin care category to a complementary category, sun care. Nivea’s suntan lotion was introduced in the 1930’s with the new message of ‘Sun Care Cream for Outdoor Fun’ (AC Nielsen, 2003). Nivea Sun, one of many of Nivea’s specialised brands, is a major player in the international sun care
In 1911, the German consumer goods company Beiersdorf brought the now virtually universally known skin cream named Nivea onto the market. Nivea has now grown to be the largest skin and beauty care brand in the world, selling products in around 200 countries. Nivea Crème was the first true cosmetic moisturiser, and is still Nivea’s signature product. However, to meet ever-evolving customer needs and to further penetrate the personal care and cosmetics market; it has extended the Nivea product range to include among others: Body, Visage, Beauté, Sun, For Men, Hair Care, and Baby (Beiersdorf, 2009). This strong global presence, along with continuous innovation and product development has enabled the brands in the Nivea portfolio to effectively compete among the global leaders in the personal care market. So much so, that Nivea products are used by half a billion people worldwide and are sold 18 million times a year (Brand Republic, 2007). The Readers’ Digest Most Trusted Brands survey (in which over 23 000 people participated) voted Nivea as the most trusted skin care brand every year since 2001 (Readers’ Digest, 2009). This further reinforces Nivea’s brand values of security, trust, closeness, and credibility. I would further assert that this consumer attitude towards Nivea is not only applicable in a European context, but also in a broader international and particularly South African context. Evidence of this exists in the Ipsos Markinor/Sunday Times Top Brands Survey 2008, which places Nivea 8th and 9th in the “Beauty Products for Facial Skin Care” category in 2006 and 2008 respectively (Ipsos Markinor, 2008).
Nivea’s first brand extension was actually outside the skin care category to a complementary category, sun care. Nivea’s suntan lotion was introduced in the 1930’s with the new message of ‘Sun Care Cream for Outdoor Fun’ (AC Nielsen, 2003). Nivea Sun, one of many of Nivea’s specialised brands, is a major player in the international sun care
References: Kotler, P & Keller, KL (2006) Marketing Management 12th Edition Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall Education Kotler, P et al