1. Prepared for:
Priyabrata Choudhury
Lecturer
Prepared by:
Syeda Nawrin Huq (ID#B1001009)
Sumaiya Afreen (ID#B1001014)
Nazifa Nushrat (ID#B1001038)
Nisa Nur Majumder (ID#B1001046)
Anika Tasmia Shawki (ID#B1001048)
Zaharatul Munir Sarah (ID#B1001049)
BBA 1st
Batch
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF PROFESSIONALS
Mirpur Cantonmet, Dhaka- 1216
Date of Submission: 08 May, 2013
Brand Audit: Nivea
Course: Brand Management (M406)

2. Executive summary
The focal point of importance of this research study is to conduct the brand audit on the company
brand Nivea. identify the challenge in achieving the ideal positioning for the Nivea Company being
able to achieve congruence among:
 What the customers currently believe about the brand and thus find credible
 What customer will value in the brand
 What the firm is currently saying about the brand
 Where the firm would like to take the brand
 How else can the firm attempt to make its brand a better one
Therefore by performing this Brand Audit on the company brand Nivea, we will be able to uncover
the current health of the Nivea brand. Brand audits are qualitative miniature of the current position
of the brand in terms of the current perceptions of the target customer and it is important to perform
the Brand audit on a regular basis as customer behavior are changing all the time. With conducting
a brand audit, the marketers of the brand in question will gain a better understanding of the current
problems, desires and needs of the target audience in question. The information gathered from such
audit is critical for the brand as it allows them to determine whether a costly and time-consuming
process such as a brand re-positioning is necessary, as well as providing valuable market research
which can lead to a viable and sustainable brand strategy. In this report, it will be adopting cross-
referencing method, by gathering the Brand inventory information and a pile of brand portfolio will
also be attached with the report, further, brand exploratory will be conducted in order to obtain the
qualitative data from target customer. Finally, all of the information gathered will be utilized for the
analysis of the brand positioning and the supporting marketing program in order to answer the
question mentioned above. This will finally lead to the completion of brand audit of the selected
brand.
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3. Table of Contents
Executive summary.............................................................................................................................................................ii
Table of Contents................................................................................................................................................................iii
1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................5
1.1 Difference between Marketing and Branding................................................................................................................5
1.2 The meaning of Branding ......................................................................................................................................................6
1.3 Brand..............................................................................................................................................................................................6
1.4 NIVEA- The Brand.....................................................................................................................................................................7
1.4.1 About Beiersdorf AG........................................................................................................................................................7
1.4.2 The Beginnings...................................................................................................................................................................7
1.4.3 The Journey.........................................................................................................................................................................7
1.5 Nivea Bangladesh......................................................................................................................................................................8
1.5 Brands & Products..................................................................................................................................................................8
1.6 Brands Must Sell the Brand Experience.........................................................................................................................10
1.7 Why do Consumers Shop?...................................................................................................................................................10
1.8 Brand Positioning & Brand Audits...................................................................................................................................10
2.0 Brand Literature Review........................................................................................................................................11
2.1 Internal Perspectives of Brand Management...............................................................................................................11
2.1.1 Brand Strategy.................................................................................................................................................................11
2.3.1.2 Brand Expression........................................................................................................................................................12
2.1.3 Brand Essence..................................................................................................................................................................12
2.1.4 Brand Promise.................................................................................................................................................................12
2.1.5 Brand Identity..................................................................................................................................................................12
2.1.6 Brand Personality...........................................................................................................................................................13
2.1.7 Brand Positioning...........................................................................................................................................................13
2.2 External Perspective of Brand Management................................................................................................................14
2.2.1 Brand Knowledge...........................................................................................................................................................14
2.2.1 Brand Awareness............................................................................................................................................................15
2.2.2 Brand Image.....................................................................................................................................................................15
2.3 Brand equity..............................................................................................................................................................................16
2.5 Brand Architecture.................................................................................................................................................................19
2.5.1 Product and Corporate Brands.................................................................................................................................19
3.0 Brand Planning............................................................................................................................................................23
3.1 Nivea brand category & strategic group........................................................................................................................23
3.1.1 Skin care..................................................................................................................................................................................23
3.1.2 Personal care.........................................................................................................................................................................23
3.2 Competitors...............................................................................................................................................................................23
3.3 Marketing Mix and Brand Elements................................................................................................................................23
3.3 Strategic group of Nivea.......................................................................................................................................................24
3.4 Brand Hierarchy......................................................................................................................................................................25
3.5Brand Positioning....................................................................................................................................................................26
3.5.1 NIVEA Crème Brand Profiling ..................................................................................................................................26
3.5.2 The Umbrella Brand......................................................................................................................................................26
4.0 Brand Building Assessment....................................................................................................................................27
4.1 Brand Values.............................................................................................................................................................................27
4.2 Innovations & Brand Extensions......................................................................................................................................27
4.3 The 'Global-Local' Strategy.................................................................................................................................................27
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4. 4.4 Diversification..........................................................................................................................................................................27
4.4.1 The main reason to extend the brand to different product categories.....................................................28
4.5 Communications, pricing, and Distribution..................................................................................................................28
5.0 Brand Growth Assessment......................................................................................................................................29
6.0 Qualitative Research Process.................................................................................................................................29
6.1 Brand Tracking Report.........................................................................................................................................................30
7.0 Brand exploratory......................................................................................................................................................30
7.1 Customer Knowledge............................................................................................................................................................31
7.2 Source of brand Equity.........................................................................................................................................................31
7.3 Product Endorser....................................................................................................................................................................31
7.4 Sports & Culture......................................................................................................................................................................31
7.5 Global partnership for social involvement....................................................................................................................31
7.6 Technology................................................................................................................................................................................31
7.7 The customer based Brand Equity Pyramid (CBBE).................................................................................................32
8.0 Points of Parity & Point of Difference.................................................................................................................32
9.0 Conclusion & Recommendation............................................................................................................................32
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................32
9.1 Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................................................32
9.1.1 Dynamic Growth.............................................................................................................................................................32
9.1.2 Worldwide Presence.....................................................................................................................................................32
9.1.3 Strong Brands..................................................................................................................................................................32
9.1.4 Success through Closeness.........................................................................................................................................33
9.1.5 Compelling Innovations...............................................................................................................................................33
9.1.6 Dedicated Employees....................................................................................................................................................33
9.1.7 Attractive Employer......................................................................................................................................................33
9.2 Recommendation....................................................................................................................................................................33
9.2.3 Brand growth Assessment..........................................................................................................................................33
10.0 Appendix.....................................................................................................................................................................34
Appendix A: Reference.................................................................................................................................................................34
Appendix C: Brand Performance..............................................................................................................................................37
Appendix D: Brand Tracking Survey......................................................................................................................................38
Content of Tables & Figure
Figure 1 Timeline Describing the Shifting Emphasis of Marketing Efforts.....................................................5
Figure 2 Illustration of the Various Brand Drivers which Influence the Brand Equity............................18
Figure 3 Nivea Strategic Brand Management Model (NIVEA CBBE Pyramid)..............................................25
Figure 4 Umbrella Brand (Beiersdorf, 2008)..........................................................................................................27
Table 1 Comparisons between Brands and Products.............................................................................................9
Table 2 Summary of the Similarities and Contrasts between Brand Identity, Brand...............................16
Table 3 Interbrand’s Ranking of the Top 100 Global Brands for 2007..........................................................20
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5. 1.0 Introduction
The NIVEA® brand is one of the most recognized skin and beauty care brands in the world.
NIVEA crème was first introduced in 1911 and the NIVEA brand now extends to 14 product
ranges worldwide from sun care to facial moisturizers, deodorant and shower products.
NIVEA® is a German brand. This brand has a history of around 96 years. Nivea came into
existence in the year 1911. The brand has derived its name from the Latin adjective
‘niveus/nivea/niveum’, meaning "Snow White".
Nivea is famous worldwide for its face cream. Nivea Crème created by Dermatologists was
launched in 1911. The brand is considered to be the first to take the skin care category from the
elite class to the masses. The brand worldwide is known for its Trust, Reliability and
Accessibility. Globally this brand is positioned in the platform of "Gentle Care" and “Wellness".
The brand has its elements of Color embedded firmly in the minds of the customers. Nivea took
its "Blue and White" color as its brand element as early as 1924. From there onwards, this color
scheme has been a brand identity for Nivea.
1.1 Difference between Marketing and Branding
The difference between marketing and branding is that marketing is focused around selling
products / services (tangible benefit) whilst branding offers the consumer a lifestyle choice or
desirable image (intangible benefit). Brands communicate via emotions whilst products
communicate via product attributes (functional benefits). The efforts of brand building and
loyalty are seen as strategic (long term) rather than tactical (short term) moves. Brand
management, including brand positioning, is part of the ‘customer retention and building loyalty’
process identified by Kotler (2005) as one of the marketing activities that organizations perform.
Unlike marketing, which can either operate as a push or pull system (the former describing a
situation in which the marketing department persuades the consumer that a product or service is
in actual fact needed), the heart of brand management is having a situation in which the
consumer asks for the brand by name (pull system). An ideal situation is one in which the
activities of marketing and brand management complement each other in order to win the hearts
and minds of the same consumer. According to the author Marty Neumier (2003: 38), the
emphasis of marketing has shifted over the past century from an emphasis on product features to
an emphasis on the consumers’ self-identification.
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Figure 1 Timeline Describing the Shifting Emphasis of Marketing Efforts.

6. 1.2 The meaning of Branding
The most important thing in marketing, and especially branding, is the perception of the
consumer. According to Al Ries and Jack Trout, as described in their book The 22 Immutable
Laws of Marketing (Ries and Trout, 1993), the reality is that the only things that exist in
marketing are the perceptions in the minds of the consumer or prospect. The goal of marketing
managers, and brand managers, is to manipulate the perceptions of consumers to allow them to
believe that meaningful differences do exist between their brands and those of competitors.
Apart from creating an identity for the brand, the process of branding involves creating mental
brand associations for the consumer regarding the products or services under the brand in
question. These associations should be strong, favorable and unique towards the brand and can
be related to brand attributes (descriptive features that characterize a product/service) or brand
benefits (personal value and meaning that consumers attach to the product/service attributes)
(Keller, 2003: 71). These attributes and benefits do not need to be exclusively tangible, but can
include more intangible associations (i.e. the personality of the brand, the user imagery of the
brand etc.). The result of creating strong, favorable and unique brand associations is a positive
brand image, which in turn creates positive brand equity (or alternatively, as Keller (2003)
defines it, customer-based brand equity (CBBE)). It has been cited in the literature that it is
difficult to change brand associations that are already consolidated (in long-term memory),
certainly when they are worn in and very strong (Franzen and Bouwman, 2001: 71). The only
process in which this can happen is through the development of new associations and their
subsequent strengthening in such a way that they are activated earlier and more quickly than the
older associations (Franzen and Bouwman, 2001: 71).
1.3 Brand
Too often, their value as an information tool is overlooked in favor of their value as asset or
property. By distinguishing a brand as an information tool, the brand attains a ‘life’ separate
from the products it markets. Brands are by no means limited to the products/services they
encapsulate. They can manifest themselves across different countries, languages, mediums (e.g.
Harry Potter books, films, memorabilia etc.), people (e.g. a sportsperson can represent a soft
drink brand as well as a clothing brand) and different eras (e.g. VW beetle of the 1960s has been
carried through to the 21st century). It is a misleading notion though that the brand consists
exclusively of the things that one can see, hear, touch, taste or smell. It goes beyond that to enter
the emotions and thoughts of the people who are exposed to these brands. The brand is an
experiential journey from start to finish and so often, brands are entwined in our everyday lives,
guiding the actions and decisions we make, allowing us to adapt and fit-in with social networks
and sometimes creating an identity for ourselves.
‘Strong branding has nothing to do with a beautiful logo, but it has everything to do with your
brand’s message’ - (Martin Lindstrom, as cited in Drew, 2000, p. 8)
The view of brands taken in this research is that they are distinct and separate from the physical
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7. products associated with them, although not entirely disassociating the brands from the
products/services marketed under the brand name. Branding is a holistic process, a ‘total
experience’, and the view of the authors of this work is that consumers and organizations buy
into the brand and not exclusively the product or services on offer.
1.4 NIVEA- The Brand
1.4.1 About Beiersdorf AG
Cosmetics company Beiersdorf AG is based in Hamburg, Germany, and has around 17,000
employees worldwide. Its sales in 2011 amounted to €5.633 billion, the company has been listed
on the DAX since December 2008, and has the world’s largest skin care brand, NIVEA*. Other
names in its successful international brand portfolio include Eucerin, La Prairie, Labello, 8x4,
and Hansaplast/Elastoplast. Subsidiary tesa SE is one of the world’s leading producers of self-
adhesive products and system solutions for industry, craft businesses, and consumers. Beiersdorf
has 130 years of skin care experience and is known for its innovative and high-quality products
1.4.2 The Beginnings
Right from its beginnings in 1911, the NIVEA brand was fueled by a positive mixture of
research, creativity, and business know-how. In 1890, Dr. Oscar Troplowitz had purchased
Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf from its founder, Paul C. Beiersdorf. Troplowitz’s
scientific adviser, Prof. Paul Gerson Unna, who would go on to become one of the most
prominent dermatologists in Germany, had an eye for innovations. He brought Troplowitz’s
attention to a completely new kind of emulsifying agent called Eucerit (“beautiful wax”). Using
this, it was possible to develop the world’s first stable – and therefore industrially producible –
oil-and-water-based cream: NIVEA.
Apart from Eucerit to bind the oils with water, it also contained glycerin, a little citric acid and,
to lend it a delicate scent, oil of rose and lily of the valley. Even though NIVEA Creme has been
continually updated in line with the latest scientific developments, over the decades, both its
scent and texture remained largely the same which is certainly one of the various success factors
of the brand.
1.4.3 The Journey
Today, consumers especially recognise the traditional NIVEA Creme for its blue tin. However,
looking back to the beginnings of the NIVEA brand in 1911, the creme was originally packaged
in a yellow tin until, in 1925, the blue tin with its everlasting contemporary design was
introduced. Within the 1920s, NIVEA launched its first big advertising campaign in Germany,
starring three young brothers that incorporated all brand elements NIVEA wanted to
communicate to its customers: healthy, cheeky and fresh-looking faces. The campaign became a
huge hit in 1924 and the NIVEA Boys were soon joined by the NIVEA Girls. In the 1930s,
another action to increase brand awareness among consumers has been launched in Germany:
The NIVEA Ball. Originally created as a 3D version of the traditional blue NIVEA Creme tin,
the ball was designed to help people make the most of their leisure time outdoors. During the
1950s and 1960s, the blue ball started to take off and became a must-have holiday accessory
when people started to spend their money on beach holidays during the post-war period. Over the
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8. last 40 years, NIVEA produced over 20 million NIVEA Balls for people around the globe,
making it an active international brand ambassador.
The NIVEA range was expanded substantially in the 1930s. Products such as shaving cream,
shampoo, and skin oil were added and NIVEA also became a real sales hit at an international
level.
In the 1950s NIVEA Creme had long since achieved classic brand status and a large number of
skin care products were launched under the NIVEA umbrella.
The "economic miracle" period and growing prosperity in the 1960s enabled more and more
people to travel. Beach and sun holidays in Southern Europe were the rage. NIVEA responded to
this trend, expanding its range to include NIVEA Sun Protection and Sun Care products. The
advertising was tailored to sun worshippers and increasingly showed people on the beach.
The supermarket boom, the abolition of recommended retail prices, and new market players led
to increased competition in the 1970s. Beiersdorf responded with a challenging advertizing
campaign that underlined NIVEA's historical leadership claim. The campaign centered around
NIVEA Creme and differentiated it from the competition by emphasizing its unique quality,
unrivalled effectiveness and honesty.
Nivea appears in the following brand league tables:
Rank 181 in the Global 500 2013.
Rank 4 in the Top 50 Cosmetics Brands 2013.
Rank 172 in the Global 500 2012.
Rank 5 in the Top 50 Cosmetics Brands 2012.
Rank 13 in the Germany 30 2012.
Rank 5 in the Top 50 Cosmetics Brands 2011.
Rank 145 in the Global 500 2011.
Rank 12 in the Germany 30 2011.
Rank 251 in the Global 500 2010.
Rank 281 in the Global 500 2009.
Rank 318 in the Global 500 2008.
Rank 241 in the Global 250 2007.
Data collected from brandirectory.com
Table 4: Nivea Brand Ranking
1.5 Nivea Bangladesh
ACI Consumer Brands is successfully serving the consumer demand for Nivea products in
Bangladesh with the world-renowned product range of Nivea.
1.5 Brands & Products
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9. A brand is so much more than simply the product(s) it markets, and failure to distinguish this fact
leads to the product-attribute fixation trap which Aaker (1996: 72) describes as occurring when
organizations try to promote the functional benefits of their products instead of trying to promote
intangible characteristics and creating an emotional link between their brands and consumers.
Intangible characteristics, such as perceived quality, technological leadership, perceived value, or
healthy food, are more effective associations to develop, and can be described as general
attributes which serve to summarize sets of more-objective attributes (McKenna, 1986: 41).
In order to create a brand, one needs to position either a product or a service. Products can
change over time due to imitations and/or an almost inevitable product life cycle, but the brand
does/should not change its identity or brand essence.
Brands Products
Created in a factory Created in the hearts and minds of people
People make choices People make comparisons
Takes a lot of time to create Time dictated according to R&D
Costly to create Costly to create
Stakeholders are financial analysts,
consumers, distributors etc. Stakeholders are consumers
Do not succumb to same life cycles as
products, but may undergo rejuvenation Succumb to life cycles
Related to brand identity Related to positioning
Need to create emotional connection Need to create a functional benefit
Not every category will have brands Category exists due to the presence of products
Focus on market leadership, loyalty,
share prices, price premiums etc. Focus on sales and sales growth
Table 1 Comparisons between Brands and Products.
According to Aaker (1996: 73) brands include the usual product characteristics of scope (i.e. the
breadth of the product category), attributes (e.g. Nike is performance), quality/value (e.g. Kraft
delivers a quality product), uses (e.g. Gillette is for no-cuts shaving) in addition to brand
characteristics such as:
• Brand users (e.g. Apple users are anti-corporate and creative).
• Country of origin (e.g. LVMH is linked to French prestige and sophistication).
• Organizational associations (e.g. SONY is an innovative organization).
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10. • Brand personality (e.g. The Michelin man is strong and energetic).
• Symbols (e.g. McDonald’s golden arches, Nike’s swoosh).
• Brand-customer relationships (e.g. HSBC looks after their clients’ best interests).
• Emotional benefits (e.g. young and hip when drinking Pepsi).
• Self-expressive benefits (e.g. feel sophisticated when using Christian Dior cosmetics).
1.6 Brands Must Sell the Brand Experience
Even though people buy into brands, nowadays, an excellent product or service is considered the
absolute point of entry. The core technical functions of a product cannot be absent
(O'Shaughnessy and O'Shaughnessy, 2003: 6). If a skincare product is purchased for the
purposes of reducing fine lines and wrinkles and the consumer is of the opinion that it did not do
what was promised, regardless of the reputation of the brand, they will probably not purchase
this product again. There will always be a similar competitor with similar claims with whom the
consumer can become acquainted. In other words, there is no room in the market for poor or
under-performing / under-rated products and services, only excellent ones. Therefore, the result
of consumers comparing excellent products and eventually buying into a specific brand is
dependent on everything else (intrinsic liking, price, promotion, place etc.) about the offering -
the total brand experience. Most purchase decisions are not made rationally. People do not have
the time or make the effort to stand in front of a shelf and meticulously calculate the trade-offs
of, for instance, one cosmetic brand over another. Consumers engage in the act of purchasing
items if they believe the item has the ability to solve their problem, and fulfill their desire or
need, and that this outweighs the costs involved (i.e. time spent searching, price etc).
1.7 Why do Consumers Shop?
The reason consumers purchase products/services is to satisfy a problem, desire or need
(Blackwell et al., 2001: 71). The process of obtaining the product/service involves many
decisions that need to be made and has been extensively researched in the analysis of consumer
behavior. A model has been created, called the consumer decision process (CDP) Model
(Hawkins et al., 1998; Blackwell et al., 2001) in which, typically, every person goes through a
typical 7-stage process when faced with the task of making purchasing decisions. A figure has
been attached to present a situation where a consumer faces a need for backpack and the model
describes the whole decision process.
1.8 Brand Positioning & Brand Audits
The goal of positioning is to find ‘gaps’ in the market unfulfilled by competitors, or to create an
untapped position in the market (or consumers’ minds and hearts). In brief, brand positioning is
the angle of attack on a market with the aim of increasing brand strength and value (Kapferer,
2004: 95). It is created by the organization that has ownership of the brand. In the view of
another author (de Chernatony, 2006: 37), the purpose of brand positioning is to ensure that the
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11. consumer instantaneously associates a certain functional benefit (or a few functional benefits)
with the brand in question. Essentially, this becomes the brand image in the consumers’ mind
and it is important to ensure that the positioning of the brand, and hence the resultant brand
image, is a favorable one. When a brand takes a position, it ultimately says that it believes in
something(s) so strongly that it has created its brand around this / these beliefs. Examples include
Volvo’s positioning as the safest car in the market, and BMW as a car that delivers performance.
Effective brand positioning relies on identifying which functional, emotional and self-expressive
benefits the target market values as important and then ensuring that the organization is able to
deliver (at least one of) these benefits to them. Secondly, it is important that the positioning of
the brand that the organization sends out is closely aligned with what the consumer perceives the
image to be (brand image).
A brand audit is a comprehensive examination of a brand, involving activities to assess the health
of a brand, uncover its sources of equity, and suggest ways to improve and leverage that equity
(Keller, 2003: 45). Brand audits are qualitative snapshots of the current position of the brand in
terms of the perception of the relevant target audience. They can be performed on the internal
and external audiences of the brand in order to determine the effectiveness of the branding
activities of the organization. In the case of this research report, only an external audit was
performed to determine the perception of the brand in the consumers’ minds.
2.0 Brand Literature Review
The brand can be described as the personification of the product or service of an organization,
and is potentially amongst the most valuable assets an organization can own (Lury, 1998).
The reasons why organizations brand themselves and their offering are:
• To create a unique identity and value proposition which will allow their product to stand
out from the crowd; in other words, differentiate their offering.
• Ensure consumers of the origin as well as quality they can expect from their offering so
that their perception of risk can be reduced, and trust can simultaneously be increased.
Brands can be viewed from both an internal and external perspective and it is important to focus
on managing both. The benefit of managing internal perspectives (i.e. culture, brand identity,
including logos, brand name, symbols, packaging etc.) is that in delivering a uniform brand
identity to the consumer, he / she will be assured of a certain level of quality and service and be
able to recognize the brand easily amongst competitors.
2.1 Internal Perspectives of Brand Management
2.1.1 Brand Strategy
The brand strategy is a map of how the brand is to be expressed by an organization. It is a
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12. conceptual plan providing guidelines - for both client management and creative professionals –
that is aligned with business strategy in order to drive all brand applications, from identity and
packaging, to advertising, in a strategically aligned manner. Essentially, the brand strategy is
how you are conceiving, creating and positioning your brand in the marketplace to achieve
differentiation, relevance and resonance (Landa, 2006). The efforts of brand strategy are aimed at
increasing brand strength (e.g. market share, leadership, share price), therefore, one can see that
brand strategy is an integral part of the business strategy. Figure 3.1 is an illustration of the
relationship between the various aspects of the brand strategy as well as the clear distinction
between internal and external perspectives of the brand, as conceptualized by the author.
2.3.1.2 Brand Expression
In brief, the brand expression is the ‘look’ and ‘feel’ of your brand. It is how your brand is
expressed (not only visually) and is the core concept of the brand strategy from which all the
internal brand elements (e.g. identity, personality etc.) are developed and executed.
2.1.3 Brand Essence
Brand essence, also known as the brand mantra, is the combination of the essential values or
aspects of a brand condensed into a central core concept. It can be seen as the enduring ‘brand
DNA’ (Keller, 2003: 45). Essentially, this part of the brand is what allows the consumer to
identify which category this brand is in. It has a much narrower focus than the brand positioning.
An example would be Nike’s brand essence which is ‘Genuine Athletic Performance’, or
Volvo’s brand essence which is ‘Safety’.
2.1.4 Brand Promise
Brand promise, on the other hand, includes the functional and emotional advantages and values
pledged to the user. This is in essence why the consumer buys into the brand. Staying with the
same brand, Nike’s brand promise is ‘Maximizing Personal Performance’. Nike wants the
consumer to believe that no matter what activity he / she engages in, Nike has the most suitable
and most superior product to suit their needs.
2.1.5 Brand Identity
The brand identity is a desired depiction of the brand in the eyes of the organization which
results from the activities that the organization engages in, in order to build a presence/ identity
for itself. It is a future-looking activity that should be actively managed and updated by the brand
management team who should ensure that the brand is continuously reflecting the desired
associations to the consumer (Aaker, 1996: 70).
According to Aaker (1996) a brand identity is
‘A compilation of aspiring brand associations which represent what the brand stands for and
implies a promise to customers from the organization members…..it should also help establish a
relationship between the brand and customers by generating a value proposition involving
functional, emotional and self-expressive benefits……is organized around four perspectives,
namely, brand as product, brand as organization, brand as person, and brand as symbol…..it
includes a core identity (timeless essence of the brand which remains constant over time and
geographic markets) as well as an extended identity which acts as a supporting role towards the
constant core identity’.
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13. The creation of a brand identity is seen as a capital investment as it uses many resources, such as
time and money. A brand is considered to be a conditional asset. Conditional assets deliver
benefits by means of working in conjunction with other material assets (Kapferer, 2004: 10),
such as, machines, people etc. The advantages of a strong brand identity include increased brand
awareness, recognition, building trust as well as projecting a clear expression of what the vision
and values of the brand are (Wheeler, 2003). These can all contribute to increasing brand equity.
2.1.6 Brand Personality
From an organizational standpoint, all marketing communication of the brand should be
portrayed through its personality characteristics. The brand personality refers to a set of human
characteristics associated with a brand (Aaker, 1997: 347). It also includes those adjectives
consumers may use to describe a brand.
The five personality dimensions (often referred to as the Big Five) which Aaker (1997) has
identified are able to explain the overwhelming majority of brands. The Big Five include
sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness. Brand personality concentrates
on what the brand says about the consumer and how they feel about being associated with it (de
Chernatony, 2006). The drivers for brand personality can be classified according to product-
related and non-product-related characteristics (Aaker, 1996: 145). The former class includes the
product category, packaging, price or even product attributes. Non-product-related characteristics
include amongst others, the users of the brand, country of origin, the age of the brand, symbols
used, or even sponsorships associated with the brand. Personality characteristics may also be
derived from the brand’s founder, through the mission and ambition of the brand, or through the
history and heritage of a brand (van Gelder, 2003). A good example in which the brand resonates
with the founders’ personality is the Virgin brand and Richard Branson.
The advantages of having a brand personality include a means through which people with similar
personalities can express themselves when they use the product / service; a brand personality can
be the basis for a relationship between the consumer and the brand; and through the use of a
personality, the brand can emphasize certain product attributes (Aaker, 1996: 84).
2.1.7 Brand Positioning
This is the process of improving and ensuring strong positive associations between what the
consumer thinks/feels about the brand (their attitude/perception of the brand) and the desired
brand image; in other words, creating a strong link between the two. Brand positioning is more
clearly defined as the process of placing your brand in the minds of the consumer relative to
competitors through highlighting points of differentiation (POD). POD includes attributes or
benefits that consumers strongly associate with a brand, positively evaluate, and believe that they
cannot find to the same extent with a competitive brand (Keller, 2003: 131). Keller (2003)
further explains that these brand associations can be broadly classified in terms of either
functional, performance-related considerations (e.g. the level of active-ingredients present in a
formulation) or abstract, imagery-related considerations (e.g. the fact that French cosmetics have
a high prestige association). It is best to have differentiating attributes that are unique and which
cannot easily be copied, such as superior and effective sales personnel who are able to engage
consumers and cater for their needs. To rely on excellent R&D, equipment or low prices in order
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14. to create a sustainable differentiation is, to say the least, naïve.
Kotler (2005) has defined brand positioning as
’The act of designing the organization’s offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued
place in the target consumer’s mind.’
According to Aaker (1996:71), a brand position is
‘The part of the brand identity and value proposition that is to be actively
communicated to the target audience and that demonstrates an advantage over
competing brands’.
Brand positioning includes the activities that an organization performs in order to differentiate
and make the brand distinctive and positive compared to those of competitors. Essentially, brand
positioning evolves from the desired brand knowledge that the organization would like the
consumers to possess (Keller, 2003: 119). After the desired brand knowledge has been defined,
the organization is ready to take action for owning that position. For example, when a person
thinks of the Virgin brand, associations with it could be red, music, hot air balloons, health clubs,
Richard Branson, or value for money. These are generally positive or neutral associations, but if,
for example, Richard Branson were involved in a criminal offence, this could defame his name /
Virgin brand and lead to negative associations.
2.2 External Perspective of Brand Management
2.2.1 Brand Knowledge
According to Keller (Keller, 1993), the ability for brands to influence and persuade consumers to
purchase a product or service belonging to this brand, is dependent on the brand knowledge that
they have of it. Brand knowledge consists of brand awareness and brand image and is a major
driver of brand equity. The brand knowledge a consumer has could have been obtained through
advertising, brand design and identity consistency, previous brand experiences and brand
building strategies (Arvidsson, 2006). As with the creation and maintenance of the brand
identity, the efforts of achieving brand awareness begin internally and are controlled by the
company; this is the information which the organization sends out to the consumers. The brand
image on the other hand is created externally; these are the perceptions, attitudes and
associations that consumers have formed of the brand through the brand identity elements,
advertising campaigns, and community programs, past experiences, word-of-mouth etc.
An important model that psychologists have developed to understand brand knowledge is the
associative network model (Anderson, 1983; Wyer and Srull, 1989: 58; Franzen and Bouwman,
2001: 101) in which nodes and links are identified in the consumers’ mind. This model proposes
that the information residing within memory is organized in a manner similar to a spider’s web.
The nodes represent stored information or concepts, whilst the links refer to the strength of
associations between these concepts (nodes). Each memory node is connected to another
memory node. The symbolism of these with regards to brand knowledge will be highlighted in
the text below.
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15. 2.2.1 Brand Awareness
The ability for people to name a brand when referring to a product category or being able to
identify a brand correctly when faced with some of the other brand identities is referred to as
brand awareness. Before one can ascertain what the perception of the brand is, it first has to be
identified (made aware of). Essentially, the marketing efforts of creating brand awareness are
directed at registering the brand in the consumers’ minds (Keller, 2003: 68). In terms of the
associative network model, brand awareness forms the nodes that were spoken of. Brand
awareness consists of two categories, brand recognition and brand recall, the former being
defined by the ease with which consumers are able to recognize the brand based on past
exposures to certain of its brand associations. Brand recognition is very important when the
buyer is required to choose at the point of sale (POS) (Aaker, 1991: 62). The reasoning for this is
something along the lines of ‘if the brand is familiar to me it must imply that the brand has been
around for a while and is successful’. This is particularly true for low-involvement products such
as paper towels and disposable pens. Also, by repetitive exposure of the brand elements or
simply increasing marketing activities, the brand node can be strengthened in the minds of the
consumers. Brand recall is associated with the ability of consumers to name this brand when
prompted to name brands within a certain product category, and usually translates into a stronger
brand position (Aaker, 1991: 62). This is particularly important in service categories as well as
online brands (Keller, 2003: 68). Brand recall requires the use of brand associations and can be
seen as the links to the brand node referred to earlier in the associative network model. For
instance, when a consumer views an advertisement on television in which an athlete is running in
a pair of running shoes that has a ‘swoosh’ on the side, and at the end of the advertisement, the
slogan ‘Just do it’ appears on the screen, these associations / cues (athlete, running, running
shoes, ‘swoosh’, ‘Just do it’) could lead them to think of Nike (provided of course they know
who Nike is). It is however important for the brand to ‘occupy’ a position in the consumers’
mind already (be a part of the consideration set), in terms of the category it represents in order to
have any chance of being selected (Baker et al., 1986: 637; Franzen and Bouwman, 2001: 275).
This aspect of brand awareness is more crucial for regularly purchased products in which a
person’s mind is usually made up before the purchase (Aaker, 1991: 67).
Brand awareness is an important driver of brand equity. Research by Brandforward has found
that top-of-mind or first recall awareness is the most important brand equity measure.
Both brand recognition and recall are important obstacles for beauty and skincare brands to
overcome. Since the nature of the products that these brands represent are intended for use on the
body and are usually visible to others, it is important that the brand be a widely recognized or
easily recalled brand to establish some sort of credibility and trust. Also, due to the fact that
within this market there are a vast number of competitors with similar claims, brand awareness
becomes an important activity for brand managers to manage in order to ensure a strong
customer base.
2.2.2 Brand Image
It has been argued that brand awareness is only one part of the equation in order to become a
successful brand and ensure brand equity (Keller, 2003). The other part is the brand image.
Brand image is defined as the perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations
(nodes) held in consumer memory (Keller, 1993). This is how the consumer has deciphered each
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16. cue associated with the brand as well as the actions carried out on behalf of the brand. In essence,
the result of brand identity is interpreted by the consumer according to how they perceive it, and
hence an image is formed in memory. This is the reality for the brand; perception is everything.
In terms of the associative network model, an image is only formed if a brand node is already
present (which is created through brand awareness). Once this is created, brand associations (also
nodes) are linked to the brand node, and hence a perception is formed. Brand images are
therefore important because consumers use these mental representations (associations) to
distinguish one brand from another and as the basis for their purchasing behaviors (Foxall et al.,
1998: 63). According to Foxall et. al. (1998), the brand image is quite complex, consisting of
several dimensions of the brand, such as personality, connotations, advantages, users and
situations. The view of the authors of this work is that brand image not only consists of these
dimensions, but every single dimension associated with the brand, such as positioning, brand
identity and brand essence, just to name a few.
This is where a brand audit becomes a valuable activity to perform in order to determine what
the current image is of the brand as perceived by the target audience.
A positive brand image can be created by efforts of the marketing department which are aimed at
creating strong, favorable and unique brand associations in memory (Keller, 2003: 70). With
regards to strength, brand identity consistency is an important factor, as well as the relevance of
the marketing message to the consumer. Favorable brand associations pertain to convincing the
consumer that the benefits and attributes delivered by the brand are relevant and can solve their
problems, and satisfy their needs and wants. Unique brand associations can be related to product
or non-product related attributes and benefits, and communicate to the consumer what this brand
has that others do not have; essentially, this is the reason why consumers should buy this brand
rather than that of a competing brand.
Table 2 Summary of the Similarities and Contrasts between Brand Identity, Brand
2.3 Brand equity
Brand equity is based on the image consumers have of the brand, and the more favorable this
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17. image, the more likely they are to pay a price premium for the brand, the more likely they are to
recommend it to friends, the more likely they are to remain loyal if it is out of stock, the more
likely they are to take the time to search for it, and the more likely they are to purchase other
products / services related to the brand name (Hawkins et. al., 1998: 355). Take note that all of
these factors are related to the brand name and it is these types of characteristics which
contribute to positive brand equity.
According to Aaker (1991: 15), brand equity …‘ stands for the resources that the brand can
mobilize i.e. a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand’s name and symbol that add to
or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and / or to that firm’s
customers’.
According to Keller (1998: 60) brand equity is
‘the differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that
brand’.
Brand equity is the capacity of a brand to generate (positive) or breakdown (negative) value.
This is where the brand image formed by the consumer plays an important role.
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18. Figure 2 Illustration of the Various Brand Drivers which Influence the Brand Equity
Brands are viewed as valuable assets, and brand equity is a valuable measurement especially
when it comes to mergers and acquisitions (M & A’s). In the case of M & A’s, the buyer and
seller would both be interested in how much of the value of the company is attributable to the
assets and how much is attributable to the intangible assets, namely the brand equity. It has been
reported in the past that companies have been purchased at multiples of its book values e.g. the
AOL and Time Warner merger. The significance of the brand equity for the purchaser could be
seen as a strategic move to be able to gain an additional sales channel for their products or even
to be associated with a highly respected brand with many positive associations. Another
significance of a brand with high brand equity is that the organization is able to charge premiums
which are justifiable. Investors are willing to pay higher premiums for a company which is well
governed and has significant brand equity. Likewise, clients are willing to pay more for a brand
that is highly recognizable and respected more than its competitors. To understand the
importance of brand value relative to an organization’s market capitalization, the brand
consultancy group, Interbrand, annually publishes a list of the top 100 global brands according to
dollar values (Interbrand, 2007) in order to reveal the absolute dollar amounts that are attributed
to the brand value alone. These annual results have allowed the interested reader to gauge why
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19. the world’s top organizations are usually found very high in the ranks. Leading the pack is Coca-
Cola with a brand worth over $65 billion which accounts for more than 60% of its market
capitalization.
2.5 Brand Architecture
Brand Architecture is the phrase coined to articulate the linkages and relationships between
brands so as to optimize the organization’s efforts (Randall, 1997). There are nine branding
strategies that an organization can choose to use. A summary of the description, advantages or
disadvantages can be seen in. This summary has been drawn up according to Kapferer’s
definitions (2004: 293). There is no one architecture that is more favorable than the others and
some organizations may even choose to operate under a hybrid brand architecture (e.g. The
Nivea Group). They all have their advantages and disadvantages, and it is up to the organization
itself to decide what exactly it is they are trying to achieve. In terms of the cosmetics market, a
‘branded house’ (source or umbrella brand architecture) strategy works far better and is valued at
seven to eight times the profits, whilst a ‘house of brands’ (endorsing or product brand
architecture) is valued at six times the profits (Kapferer, 2004: 295). Garnier operates under a
branded house in which it makes use of the same creative platform, and can leverage off one
name and one philosophy. Hence it has a consistent brand identity.
2.5.1 Product and Corporate Brands
By the 1980s and 1990s there was a rapid increase in the branding of services as well as
corporate branding - that is, the branding of an organization rather than particular products or
services (Lury, 2004). For example, the Virgin brand is involved in a diverse array of products
and services such as music, fitness, travel (including space travel), drinks, mobile
communication and banking. It has been stated that a reason for the success of companies such
as Virgin, General Electric and Mitsubishi could be as a result of their branding of the
organization name rather than single products across many product and service categories,
implying that they are consistent, based on firm core values which are adaptable yet remain part
ingrained within their organizational culture (Hart, 1998: 206). According to Interbrand, most of
the companies with the biggest increase in brand value in 2005 rankings operate as single brands
everywhere in the world, such as eBay, Samsung and Apple (Interbrand, 2005: 86).
Product brands create client goodwill, and build growth and profits. In modern markets,
consumers are not able to make a distinction between product and corporate brands.
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20. Table 3 Interbrand’s Ranking of the Top 100 Global Brands for 2007.
n/a = This organization was not ranked in the Top 100 in 2006.
Source: Interbrand, 2007
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21. Summary of Various Brand Architectures Used by Organizations.
Branding strategy Description Advantages Disadvantages Examples
Product brand Typical of your "house of brands"
organizations. Organizations have products
each with their own name and positioning
strategy. Usually seen when organizations
offer a diverse array of products across
multiple product categories.
Less risk of negative spillover
effects from individual brands.
High cost involved in launching
new brands with independent
brand identities. Not ideal for a
mature, saturated market due to
the lack of expected sales growth
which cannot justify the high
costs involved.
Procter &
Gamble Accor
Group
Line brand Exploitation of a successful brand by
increasing the variety of products within the
broader product category, i.e. brand X offers
shampoos, conditioners and hair gel.
Reduced opportunistic costs for
consumers as the original
product will already have earned
the trust and will reduce the risk.
Reduced
costs for organizations as they
will not have to start from scratch
to build a strong positive brand
image, and distribution outlets
will already be in place.
There is the danger of
extending too far from the
original concept.
L'Oréal Studio
Line
Range brand More specific than line extension. Still
exploitation of a successful concept, but
instead of diverging into different products,
the offering is delivering a wider variety of
options to cater more specifically to the
individuals needs.
Focuses on a single name i.e.
range of creams, masks, gels etc.,
coke light, coke vanilla etc. This
facilitates in uniform advertising
and marketing which can be
shared by all the offerings.
Brand opacity can be a
problem, therefore it is
necessary to structure the range
according to lines, i.e. Clarins
offers the 'soothing range' in
creams, masks, serums
(different lines) etc.
Coca-Cola
Clarins
Heinz
Campbell
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22. Source brand Commonly referred to as "branded house"
organizations. One house, many sub-brands.
Sub-brands are not necessarily related. Identical
to Umbrella, except that each sub-brand has its
own name. The parent brand is still the main
driver of consumer choice.
Parent brand offers their
certitude of quality and
origin.
Extensions too dissimilar to the
identity of the parent can be
harmful or too difficult to
understand in
the eyes of the consumer.
Christian Dior
Yves Saint Laurent
Garnier L’Oreal Paris
Lancôme
HSBC
Umbrella
brand
Also referred to as "branded house"
organizations. The same parent brand supports
different products in different markets. All
brands have a common spirit, vision and
identity as well as their own advertising and
positioning strategy. Each product is often a
company division or a separate business unit
(SBU).
Capitalization of one single
name as well as the
economies of scale
on a global scale. Easy to enter
small, new markets without
the need of heavy advertising.
Allows the core brand to be
associated with new markets
far from the original concept.
Negative spillover effects can
hamper each SBU. Over-
stretching can also weaken
the core brand.
GE Virgin
Palmolive
Hewlett-Packard
Nivea
Endorsing
brand
Typical of your "house of brands". The
endorsing brand gives its approval to a wide
diversity of products grouped under a product
line or a range of brands. Unlike the source
brand, the parent brand is not a driver of
choice, it is the actual product that drives
choice e.g. interest in Marmite is driven by
Marmite and not the fact that it is endorsed by
Pioneer Foods. The endorser takes a
secondary position.
Least costly method for an
organization to attach its
name to a product.
Endorsing brand profits
little from the products.
GM
Nestlé
Johnson & Johnson
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23. 3.0 Brand Planning
3.1 Nivea brand category & strategic group
By 2009 the Nivea brand category had grown from 6 product groups in 1993 to 15, including:
3.1.1 Skin care
• Nivea body
• Nivea visage
• Nivea for men
• Nivea sun
• Nivea baby
• Nivea crème
• Nivea vital
• Nivea soft,
• Nivea hand and
• Nivea lip
3.1.2 Personal care
• Nivea deo
• Nivea beauty
• Nivea hair care
• Nivea bath care and
• Nivea intimate care
3.2 Competitors
With the broad range of the product type that Nivea Company has, it has also brought a wide range
of strategic competitors along with the product diversification.
3.3 Marketing Mix and Brand Elements
Nivea is successfully blending the marketing mixes to deliver proper brand value to the customers.
Its website is providing an easy interface to select regional websites at first and then the consumers
can easily receive required information. Continuous research and innovation is going on which is
paving the way for new products like bath and intimate care. The segmentation is done on a
regional basis that enables affordable attractive pricing. In Bangladesh, ACI Company is one of the
largest importer of Nivea products. Beiersdorf provide sufficient amount of time and effort for
market expansion and penetration. In potential markets, it has its own retail store, distributors and
“NIVEA Haus”. Promotional offers are provided according the segment need and situation.
Event sponsorship is another attractive marketing communication option for Nivea. NIVEA MEN,
the international number one in men’s care and Real Madrid C.F., the most internationally
laureate football club, entered into an extensive sponsorship agreement on February 22, 2013 for
the Spanish market. With it the Beiersdorf male skin care brand expands on its successful
involvement with international football. NIVEA MEN will serve as new official sponsor of the
team. The company is targeting on using football to emotionalize products and brand.
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24. Figure 5 : The brand element of Nivea:Logo
3.3 Strategic group of Nivea
By the beginning of the 1990s, Nivea was already a global brand with a wide range of products
catering to the full spectrum of customer segments; Nivea nurtured its existing sub-brands and
moved into additional market segments by adding new sub-brands. The company’s sub-brand
strategy yielded remarkable results: between 1990 and 2000, every NIVEA Brand sub-brand
experienced sales growth and gained market share. By 2005, NIVEA was a leading international
skin care company and voted the most trusted brand in Germany by Reader’s Digest from 2001–
2004. (Nivea, 2010) Nivea management decided that the sub-brand strategy was effective, and the
company did continue, however, only focused on the ‘Blue Harmony’ campaign for its flagship
product Nivea Crème, which is still running today, it adapts to the current spirit of the times with
emotionality, and based on the concept of the Blue Harmony campaign the Nivea strategic brand
management is illustrated on next page:
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25. Figure 3 Nivea Strategic Brand Management Model (NIVEA CBBE Pyramid)
3.4 Brand Hierarchy
A brand hierarchy is a means of summarizing the branding strategy by displaying the number and
nature of common and distinctive brand elements across the firm’s products, revealing the explicit
ordering of brand elements. By capturing the potential branding relationships among the different
products sold by the firm, a brand hierarchy is a useful means of graphically portraying a firm’s
branding strategy. Specifically, a brand hierarchy is based on the realization that a product can be
branded in different ways depending on how many new and existing brand elements are used and
how they are combined for any one product. Some brand elements may be shared by many
products (e.g., Ford); other brand elements may be unique to certain products (e.g., F-series trucks).
As with any hierarchy, moving from the top level to the bottom level typically involves more
entries at each succeeding level—in this case, more brands. There are different ways to define
brand elements and levels of the hierarchy. Perhaps the simplest representation of possible brand
elements and thus potential levels of a brand hierarchy—from top to bottom—might be as
follows:
1. Corporate (or company) brand (e.g., Nivea, General Motors)
2. Range brand (e.g., Chevrolet)
3. Individual brand (e.g.. Lumina)
4. Modifier (designating item or model) (e.g., Ultra)
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26. The highest level of the brand hierarchy technically always involves one brand—the corporate or
company brand. For legal reasons, the company or corporate brand is almost always present
somewhere on the product or package, although it may be the case that the name of a company
subsidiary may appear instead of the corporate name. For example, Fortune Brands owns many
different companies, such as Titleist, Footjoy, Jim Beam, Master Lock, and Moen, but does not use
its corporate name in any of its lines of business. For some firms, the corporate brand is virtually
the only brand used (e.g., as with General Electric and Hewlett-Packard and Nivea).
3.5Brand Positioning
3.5.1 NIVEA Crème Brand Profiling
Over these years, NIVEA has primarily adverted through NIVEA Crème its major product and that
acquired a unique, widely understood brand identity as a ‘care taker’ of skin. Throughout Europe,
most users were first introduced to Nivea crème during their childhood.
These early users learnt that Nivea was a product that could be used by the entire family
to satisfy all kinds of needs, because of consumers’ own personal history with the brand and the
company’s advertising. NIVEA has thus become strongly associated with shared family
experiences and had a rich set of brand attributes such as.
 Care
 Mildness
 Reliability
 Gentleness
 Protection
 High quality
 Feeling good
Reasonably priced over time, the NIVEA name became synonymous with protection and care
for the skin. Nivea Company viewed advertising as an approach of strengthening
targetaudiences perceptions of a quality product therefore Nivea advertising promotedthe basic
themes of skin care and protection. Ads were always simple, plain, and informative.
3.5.2 The Umbrella Brand
In the 1980s Beiersdorf recognized the growth potential offered by the NIVEA brand. European
studies had revealed that NIVEA enjoyed a high level of trust and that consumers would accept
new products under the umbrella of the NIVEA brand. In line with these consumer expectations,
NIVEA introduced a large number of products offering its customary high level of quality. This
expansion strategy in the1980s was systematically continued in the 1990s with the launch of sub-
brands such as NIVEA Hair Care, NIVEA Beauté, and NIVEA Bath Care. As globalization
increased, NIVEA's focused brand management allowed it to develop into the largest skin care
brand in the world. Today, NIVEA Crème is a large brand family with more than 500 different
products. In Germany, NIVEA enjoys brand awareness of almost100 percent. And at European
level it enjoys a level of trust in the "skin care" product category that is unmatched by any
other brand. Consumers in more than 170countries worldwide use the NIVEA brand.
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27. Figure 4 Umbrella Brand (Beiersdorf, 2008)
4.0 Brand Building Assessment
4.1 Brand Values
Over the years, NIVEA - primarily through NIVEA Creme - has acquired a unique, universal brand
identity as a caretaker of skin. NIVEA is synonymous with protection and caring for the skin.
“Mildness,” “reliability,” “gentleness,” “protection,” “high quality,” and “value for money” are all
strongly associated with the NIVEA name.
4.2 Innovations & Brand Extensions
Innovations and brand extensions went hand-in-hand for Nivea. Extensions had been made back in
the 1930s itself and had continued in the 1960s when the face care range Nivea Visage was
launched. However, the first major initiative to extend the brand to other products came in
the1970s. Naturally, the idea was to cash in on Nivea's strong brand equity. The first major
extension was the launch of 'Nivea For Men' aftershave in the 1970s.
4.3 The 'Global-Local' Strategy
From 1910 onwards Nivea was made available in Europe, and from 1920 onwards, it was made
available in the US markets. Over the next few decades, the number of countries in which Nivea
had a presence kept on increasing due to Beiersdorf's focus on global expansion. The cream's rapid
acceptance in many parts of the world highlighted its truly global appeal.
4.4 Diversification
Beiersdorf has a history of being an innovative company. It has always been prepared to develop
new products for new markets. This is well illustrated by the development of the NIVEA FOR
MEN range. This development results from several trends. These include
• The softening and blurring of "male" and "female" gender roles
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28. • Increased spending on lifestyles with more people attending gyms and caring about their
appearance
• New media developments, e.g. the revolution in men's magazines provide direct contact
with men through advertising.
4.4.1 The main reason to extend the brand to different product categories
• Beiersdorf wanted to go globally with Nivea brand, so they extended their product
categories.
• Geographical condition of various countries also motivated Beiersdrof to extend the brand
Nivea.
• Beiersdrof wanted to increase the brand equity of Nivea brand, that’s why they adopted the
strategy of product category extension.
• As the competition increased in skin care market it was necessary for Nivea to extend it
brand to be a-step-ahead of the competition.
• To tap all age group of consumer both male and female, it was essential for Niveato extend
its brand.
• Brand Extension is of the new product development strategies, which can reduce financial
risk by using the parent brand name, so Nivea decided to extend it product categories to tap
new set of consumers.
4.5 Communications, pricing, and Distribution
Nivea’s brand image has been maintained though communication focused on the product’s high
quality and its association with ‘caretaker’ of skin and via its intensively distribution channel and
reasonable pricing, and that has resulting in the Nivea’s strong and well-known brand image.
The ‘Blue Harmony’ Communication Campaign, it has formed Nivea’s cream rather a mere
product, but one of the first acts of love and protection that a mother performs for a baby, and after
all, every one remembered the typical scent, feel, softness and sensuality of this white cream,
reinforced by the Nivea Blue.
Blue is the favorite color of more than half of the population of the western world, including the
United States and Canada. It is the color of dreams (the sky),calm (the night), faithful, pure love
(the Virgin Mary has been depicted in blue since the 12th century), peace (UN peace seekers) and
the simple, universal appeal of blue jeans (Pastouteau, 1992). And the cream’s whiteness is
the white of purity, health, discretion, simplicity and peace (a white flag). As for the
moisturizing cream itself, it adds water to the skin, an essential injection of a human aspect to one’s
natural environment.
The core brand value of Nivea containing strong moral values such as:
• Confidence
• Generosity
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29. • Responsibility
• Honesty
• Harmony and Love
And in terms of competence, it stands for:
• Safety
• Natural
• Softness
• Innovation
Lastly Nivea sell itself as a timeless, simple and accessible, at a reasonable price, and that is also
how the Nivea brand itself identified worldwide; Nivea uses a central distribution point all over the
world, that is also support its commitment to reducing impact on the environment. Distribution of
Nivea product is mainly through retailers. 65% of sales come from pharmaceutical stores, such as
Priceline, or My chemist. The other 35% comes from larger grocery chains, such Woolworth and
Coles.
5.0 Brand Growth Assessment
Beiersdorf has thought and acted internationally since its beginnings. For example, the first trading
links to companies in the USA were set up in 1893 – eleven years after the Company was founded
by pharmacist Paul C. Beiersdorf in Hamburg. In 1911, Beiersdorf launched NIVEA Creme, the
world's first stable oil-and-water-based cream suitable for mass production. NIVEA became an
international bestseller in a very short time. In 1914, 42% of Beiersdorf's total sales of NIVEA and
its other brands were generated abroad with representative offices in 34 countries – including
licensed production in Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Mexico City, New York, Paris, Sydney, and
Moscow. The Company entered the Chinese market shortly thereafter.
Different levels of the hierarchy may receive different emphasis in developing a branding strategy.
For example. General Motors traditionally chose to downplay its corporate name in branding its
cars, although the name recently has played a more important role in its supporting marketing
activities. Such shifts in emphasis are an attempt by the firm to harness the positive associations
and mitigate against the negative associations of different brands in different contexts, and there are
a number of ways to place more or less emphasis on the different elements that combine to make up
the brand.
Overall, this more than 120 years of journey of Nivea has accelerated its growth and the overall
assessment tends to favor the strategies and marketing activities adopted by the company.
6.0 Qualitative Research Process
Qualitative research process involves three levels of progressive process,
• First, the exploration of the existing or prior research studies has to be conducted in order to
indentify the previous studies and can avoid repetitive research.
• Second internal interview with company personnel or collecting organizational information
to gain an understanding of their beliefs about consumer perceptions for the brand and
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30. competitive brand. And surveying consumers and analyzing the perceptions of them about
the brand.
• Lastly implementing qualitative research based on the information gathered on previous two
processes, in order to achieve consistency of qualitative date required.
6.1 Brand Tracking Report
As more marketing activity surrounds the brand- as the firm introduces brand extensions or
incorporates an increasing variety of communication options in support of the brand- it becomes
more difficult and expensive to research each one. Regardless of how few or how many changes
are made in the marketing program over time, however, marketers need to monitor the health of the
brand and its equity so they can make adjustments if necessary. For this purpose, a brief brand
tracking was done for Nivea via internet and phone interview. Maximum interviewees were female
and age range from 20-50. From student to service holder to home-maker, no criteria for
occupation were maintained. From this short tracking, few points came up as of more importance.
• All the surveyed consumers are aware of the brand and most of them are using some sort of
Nivea product.
• Softness is the association that first comes to their mind because of its rich creamyness.
• In brand judgment, product quality and reputation are the aspect that they like most about
Nivea.
• Nivea is seen as a reliable, likable and a sensitive brand who takes care of not only the skin
but is also concerned about its consumers.
• They all agreed to the worth of charging premium price for Nivea.
• Brand performance is highly favorable for Nivea. Need satisfaction is possible for Nivea
because of its wide range of products and it is accepted for the whole family. Wide
acceptance contributes to brand equity more.
• Brand imagery is also in favor of the brand. The current users have their acquaintances
using the product and tends to find a connection between unknown users of Nivea when
confronted.
• Because of its consistently favorable and durable performance, many consumers see
themselves as growing up with the brand Nivea. Some of them have pleasant memories
with it regarding their childhood time.
• Nivea provides the brand feelings of warmth and satisfaction to its customers as per the
brand tracking represent.
• Most of the surveyed customers thinks about themselves about loyal to the brand and they
do not want to lose it. Rather it drives the status or pride to be acknowledged as a user of
Nivea.
7.0 Brand exploratory
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31. 7.1 Customer Knowledge
Base on the qualitative research that have been conducted, it can be determined, the Nivea Has
successfully leveraged its History and tradition of excellence along with innovation to become the
most powerful and recognized Personal Care brand worldwide. Typical consumer brand
associations for Nivea might be:
 Attachment
 Community
 Credibility
 Superiority
 Warmth
 Fun
 Quality
 Mild & Gentle
 Caring &Protective Pure
 Heritage
 For Family
 Universal Application
 Multi-Form and Purposes
7.2 Source of brand Equity
Nivea is one of the most recognized personal care product brands in the world, which is
also undoubtedly the company’s most important source of Brand equity. Its snow-white logo and
blue harmony tin package is also a key source of the brand equity. The equity is also contributed
by the functional benefits that the Nivea provided to its customer, that is to say the quality of Nivea,
credibility and innovation that go into making of Nivea’s product. Apart from the product
generated brand equity, there are other three key source of the brand equity.
7.3 Product Endorser
Nivea has launch the celebrity endorsement advertising campaign base on the locality of
product launched with the spokes model promoting Nivea’s product, it made the Nivea’s product
become easily to penetrate into different market segments.
7.4 Sports & Culture
The sport and culture event of football match of pupils from South Africa and Rwanda in Pretoria
with the support of Jogi Low, was sponsored and organized by Nivea group with the goal to
support deprived children and young people, with a public relation campaign like this it will help
Nivea to increase its public reputation, obtained brand awareness, and the most important helped
people in need. Nivea also became the official sponsor of Real Madrid team in February this year.
7.5 Global partnership for social involvement
In May 11 2010, Nivea and global children's aid organization Plan International have announced
their immediate cooperation under the motto "We care & connect." As part of a global, long-term
partnership. The collaboration, the goal of which is to give socially disadvantaged children and
youth a better future through education.
7.6 Technology
“With the new I-phone application NIVEA FOR MEN comes very close to the main target group,”
explained Konstantin Stremme, International Brand Manager NIVEAFOR MEN. “They are
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32. highly involved and technophile men, between 21 and 45years old who always need the newest
gadget and have a significant interest on the digital world and online games.”
7.7 The customer based Brand Equity Pyramid (CBBE)
Nivea Customer-Based Brand Equity pyramid has distributed evenly on all of the segments, the
high salience and high resonance has evidently proven by the 100% awareness and most
trusted brand in Europe.
8.0 Points of Parity & Point of Difference
Nivea became a leader in the skin cream category by creating strong points of difference on the
benefits of "gentle," "protective," and "caring." As they leveraged their brand equity into categories
such as deodorants, shampoos, and cosmetics Nivea noticed that it is important to create points of
parity before they could introduce their brands' points of difference. Nivea's points of difference of
gentle, protective, and caring were sort of valueless unless consumers believed that its product will
perform well. Once points of parity were established, Nivea’s heritage and other associations could
be introduced as compelling points of difference.
9.0 Conclusion & Recommendation
9.1 Conclusion
Over the years, Nivea Brand has primarily grew through Nivea Crème, and it had acquired a unique
and widely-understood brand identity as a ‘caretaker’ of the skin, throughout the world, most user
were first introduced to Nivea crème during their childhood, and learning that it was a product that
could be used by the entire family to satisfy all kinds of need. Currently Nivea has been honorably
nominated again as the most trusted Brand in Europe, and for that it implicated the customer’s
perception towards Nivea brand, as trustworthy, and for a brand to gain the trust from its customer,
it takes a lot of effort to achieve that goal. Nivea company as one of the internationally leading
companies for skin and personal care, they want to be close to consumer, offering them compelling
and innovative products, Nivea Company enjoy its brand universal trust, and according to the
company it aimed to achieve the goal below in the future:
9.1.1 Dynamic Growth
 Aiming to continuously increase our world market share.
9.1.2 Worldwide Presence
 Focus on markets with above-average growth potential. Our key focus countries include
Western Europe, China, Russia, Brazil, and India.
9.1.3 Strong Brands
 Nivea brands are internationally successful. They aim to realizing state-of-the-art skin care,
combining systematic consumer orientation, reliable quality, and a tangible brand
personality.
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33. 9.1.4 Success through Closeness
 Know what appeals to consumers. At the same time, think ahead and anticipate consumer
wishes with innovations.
9.1.5 Compelling Innovations
 Develop effective cosmetic solutions for consumers, drawing on more than 125 years
of experience and state-of-the-art biological methods.
9.1.6 Dedicated Employees
 Hard work development shape unique corporate culture.
9.1.7 Attractive Employer
 Employees' high degree of identification with the Company combined with a high level
of commitment. Reinforce this by offering comprehensive professional development
and training programs(Beiersdorf, 2008)
9.2 Recommendation
9.2.1 Brand building assessment
The unique, universal brand identity as a caretaker of skin paves the way for Nivea for easy market
entry and expansion. Market penetration should be emphasized if the company wants to hold and
occupy more market share. The global and local strategy was definitely a good decision for its
further development. Diversification is one of the important competitive advantage for Nivea that
helped in contributing brand equity. Analyzing and predicting the trends is highly crucial for
success in diversification and adoption in new market. So far, Nivea has been successful in this
part.
9.2.3 Brand growth Assessment
Like General Motors, HP, Pran; Nivea incorporated umbrella brand. NIVEA enjoyed a high level
of trust because of this. It was revealed that consumers would acknowledge new products under the
umbrella of the NIVEA brand. This lessened the effort of introducing a new brand in a new market.
The highest level of brand hierarchy resulted in the favor of the brand. For standardization and sole
brand awareness, this scheme assisted Nivea for its better growth. It was good for the company as
there wasn’t much of accident or scandal about the product. But if there was any loophole like that,
it would have disrupted the reputation as well as brand value. From analyzing its growth strategy, it
is evident that Nivea became international bestseller in a very short time. Nivea has licensed
production, representative office, distributor, agents etc. in numerous countries and should
emphasize in increasing this number of expended network more wisely. Some developing countries
are moving toward these type of skin care brands where Nivea should be available. Like in our
country, there is neither representative office nor sole distributor.
Nivea should give emphasis on increasing male customer. From Nivea’s product hierarchy, 7 out of
10 products were developed to suit female customers, and all of the advertisements prior 1986 were
only targeted to female market, that has caused Nivea lost of its chance to occupied more market
share. And even through after the Nivea product diversification strategy in 1980s they started to
focus on the male target market, but until nowadays, we still can see the product that Nivea
produced to targeted female market are way much more than males. Recently, there has been an
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34. event sponsorship by All Clear (Unilever product). The event was a television based male reality
show. The brand clearly made an exceptional attempt by being the title sponsor of the program for
creating brand awareness. Nivea can try for this typr of endeavor to achieve a better market share
worldwide. Targeting potential customers can help to increase the revenue of the firm as well as the
concern of this study, the brand.
10.0 Appendix
Appendix A: Reference
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York.
Aaker, The Free 1996. Building Strong Brands. The Free Press: New York.
Aaker, J. L., 1997. Dimensions of Brand Personality. Journal of Marketing Research, 34, (August), pp.
Page 34 of 41

35. 347-356.
Aaker, J. L., 1999. The Malleable Self: The Role of Self-Expression in Persuasion. Journal of
Marketing Research, 36, pp. 45-57.
Ahuvia, A. C., 2005. Beyond the Extended Self: Loved Objects and Consumers Identity Narratives. Consumer
Research, 32, pp. 171-184.
Ahuvia, A. C., 2005. The Love Prototype Revisited: A Qualitative Exploration of Contemporary Folk Psychology,
Working Paper.
Anderson, J. R., 1983. The Architecture of Cognition. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA.
Arvidsson, A., 2006. Brands: Meaning and Value in Media Culture. Routledge: London. Baker, W.,
Hutchinson, J. W., Moore, D. and Nedungadi, P., 1986.
Brand Familiarity and Advertising: Effects on the Evoked Set and Brand Preference, In Advances in
Consumer Research, Vol. 13, Eds., R. J. Lutz, Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, pp. 637-
642.
Belk, R. W., Bahn, K. D. and Mayer, R. N., 1982. Development Recognition of Consumption Symbolism.
Journal of Consumer Research, 9, pp. 4-17.
Berner, R. and Kiley, D., 2005. Annual Report. Global Brands: Interbrand / Business Week Rank the Companies
that Best Built their Images, as seen in Business Week, 1 August 2005, pp. 86-94. [Online] Available at:
<http://www.ourfishbowl.com/images/surveys/best_global_brands_2005.pdf>
Blackwell, R. D., Miniard, P. W. and Engel, J. F., 2001. Consumer Behavior. 9th ed., Thompson Learning.
Carroll, B. A. and Ahuvia, A. C., 2006. Some Antecedents and Outcomes of Brand Love.
Marketing Letter, 17, pp. 79-89.
de Chernatony, L., 2006. From Brand Vision to Brand Evaluation. 2nd ed., Elsevier Ltd.: Oxford. DiCarlo, L.,
2004. IBM Tops IT Loyalty Survey, Forbes, [Online] Available at:
<http://www.forbes.com/technology/enterprisetech/2004/09/20/cx_ld_0920itloyalty.html> accessed on 5 May,
2013
<http://www.beiersdorf.com/about_us/our_history/brand_history.html> accessed on 5 May,2013
Dillman, D. A., 2000. Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. 2nd. ed., Wiley: New York.
Driggs, W. W., Ramsey, S. S. and Nunes, P. F., 2006. Think Your Customers are Loyal? Think
Again, Outlook Journal, September, [Online] Available at:
<http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Outlook/By_Issue/Y2006/ThinkThinkAgain.htm>
accessed on 3 May, 2013
Duffy, N., 2003. Passion Branding: Harnessing the Power of Emotion to Build Strong Brands.
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.: England.
East, R., 1989. Changing Consumer Behavior. London: Cassel.
Ehrenberg, A. S. C., 1974. Representative advertising and the consumer. Journal of Advertising Research, 14, (2),
pp. 25-34.
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Research. Addison-Wesley: Reading, Mass.
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36. Foxall, G. R., Goldsmith, R. E. and Brown, S., 1998. Consumer Psychology for Marketing. 2nd., International
Thomson Business Press: Oxford, U.K.
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html> accessed on 6 May, 2013
Appendix B: (CDP) Model
Consumer Decision Process as conceptualized by the authors
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37. Appendix C: Brand Performance
2013 brand performance*
Brand value $5,843m
Brand rating AA+
Enterprise value $12,288m
Value / ent. value 47.5%
* Figures taken on 31st December 2012.
2012 brand performance*
Brand value $5,574m
Brand rating AA+
Enterprise value $8,522m
Value / ent. value 65.4%
* Figures taken on 31st December 2011.
2011 brand performance*
Brand value $6,569m
Brand rating AA+
Enterprise value $10,178m
Value / ent. value 64.5%
* Figures taken on 31st December 2010.
2010 brand performance*
Brand value $3,424m
Brand rating AA
Enterprise value $14,508m
Value / ent. value 23.6%
* Figures taken on 31st December 2009.
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38. Appendix D: Brand Tracking Survey
We are conducting a short interview to gather customer opinion about skin and beauty care brand
“Nivea”. This is solely for academic purpose. Your opinion will be regarded as confidential.
Brand Awareness and Usage
a. What brands of cosmetics are you aware of?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
b. Which skin and beauty care brands would you consider to use?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
c. Are you currently using any skin care brand? Which one?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
d. If you were provided with all the brands, which one you would have picked for your use?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
e. Which one is your most favorite brand?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
We request you to answer some general questions about a particular skin and beauty care brand,
Nivea.
Have you heard of this brand? YES/NO
Have you used this brand? YES/NO
Which product of this brand you have used?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
When you see the name Nivea or hear about it, what are the first associations that come to your
mind?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
Brand Judgments
We are interested in your overall opinion of Nivea.
a. How favorite is your attitude toward Nivea?
Very favorite/ quite favorite/ neutral/ not favorite/ dislike
b. How well does Nivea satisfy your need?
Very well/ good/ neutral/ not good/ dissatisfied
c. How likely would you be to recommend Nivea to others?
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39. 80-100% / 60-79% / 40-59% / 20-39% / 0-19%
d. Is Nivea worth a premium price?
YES/ NO/ Don’t think so/ I don’t care
e. What do you like best about Nivea?
Aesthetic nature/ product types/ product quality/ advertisement/ reputation
f. What is the most unique about Nivea?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
g. To what extent does Nivea offer advantages that other brands cannot? (provide answer on %
basis)
h. To what extent is Nivea superior to other brands in this category? (provide answer on % basis)
We now want to request you to answer some questions about Nivea as a company. Please indicate
your agreement by putting sign with the following statements.
Nivea is…
a. Likable
b. Innovative
c. Admirable
d. Trustworthy
e. Knowledgeable
f. Concerned about their customers
g. Concerned about society as a whole
Brand Performance
Please indicate your agreement with the following statements.
Nivea…
a. Is for the whole family
b. Has a stylish and attractive look
c. Is effective for acnes
d. Provides smooth and glowing skin
e. Is of reasonable prices
f. Is accessible
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40. g. Has varieties products that satisfy various needs
Brand Imagery
a. To what extent do people you admire use Nivea? How many people you know use Nivea?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
b. How much you like people who use this brand?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
c. How well does do each of the following words describe Nivea?
Charming, reliable, successful, down-to-earth, honest, upper class, up-to-date. (mark the
word)
d. Is Nivea a brand that you can use in a lot of different occasions? YES/NO
e. To what extent does thinking of Nivea bring back pleasant memories?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
f. To what extent do you feel that you grew up with Nivea?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Brand Feelings
Does Nivea give you a feeling of…
a. Sense of security or confidence?
b. Self-respect?
c. Warmth?
d. Sophistication?
e. Attachment?
Brand Resonance
Mark the agreements similar to your philosophy
a. I consider myself loyal to Nivea.
b. I buy Nivea products whenever I can.
c. I really love Nivea
d. I would really miss Nivea if it went away.
e. Nivea is special to me.
f. Nivea is more than a product to me.
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41. g. I feel a deep connection with others who use Nivea.
h. I really like to talk about Nivea products.
i. I am always interested in learning more about Nivea.
j. I would be interested in merchandise with the Nivea name on it.
k. I am proud to have others know that I use Nivea.
l. I like to visit the web site of Nivea.
Thank you for your valuable time. Cheers!
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