Launched in 1967 by the Parent company Unilever the Close up brand has emerged as a global player in the toothpaste market over the period of time.
Operating in length and breadth of the country with large SKU’s (stock keeping unit) to serve each and every segment of the society has helped the brand in penetrating the developing economies worldwide.
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Segmentation, targeting, positioning in the Marketing strategy of Close up-
Unilever uses a mix of demographic, geographic and psychographic segmentation variables such as age, region, income, belief, and many others to address the changing needs of the customers.
It uses differentiating targeting strategies to make the products available to the customer based on the type of need.
The brand Close up uses user benefit based and product based positioning strategy. Unilever has a large number of brands in its brand portfolio and it positions the brands on benefit and usage based positioning strategies.
Marketing mix – Here is the Marketing mix of Close up.
Mission- “Not available”
Vision- “Not available”
Tagline-“Make your move”.
Competitive advantage in the Marketing strategy of Close up-
The leveraging expertise of the parent company: With the presence in different consumer good segments along with the large SKUs of each brand of the parent company in different product categories, Unilever is ruling the market. According to Nielsen data 2 out of 3 consumers in the market Unilever server uses Unilever products.
Brand Visibility: Being present in the market with 4 products line with 3 sub-brands in each product line has helped the company in increasing its visibility in the market through garnering larger shelf space in the shops of the retailers.
A financial strong position of the parent company: Unilever itself being a strong financial FMCG company is what helping the brand to operate in more than 150 countries globally.
Strong Product line: It offers product categories namely Deep Action, Fire freeze and Icy White having deep SKUs (stock keeping unit) across the product categories.
BCG Matrix in the Marketing strategy of Close up-
Close up operates with 3 product line, Fire freeze and Icy white are Stars in the BCG matrix and Deep action is a question mark due to the presence of a large number of players in this segment.
Distribution strategy in the Marketing strategy of Close up-
It works on go-to-market strategies to reach out each and every part of the country with its varied types of the distribution channel. Unilever is closely working with 2700+ redistribution stockists and shoppers every day to maximise their sales so that too makes sure that whether it is a small Kirana store or drug store or pops and moms store at a distant location their product should reach to all these locations on time every time.
Brand equity in the strategy of Close up-
The brand has always positioned itself as young & vibrant. It has been associated as a sponsor or co-sponsor with various realities shows and serials globally.
To reach out to the masses with its branding appeal, the brand has been associated with various celebrities like Shahrukh Khan, Ranveer Singh as a brand ambassador in India.
Competitive analysis in the Marketing strategy of Close up-
The market in which Close up operates is overcrowded with a large number of companies eating up each other’s market share.
Although the MNC players played a major role in shaping the economics of the industry local players and counterfeit products are the major competitors of the company.
Some of the competitors of Close up are Colgate, Pepsodent etc.
Market analysis in the Marketing strategy of Close up-
The FMCG market is full of local national and international players who are launching various kinds of Toothpastes in the markets but the main issue is to tap the vast potential of the rural market which is still is in the growth stage and is not have the accessibility of various products and services.
The market is facing various constraints such as high infrastructure investment cost in setting up of the FMCG Company in itself is the entry and exit barrier to the industry, rising inflation, changing regulatory norms, rising labor cost are some of the factors affecting the
Many FMCG company outsource the products from the local manufacturers as per the standards set by the FMCG company and confidentiality agreement which helps the FMCG Company in minimising the operational cost.
The only way to differentiate products & retain customers is the strong branding building, creating a pull in the market.
Customer analysis in the Marketing strategy of Close up-
Customers of Close up are people from all age group. Majority of its customers are from lower income group/ middle income group people.
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