AXE Case
MARK 453 A - Fall 2017
Presented to Caroline Roux
October 10th, 2017
Rachel Abessira 27375158
Nader Aboukheir 40015109
David Bono-Raftopoulos 27751605
Maria Holyanova 27085435
Graeme Lindsay 40009381
1. Problem Statement:
Jacobs and the team:
· Must increase AXE’s growth in the male grooming category “across its full product range”
· Must maintain the Brand’s core value proposition which is focused on attraction, however “the definition of attraction has changed”.
· Must reduce the discrepancy between consumer’s beliefs and how the company wants to be perceived in order to increase customer loyalty tied to more frequent purchases (problems with brand equity).
· Must prepare a client brief to create a major marketing campaign in 2016 to reach sustainable growth.
2) Goals of the Campaign:
In order to ensure sales growth in Canada, the team’s goals are:
· To increase market penetration of men in their between the ages of 20-30 which could attract new customers, hence grow market share and sales.
· To transform consumers perceptions from a body spray brand to a male grooming brand while maintaining the brand’s position “as leader in the men’s grooming category’”.
3) Analysis of Competition
AXE has 4 main competitors in the men’s grooming category: Dove Men + Care, Right Guard, Old Spice and Speed Stick.
· First, Dove Men + Care should not be considered a direct competitor of AXE due to their different target market and messaging strategies. If Dove Men and AXE were direct competitors, Unilever would cannibalize one of their brands and products for another. Dove Men + Care targets older men in their mid 30’s to early 50’s and their advertising strategies use Product User positioning, focusing on life events of a “real man” such as fatherhood. Although Dove Men only launched in 2010, they have gained significant market share in only 5 years (4.4% in 2014). Dove Men would be considered a greater threat if AXE’s market share was not also continually increasing. Dove’s different target and strategy and should not be a direct threat to AXE’s current or proposed positioning.
· Second, Right Guard and Speed Stick target athletic males by using Product attribute and Use/Application positioning to market their product functions and appeal to common fears regarding body odor. Their low prices and small product mixes don’t target the same clientele, nor do their products fall within the same segments as AXE. Right Guard’s market share has declined and stagnated at 4.4% in the last 5 years and does not necessarily concur with AXE’s strategy or segment based on attraction. Speed Stick’s campaigns featured athletes to target active men, however their market share has decreased over the years. It can be deduced that Right Guard and Speed Stick are direct competitors of each other, but are not directly competing against AXE’s more sensual strategy.
· Lastly, Old Spice is AXE’s main competitor because of the similarities in their product mixes...
