Two flagship companies: Axis and Adidas were chosen for this study with a focus on the deodrant segment. For many years, these two brands have managed to become major players in the global market for deodorants. However, their common features end there.
It is the strength of these brands and their positioning that matters. Both the brands are positioned very differently in the market. If Axis offers a vision that is firmly focused on seduction, Adidas has, in turn, been a more sporty deodorant.
This difference in the marketing approach seems interesting to study because it has two positions marked for very nearly similar products. Therefore, for this study, an advertisement for each brand that reflects this totally different positioning strategy has been chosen.
To explain their differences, it will discuss on both qualitative and quantitative analysis of these two ads. Finally, a proposal for a new strat-copy for the lowest rated advertising with which it has developed a new advertisement.
Adidas is a German company founded in 1948 by Adolf Dassler. It is now the leading sporting goods company in the world by offering more and more products and ranges more extensive. Since the mid-90s, Adidas is betting on acquisitions to become the world's No 1 in the sports goods market and in 2006 it acquired Reebok.
For several years, Adidas has decided to expand its range: in fact the group has diversified into accessories (watches, glasses) and to body care products (shower gel, deodorant .) items always identified with a sport. The aim is to show the complementarity of traditional products like shoes and deodorant.
Today, Adidas offers a range of deodorants for men and women broken down into a couple of references in spray, gel or ballpoint.The range includes men's deodorants Team Force, Body spray,Active, Action 3, Performance and one for women consists amongother deodorants Action 3, Cotton or 3. Adidas does not produce its deodorants, it is the French company Coty that also produces fragrances and shower gels for other brands.
Unilever is the world leader for personal hygiene (including deodorant). The successful launch of Axe in the U.S. in 2003 confirmed its dominance in the field of toiletries for men.
One of the weaknesses of the brand is that it does not have its own patents as' L'Oreal and Procter and Gamble (eg provitamin B). On the other hand, the group focuses on its three strong brands (Axe,Rexona, Dove) which is a weakness compared to its other brands.
The growing market for toiletries for men is undoubtedly an opportunity for Unilever, in fact, this market is far from mature.However, competition in this niche is growing rapidly expanding and it will be difficult to maintain its leading position in this segment.Innovations and increased marketing support will be necessary to ensure meaningful results every time.
For Adidas it is not necessary to change its position and not to lose his audience today. Following the same reasoning one can say that the ads should always provide information on the product with a little bit more fun in the advertisement. The image of Adidas product is good because the potential buyer has more confidence in this product, sees it as more efficient but it is not the main motivation of the market.
Tags: Deodrants for men, comparative study –Adidas deodrant and Axe advertisements
[...] Also at the bottom left we can see the signature of the brand "AXE" and its logo with the slogan "The AXE Effect". However advertising does not put too much value in the product: in fact the bottle is identified by consumers on the shelves. In every man lies a real seducer. The irresistible magnetism exerted by the user on the women around is famous worldwide, thanks to the original commercials for the brand. That's the Axe effect! For ADIDAS This advertising is used for the main quality of the deodorant by ADIDAS which is very absorbent, and even 10 times more absorbent than the terry wristband as we call advertising. [...]
[...] We thus find a seductive atmosphere greatly appreciated by those aged 18-24 and those commercials are very original for the deodorant market. There, Axe has succeeded: its deodorant became a real fad: in fact every teen wants his Axe deodorant as everyone wants an iPod. There is a strong commitment to its deodorant brand which is unheard of in this market. This is a great marketing success. Adidas is positioning itself quite differently: in fact it affects more rational shoppers. [...]
[...] To do this we chose the gender, age and sport. Sports is viewed with a special focus on advertising relating to sport, the latter variable is important to maintain the objectivity of the study. In addition it will be interesting to compare the results by crossing (Sphinx) the different responses between athletes and non-athletes. The age criterion is broken down into five major categories: 18-24 years, 25-34 years, 35-49 years, 35-49 years, 50-64, and over 65. The surveyed population is mostly composed of young people between 18 and 24 years see Appendix 1). [...]
[...] Others like Scorpio and Chanel have launched on the market, but do not have a very significant market share. Let us now study the market share of the large groups and Hypermarkets. It is interesting to look at sales for nearly all deodorants which are distributed in supermarkets. Unilever accounts for 26% of sales in France in 2006, with the success of Axe and Rexona. L'Oreal makes contact with the Anglo-Dutch group with 25% market share thanks to the dynamism of Narta and Mennen. These two groups represent 50% of sales of deodorants in France. [...]
[...] ADIDAS has no real direct competitors which face its deodorant "Action as it positions itself as the number one antiperspirant deodorant spray absorber. This dominance is even more pronounced because it targets athletes. However we note that there is a plethora of antiperspirants and deodorants that are closest competitors, including Narta, Sanex, Menen or Vichy. The promise here uses the identification of Zidane with values excellence in the sport. Adidas is positioned in the segment of the performance, endurance sports. The message is very different from that intended by Axe. [...]
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