Unilever’s Angle On Diversity
“Inspiring The Doers Of The World”

Angie DeNardo
Section: N
February 27th, 2015

Unilever’s Position on Diversity

The University of Organ describes diversity as the, “understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing each individual for those differences (1).” These differences include dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical abilities, and many more. It is crucial that a company understands their target customer base in order to create and market a product that appeals to both their interests and needs. Unilever is the most widely accepted antiperspirant and deodorant company in the world. Degree among Axe, Dove, and Suave are apart of the Unilever brand. Degree has a mission of providing, “long-­‐lasting odor and wetness protection for men, women, and girls who embrace everyday challenges, from the first step of the day to the last (2).” The company became known as a unisex brand in 1990. In 2005 the brand began embracing their consumers’ diversity and divided into two lines, Degree Men and Degree Women. Each of the lines took divergent advertising approaches. In more recent years the company has transformed their segmented marketing campaigns into a single unisex campaign with the same strategy and tag line called “Do More.”

Company Overview

Unilever has a diversity goal that promotes gender-­‐balanced engaged workforces that are reflective of their consumer base. They have maintained their position as the leading competitor and accounted for 35% market share in 2013. In recent years Degree has proven to have the highest retail market shares, and in 2013 Degree Men captured 7.6% of the market. Degree’s key products include men and woman antiperspirant, deodorant, clinical strength, and newly introduced dry sprays due to the rising trends in the market place for antiperspirants. In addition to their men and women products, Degree also offers a product called Degree Girl, which is targeted to teen-­‐age girls. In 2011 Degree began producing products that emphasized their new breakthrough technology called motionSENSE. The company capitalizes on marketing their new technology that is designed to react with every moment throughout the day.

Degree’s Inspirational Marketing Campaign

Degree’s “Do More” unisex campaign is used, “as a motivator for the doers of the world and serves as a reminder that we should maximize every moment and pursue our passions,” (2). In and article in the New York times, the company expresses how, “consumers worry about deodorant failing in professional and romantic situations, brands tend to highlight such anxieties in advertising, but the new campaign suggested efficacy in an