The Positives and Negatives of Dove's "Real Beauty" Campaign

Almost everyone in today's day and age have seen an ad or a commercial for Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign featuring real women in the ads while promoting Dove's body washes, soaps, and creams. 

This campaign, launched 10 years ago, won a significant amount of advertising awards along with a boost of $1.5 Billion in sales.

However, Dove was the source of some controversy following the campaign. Some questioned Dove's intentions by saying Dove was capitalizing on women's poor self-esteem issues. Others had issues with Dove over the fact that they were promoting real beauty, while still continuing to sell products like cellulite cream. Jennifer Pozner, executive director of Women In Media & News, believes Dove is at odds with its message and the products they sell.

On the other hand, Dove has put their proverbial “money where their mouth was.” Dove knew that saying all these things without doing anything about these issues would disprove their credibility as a brand. Dove created a fund to partner with Girl Scouts, The Boys & Girls Club, and Girls, Inc. They created this fund to engage in discussions about online bullying and raise awareness about issues real women and girls have about their bodies.

Their ad campaigns including “Evolution” and “Real Beauty Sketches” have been among the most viewed advertisements on the internet. They emphasize their use of real women in their advertisements and have relayed in interviews that they want to “alleviate pressure on the next generation.”

Pozner admits that the message has its concerns but does consider it necessary: “Until we get to a point in the culture where the dominant messages about girls and women are not focused on their physical bodies, then we do need to actually reaffirm a broader and more innate, internal definition of what beauty is.” (Huffington Post, Quote)

Dove, in my opinion, is getting it right. They found a way to link a white bar of soap to a current issue affecting women nationwide. Although this ad campaign is 10 years old, the main message still rings true. In a world where nearly every image is photo shopped and re-touched, I love that Dove breaks the mold and puts real women in their ads. I love the values and beliefs they stand for, and I will continue to buy their products because I believe in the work they are doing.

To read more, here is a link to the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/21/dove-real-beauty-campaign-turns-10_n_4575940.html

What are your opinions? Tell me your thoughts! Comment!  

Can Instagram be as influential as social media platforms?

Most companies in today's society can be found on several social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. But what about the smaller, up-and-coming social platforms such as Instagram and Vine? For many firms, they are just now learning the major social media outlets, and do not know where to start and what content to publish on the smaller social sites.

Instagram can be intimidating for many companies. Industries like machinery, mechanics, or electronics may think, "What can we post that consumers would care to see?" However, if those companies are not involved in every aspect of social media, they are already behind.

So how can companies have an online "footprint" and make the most out of these free platforms? The answer is simple. Engage their audience!

To start, they should set up goals. What are they trying to accomplish? What do they want their customers to "do"? How can their customers interact with the brand?

Instagram is a great way for companies to give their customers an inside look at what they do. Consumers like to see what a corporation does on a daily basis. When consumers are given a preview of how that company operates, it gives them a greater sense of clarity at the integrity of that company. By giving them a connection to a closer look at the day-to-day operations, the customers have a more positive view of the firm.

Besides giving their customers a inside glance, companies also want to be careful about what content they post. Depending on the firm, they could post tips or tricks to accompany their products. The key is to engage their audience and make their customers want to continue following the company to see what the it posts.

They should always remember what their end goal is and make checkpoints along the way to make sure they are still in line with what they are trying to accomplish. Finally, they should have fun!

To learn more about Instagram and how business' can use this tool, check out this awesome article : http://www.marketingpower.com/ResourceLibrary/Pages/newsletters/b2b/2014/engage-customers-instagram.aspx