Marketing mix of Gillette – Gillette marketing mix

January 25, 2020 By Hitesh Bhasin Tagged With: Marketing Mix

Gillette is a premium brand company and was founded in the year 1901 by King C Gillette. In 2005 Procter & Gamble, the new owners of the company, merged with Gillette and retained the brand name. Procter & Gamble is a multi-national company dealing with a variety of brands and products like Household Care, Health Brands and Beauty Products.  The company slogan of Gillette is ‘The Best a Man Can Get’ and it has become the trademark for all its products. Gillette deals with personal care and grooming products for men. It faces stiff competition from its competitors and some of its main competitors are

• Topaz
• Panama
• Palmolive
• Old spice
• Godrej
• Fa
• Park Avenue

Table of Contents

Product in the marketing mix of Gillette

Gillette deals exclusively in grooming product and a wide range of toiletries product that are technologically advanced and hence premium. The company has always taken pride in its products and sells a deep product line which includes body wash to razors. In 2006 it revolutionized the market with the introduction of ‘Fusion 5 bladed razor’and still continues to be the top selling product till date. Each product belongs to different categories or groups.

Under its Razor group, the main products are

• Gillette Fusion Pro Glide Shaving Razor
• Gillette Mach 3 Sensitive Shaving Razor: This newly designed razor reduces the pressure of the blade and gives a smooth and fresh look.
• Gillette Mach 3 Turbo Sensitive Shaving Razor
• Gillette Fusion Power Razor
• Fusion Gamer Razor
• Gillette Fusion Manual Razor

Under its Shave Gel and Foam Categories the products are

• Fusion Hydra Gel
• Series Foam
• Series Gel
• Foamy

The skin care regime consists of Deodorants, Shampoo, Face Wash, Gillette Hair & care and Body Wash for men.

Price in the marketing mix of Gillette

The pricing strategy of Gillette is clearly premium pricing. However, the quality of its products is accordingly very high as well. Products like Gillette mach 3 and now Gillette mach 5 have taken the world by storm. The price level of Gillette shaving foam and gel is much more than its competitors but still Gillette has been able to maintain its customer’s loyalty by its worth as well as marketing policies. Consumers are not afraid to pay the extra money in order to associate themselves with such an irreplaceable brand.

Nowadays it is not easy to sway a customer’s loyalty by genuine price hike. The company is asking its consumers to place more value on emotions than on the cost price. The policy of Gillette is to encourage the customer to try its product at least once. The company is confident that after using this high quality product it will be difficult for the consumer to switch to other substandard product. Once the buyer is happy with the product, its high price does not matter.

Place in the marketing mix of Gillette

An estimated six hundred million people have placed their trust in Gillette products that are easily available in almost all the continents across the globe. Central America, South America, North America, Asia, Western Europe, Africa, Eastern Europe and Oceania all have dealers and distributors of this world famous brand.Gillette has extended its network to nearly 140 countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. It has opened its own manufacturing plants in almost all the major countries like India, China, UK and USA.Its distribution network is highly organized and robust with operations running successfully everywhere. A franchise distributor in every city who has his personal employees manages this system. Direct Supply to the retailers is encouraged without any wholesalers.

In India, the first manufacturing plant was set up in Rajasthan at Bhiwadi. At present, the company headquarters are located in Mumbai.It has at least one – lakh retail outlets in 3,600 towns. Gillette has recruited DHL Courier as the company’s service provider so that an efficient dispatch system is maintained.

Promotions in the marketing mix of Gillette

Gillette spends billions of dollars on its advertising policies. In order to market their products they have used an emotional marketing strategy. The advertisements are smooth and cool giving an unstoppable feeling. A brand identity has been created with marketing and sales in mind. The company has used unique and diverse tactics to maintain their customer base as well as to rope in new consumers.

By looking at the ads, one can see the confidence and the unbeatable feeling on the model’s face and this transforms the mindset of the buyer. The marketing focus is on the emotion rather than the product itself. The customers want to cash in this passion by buying Gillette products. The ads have turned a basic act of shaving into a grooming ritual evoking a strong response amongst the viewers.

For international market, famous personalities have been roped in as the brand ambassadors. ‘Roger Federer’- an iconic tennis player, ‘Tiger Woods’ – the master champion of Golf, ‘David Beckham’ – the world famous footballer and Thierry Henry have acted in Gillette ads.  Some of the other persons to act in Gillette ads are ‘Shoaib Malik’ – the Pakistani cricketer,‘Michael Clarke’ – the Australian cricketer,  Derek Jeter and Park Ji- Sung. In India Rahul Dravid, the famous cricketer and Irfan Khan,the famous actor, have acted in ads for Gillette products.

In the department of packaging, the performance of Gillette is far superior to its adversaries. Its logo is depicted in black to symbolize a sophisticated male;the blue base cover is associated with men as well as a cool and fresh look. The color white signifies purity whereas the red color is used to highlight the variants. Ingredients are displayed on the cover and the instructions for using the product are written in the local dialect. This avoids confusion and helps the consumers to read and know the product.The Eco – friendly packaging has also been a hit with the urban population.

In order to increase its sales Gillette has single handedly implemented revolutionary ideas with military precision and patience. It has sponsored famous sports personalities as well as games like football to upgrade its image. Gillette has targeted its promotional policies on the current ambassador of the company. Gillette products are advertised in the print media like newspaper and magazines and in the visual media like internet and television. All the detailed information about each product is available with a single click of the mouse on the internet. This has helped to attract buyers on a large scale.