Dove’s real woman campaign in 2004 increased its sales with a 700% increase in the number of creams shifted from the shelves.

Ads named as “let’s celebrate curves” intended to make more women feel beautiful

It positions itself not as soap but as mildest bathing bar containing ¼ moisture

Dove created a fund in 2004 to partner with organizations like the Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Girls Inc. to organize activities including discussions about online bullying and photography projects capturing the beauty girls see in the world around them.

With few remaining gaps left in the women's personal care market, Dove has turned its attention to men. A new line of Dove Men+Care products was launched in 2010, and has been similarly extended into multiple categories such as skincare, deodorants, hair care and shaving products.

In 1965, Unilever attempted to broaden its portfolio by extending the Dove brand into dishwashing liquid in a bid to compete with Palmolive dishwashing liquid which claimed to "soften hands while you do dishes". However the new line was not a success and the company dropped its price. This created something of a contradiction for the brand, since Dove bar-soap was positioned as a premium beauty product, while Dove dishwashing liquid was perceived as a low-price household cleaner. These two conflicting messages seemed to confuse consumers and gradually the product began to lose market share, battered by competition from Dial and another Unilever brand, Caress.

The formula for Dove was originally developed during World War II. It was actually designed for the US Army, which required a detergent for soldiers that would lather with sea-water. After the war, scientists at Lever Brothers continued to experiment with the formulation in a bid to reduce the scum produced by ordinary detergents. However the original product was found to have an unfortunate irritant effect on skin. To counter that, Lever's researchers added stearic acid, one of the main ingredients in cold cream, to the mix. The resulting combination, part-skin cream and part-soap, offered huge marketing opportunities, and it was launched in the US in 1956, priced at twice the cost of the company's existing Lux soap. The accompanying advertising, from what was then the agency Hewitt Ogilvy Benson & Mather, promised that "Dove creams your skin while you wash" and "Soap is suddenly old-fashioned". That approach proved hugely successful, quickly establishing Dove as a core household brand. It was marketed primarily for facial cleansing, with that the fact that it doesn't dry out the skin as its key selling point. "Real women" were first used in its marketing from the late 1960s, endorsing its benefits for what was supposedly a hidden camera

The Consumers are very happy with the product and above all there is loyalty attached to the product

Even though there are no major aspirational values attached to the product, company is able to differentiate well from the ‘hard-on-skin’ soaps.

Logo of dove is a perfect representation of softness, gentleness and sophistication

The image of dove or peace pigeon symbolizes the purity and softness of dove and its products

In honor and memory of its serve the navy

Dove real beauty wins Grand Effie awards

Strengths:

Unconventional strategy

Effective advertising

Continuously evolving campaign

Strong emotional touch

Weakness

Target market-upper middle class while their motto is beauty should be for everyone

Low market share in deodorant category

Strong competition

Opportunities

It hosts self esteemed events through Girls Scouts of America and other global partners

Threats

Risk of being brand for fat girls or old ladies