Ariel Global Marketing Strategy

Ryan Hickey
Student number: 11515637
Christina Donnelly , Mn313 International Marketing
Hickey
[Pick the date]

Team Phoenix
Mn313 International Marketing:
Date: 14/11/2013
Global Marketing
Strategy
Team Members:

l
Background:
Ariel is a marketing line of washing detergents made by P&G. As a brand it supplies various types of washing detergents.
Ariel encourages customers to conduct washes in cold water. ‘By washing your clothes at 30°C, you could save over 30%
of your energy consumption ‘, resulting in less energy consumption, shorter wash cycles, less impact on environment as
well as benefits for the textile itself: (Ariel, 2013) Ariel’s current target market are “people who claim to be environmenta l ly
friendly but accept no compromise on performance and price” (Donnelly, 2013). P&G’s primary objective is to convert 70%
of wash loads into cold water by 2020. In order to do this they need to change consumer perception on washing clothes in
cold water, as currently the majority of consumers believe washing at higher temperatures is more effective ‘Although many
people think that hot water gets clothes cleaner, it can actually be the worst choice for certain types of stains’ (Bchydro,
2013). They can achieve this by creating a global marketing strategy which focuses on product packaging, in store
campaigns and social media. P&G must try to educate the consumer more on how beneficial it is washing in cold water
(30 degrees) not only to them themselves economically , but also to the to the environment. The y must do thi s by directly
connecting the environmental benefits to the economic benefits; otherwise consumers will not care enough to change thei r
habits.
Recommendations:
In order to reach P&G’s/ Ariel’s goal of a 70% conversion rate to cold washes, these are the recommendations we suggest:
1. Target people who claim to be environmentally friendly but accept no compromise on performance or price specifically the Millennial
Generation beginning birth years from the early 1980s to the early 2000s
2. Begin a marketing campaign that educates consumers on the benefits of using Ariel; show comparisons of how washing in hot water can
affect the environment and the consumers economically compared to using cold water.
3. Design innovative packaging that represents Ariel as an environmentally friendly product. This could be achieved by using less packaging,
increase its recyclable content; reduce the amount of environmentally harmful components. Minimize the resources needed to make and
transport their products.
4. P&G need utilize their social media outlets within the global marketing strategy. With over 2 million likes on Facebook and 62,720 followers
on Twitter worldwide. This is an opportunity to increase brand awareness as social media advertising “so far, it only represents 1% to 10%
of ad budgets for a wide majority of advertisers”. There's significant opportunity for that share to grow”, (BI Intelligence, 2013).

1. Targeting millennial generation— as they are moving towards maturity, they become the most influential target market. They are now formulating their
own habits, opinions and concerns. In 2010 this generation made up 29% of the world population estimated at 2,379,166 billion people (United Nations,
2012) By marketing towards them as they age and begin families of their own, what is currently seen as a “new” concept of washing clothes in cold
water will be passed on resulting in the establishment of a new norm as time goes on, allowing P&G to meet its goal of a 70% conversion rate by year
2020 and continuous growth beyond 2020.
2. To make the market aware of both the environmental and economic benefits of washing clothes in cold water. Achievable by initiating a marketing
campaign accompanied by various in store and television ad campaigns that make the consumer aware of the benefits of using Ariel. Showing that
using Ariel will not only help save on electrical bills “Latest tests show that washing at 30°C could save you on average between £9 and £17 per year
compared with washing at 40°C”, (Which, 2013), but also help conserve the earth's energy supply according to the U.S. Department of Energy, "90
percent of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water. This tactic will appeal to a vast majority of this consumer market as they are
extremely price conscious.
3. Designing innovative packaging for Ariel’s products that represents the brand as being environmentally friendly. Continue with the reduction of
packaging like that made in Turkey; P&G have already “designed a new process that packed Ariel in large, seal tight polyethylene bags. Entirely
recyclable, these bags require 80% less packaging material than boxes”, (P&G, 2013). Incorporating this on a global scale it will minimize the
processes and resources needed to make and transport Ariel products around the world. To date this form of packaging “takes up to 20% less space
during transport and storage, and help speed up the packaging line”, (P&G, 2013).
4. P&G need to utilize their social media sites in this global marketing strategy due to its potential audience. For example on Facebook “we know that
over 1 billion people worldwide are on the platform…In the U.S., 83% of 18 to 29-year-olds who use the Internet are on it”, (Smith, 2013). These figures
suggest a potentially massive market that has not been taken advantage of Twitter are also as important with over 500 million users, with the correct
use of a Twitter page Ariel can provide a social media platform to get people talking about Ariel products as they currently to date have in the region of
63 thousand followers.
Rationale:

Focus target market on The Millennial Generation
Initiate marketing campaign that educates consumers on the benefits
of using Ariel. Showing both Economic and Environmental factors
Continue R&D in innovating packaging and transport processes that
represents Ariel as an environmentally friendly product.
Utilize the full potential of their social media outlets within the global
marketing strategy.
S.W.O.T. Analysis
2020
USERS OF ARIEL
BRAND EQUIY
2 million
likes on
Facebook
83% of 18
to 29-year-olds
online
Millennials =
29% of the
world
population
Ariel uses
80% less
packaging

Threats:
 Shelf-position- Ariel products located just below eye level on the shelves in TESCO supermarkets. Concerns as consumers are attracted to products on
eye level.
 Price – Ariel washing detergent is seen as a premium detergent and in the higher price range of the market.
 The price comparison was based on a (1.75 kg – 2kg) box of washing powder and a box of biological liquitabs (20 packs) Highlighted in green are the
biggest threats:
Washing powder: Liquitabs:
1. Persil €9.79 Ariel €9.99
2. Fairy €9.69 Persil (35pack) €9.00
3. Bold €9.00 Bold €8.75
4. Ariel €8.81 Fairy €7.00
5. Surf €5.00 Surf (10 pack) €5.00
6. Daisy €3.05 Daisy €4.00

S.W.O.T. Analysis
Strengths:
 A major strength of Tide Coldwater is that it is a P&G product. P&G has a global presence in 180 countries, and has provided 175 years of service to the world
 Tide Coldwater is specially formulated for cold water
 Requires less detergent to wash clothes, creating a longer life span
Weaknesses:
 Tide Coldwater are not utilizing the promotional mix effectively
 Tide Coldwater as an individual product is not widely promoted or advertised in the US
 Their promotions fail to stress the importance as to why using Tide Coldwater is beneficial economically and environmentall y.
Opportunities:
 Tide Coldwater like Ariel also has a strong opportunity in strengthening their presence on social media
 Some countries don’t have easy access to running hot water
 Increasing the energy awareness of the product
Threats:
 Many consumer in the US market are not buying into the idea of cold water washes in favour of hot water (hygiene assumptions)
 There are many generic brands or ‘own’ brand products available
 Due to the lack of consumer spending (worldwide recession) consumers may turn to cheaper alternatives e.g. e Gain, a lower priced P&G detergent

Target Marketing Recommendations:
Republic of Ireland:
Target market segment - The target market that we recommend P&G direct there global marketing strategy towards are the Millennial Generation, or those between
the ages of 16-34 (Barton et. al, 2012, p 3)
Main Positioning Benefits - Ariel’s objective should be attempting to create a distinct impression in the customer's mind with regard to both the savings to be made
financially by washing in cold water (recommended 30⁰) with the added incentive of contributing to creating a sustainable environment by doing so. “Washing clothes at 30C
uses around 40pc less electricity over a year than washing at higher temperatures, saving around £13 annually on energy bills”, (Christie and Winch ,2013). P&G could see
promising results by utilizing social media. With a combined total of over 1.5 million likes on Facebook between P&G and Ariel pages and over 60 thousand followers on
Twitter.
Value proposition-
Ariel provides a premium detergent for Millennials who want to be environmentally friendly but reluctant to compromise on performance and price.
Ariel products offer brilliant cleaning performance even at low temperatures (15⁰- 30⁰), working on a wide variety of stains. At Ariel we promote washing at low temperatures as
it not only lowers our C02 emissions while doing our laundry, but also our electrical bills where savings of up to €20 can be made.
Key benefits:
 Ariel Excel Gel allows you to wash clothes hygienically and effectively at 15 degrees
 Washing clothes at 30C saves approximately £13 annually on energy bills”,
 By washing clothes at 30 ⁰ you can reduce your washing machine's energy consumption by up to 40%

Segment profile: Millennial Generation
The marketing segment P&G need to direct there global marketing strategy for Ariel tare the Millennial Generation. In 2010 this generation made up 29% of the world population, (United
Nations, 2012). When focusing our attention to Ireland, figures show that in 2011 this generation made up approximately 79% of the Irish population, (CSO, 2013).
Typical Consumer: Name: Siobhan Flanagan
Age: 28
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1
Price
Promoting Cold
water washing
High
High Low

Target Marketing Recommendations:
United States of America:
Target market segment - The target market that we recommend P&G direct there global marketing strategy towards are the Millennial Generation. In 2010 this
generation made up 29% of the world population, (United Nations, 2012). When focusing our attention on the US, this generation represent 86 million people 27% of the U.S.
population (Doherty, 2013).
Main Positioning Benefits - Tides objective should be attempting to create a distinct impression in the customer's mind with regard to both the savings to be made
financially by washing in cold water (recommended 30⁰) with the added incentive of contributing to creating a sustainable environment by doing so. P&G could see promising
results by utilizing social media available to them. In the US 77% of this generation is using a laptop or computer at home, as well as 59% have smartphones (Fromm et al,
2013).
Value proposition-
Tide provides a premium detergent for Millennials who want to be environmentally friendly but reluctant to compromise on performance and price.
Ariel products offer brilliant cleaning performance even at low temperatures (30⁰-40⁰), working on a wide variety of stains. Tide promotes washing at low temperatures as it not
only lowers our C02 emissions while doing our laundry, but also our electrical bills.
Key benefits:
 Tide Coldwater allows you to wash clothes hygienically and effectively at lower temperatures
 By washing clothes at 30 ⁰ you can reduce your washing machine's energy consumption by up to 40%
 Tide Coldwater is specially formulated for cold water conditions

Segment profile: Millennial Generation
The marketing segment P&G need to direct there global marketing strategy for Tide Coldwater in the U.S. is the millennial age group, or those between the ages of
16-34 (Barton et, al, 2012). When focusing our attention on the US, this generation represents 86 million people 27% of the U.S. population (Doherty, 2013).
Typical Consumer: Name: Millennial Generation
Age: 12 – 35 approximately
Marital Status: Single/married/divorced/ widowed/ cohabiting/ civil union/ domestic partnership/unmarried partners

High
LoHigh w
Promoting Cold
water washing
Price

Marketing Mix:
Product:
Outline potential to save customers energy by washing in cold water. The core benefits are its cleaning power in cold water. The colour of
packaging is associated with nature and security (Labrecque, 2010). The main benefit is that it saves consumers money on their electricity bills, and
also reduces carbon emissions. Recommended changes for the product: state on the packaging the reduction of Co2 emissions per load, Place
social media logos on the bottle, encouraging customers to interact on social media expressing opinions, concerns etc. , as over 79%of the
millennial generation use social media (Barton et al, 2012).
Price:
With number of product ranges, one, their liquitabs (20 packs) currently priced at €9.99 = €2 per load. A premium priced product compared to other
laundry detergents. However its value proposition demands a price that matches its quality. Consumers pay more for Ariel products, but the price is
redeemable, as savings can be made on their energy consumption. Ariel’s current target market are “people who claim to be environmentally
friendly but accept no compromise on performance and price” (Donnelly, 2013), we recommend that the price of Ariel products should be
decreased by 10%- 15%. Increasing competiveness and allowing the brand to obtain a bigger foothold of the market.
Promotion:
Ariel has a moderate presence on social media with over 2 million likes on Facebook and 62,720 followers on Twitter. However, the promotions of
its core benefits have little presence, overshadowed by advertising campaigns to simple buy Ariel products as opposed to promoting its cleaning
and money saving capabilities. Ariel should include more links providing information on the benefits of using Ariel. These ads need to be short,
effective and humorous, in line with their current designs but directed at the above sentiments. Ariel need to take this approach with their television
ad campaigns, although very successful to date simply prompting the brand as a whole with catchy and humorous ads they need to capitalize on
prompting the benefits of using Ariel products .
Place:
Ariel can be easily found in supermarkets and on the internet t making it widely distributed product. Ariel products account for a large majority of the
detergents sold in supermarkets. I recommend that a signs indicating 30⁰ be shown in front of Ariel products to attract attention to the product. Ariel
needs to improve shelf position to make it more noticeable to customers i.e. on eye level. I also recommend Ariel roll out samples for potential
customer to try the product for themselves. These should be placed at the checkouts as 52% of millennials make impulse purchases, (Honigman,
2013)

Conclusion:
This report covers various stages of the global marketing strategy needed to achieve the goal of converting 70% of all washes to cold water by 2020.
Including a S.W.O.T analysis of Ariel products, target market and marketing mix. We outline the potential Ariel has in capitalizing on the millennial
market, as well as their major competitors .We also mentioned how Ariel has the benefit of the P&G brand name. We identified the benefits of using
Ariel, and highlighted the lack of promotion it has be given. We outlined the Millennial Generation as the target market. We spoke in length of how
social media plays a pivotal role the success of this marketing strategy. We believe that P&G should launch this Marketing strategy first throughout
Great Brittan and Ireland. Ariel has a strong consumer base here however there is potential for growth and acquisition of new customers currently
choosing competitor brands due to lack of knowledge of savings that can be made.

References/ Bibliography:
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2. Barton, C., Fromm, J., Egan, C. The Millennial Consumer Debunking Stereotypes. The Boston Consulting Group, pgs. 3-7
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Team experience:
When first being tasked with thought of partaking in an international assignment I must admit I was a little daunted, largely due to the fact that I had never experienced anything like this to date. Nevertheless I
was also excited by the idea and grasped the opportunity with both hands when asked would I like to be part of an international team, despite a little convincing for my other team members. Our first meeting
was merely a ‘meet and greet’, just an opportunity to get to know one another , names, ages, hobbies etc. this was conducted on Webex which at first proved a little difficult with a few minor technical problem
but we soon got the hang of it and meeting where then taking place without a hitch. We corresponded at total of 5 times with our American team mates, the most difficult part about meeting was simply
arranging a time that suited most. Not only had we to take timetables, jobs, and other commitments into consideration but also a 7 hour time difference which at time proved very difficult and slightly
frustrating. However I feel that this has given me a platform as to what working in a real international marketing team is like. Another issue that arouse within our team was lack of information, looking back I
perhaps did not take full advantage of the information accessible to out American team member such as real life market research. Many of our meeting ended with both parties struggling to find more
information on the spot, better preparation I feel was needed on both my behalf and on the behalf of my other team members. We did not utilize the time we spent together and often the topic of conversation
drifted from what we set out to accomplish. Despite this I will reiterate my point that overall I found this to be a very positive experience , it shown me what possibly to do and more importantly what not to do
the next time I find myself work in an international team or any team for that matter. I only hope that my team mate’s experience of working together was as pleasant and appreciated as my own.
Ryan Hickey

Ariel Global Marketing Strategy

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