Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy 13th Edition by Delbert Hawkins, David Mothersbaugh

Exercise 48

Unilever Adapts to Sell Laundry Products Globally
Unilever is highly successful in marketing its laundry products outside of the United States. The reason is it continually adapts to existing and emerging factors both within and across the countries where it does business. A stunning statistic is that "[e]very half hour 7 million people in the world wash their cloths with Unilever products, and 6 million of them do so by hand." Below we touch on each of the seven global considerations as they relate to Unilever's global strategy. 138
• Cultural Homogeneity. In the global laundry market, heterogeneity, even within a country, can occur. For example, Brazil's Northeast and Southeast regions are very different. One difference is that in the poorer Northeast region, most laundry is done by hand and more bar soap than powder is used. In the more affluent Southeast region, most laundry is done in a washing machine and more powder detergent is used than bar soap in the process.
• Needs. Hand washing versus machine washing leads to different laundry product needs. In addition, in developing countries that are an important focus for Unilever, products must be adapted to meet strength of cleaning needs related to removing sweat, odors, and tough stains due to physical labor.
• Affordability. Clearly affordability is a component in pricing the laundry detergents themselves to be competitive. However, Unilever also faces the situation that a transition from hand washing to washing machines depends in large part on the economic prosperity of a country or region, as this determines the affordability of washing machines. Adoption of washing machines, in turn, changes the type and amounts of laundry products used, as we saw earlier.
• Relevant Values. One source indicates that cleanliness, convenience, and sustainability are key value aspects in laundry products that vary across cultures. In many countries where Unilever operates, there are segments of kids dubbed "Nintendo Kids" who don't tend to go outside and play and thus don't get dirty. A core strategy for a number of their brands in these markets is the "dirt is good" campaign that stresses that playing and getting dirty are part of a healthy child's development and "let Unilever worry about getting their clothes clean."
• Infrastructure. A broad infrastructure issue in laundry is access to hot water. Many in developing countries don't have access to hot water or large quantities of water. Unilever responded in India with Surf Excel Quick Wash, an enzyme-based product that uses less water and works under lower water temperatures.
• Communication. Europeans have traditionally cleaned their clothes In much hotter water with the logic being that "boiling clothes" is the only real way to get them clean and kill germs. This trend is reversing as Unilever pushes more environmental-friendly products and as Europeans have begun to wash in cooler temperatures to save energy. An interesting consequence of the shift is that antibacterial additives are now demanded by European customers to kill the germs.
• Ethical Implications. While conversion of the world's consumers to fully automated washing machines would help standardize Unilever's approach, it has major implications for water usage. This is because compared to hand washing, machine washing can, depending critically on the number of rinse cycles needed, use more water. Continued innovation in products toward lower water use will be a key ethical and performance issue for Unilever moving forward.
As you can see, Unilever has and must continue to innovate and adjust as its target markets evolve along these critical dimensions.
Which core value is related to sustainability and green marketing Does this value vary across countries and cultures