marketing mix of tide

10/12/2013

| NAME VIVEK MISHRA

TIDE’S MARKETING CONCEPT

IS TIDE USING A PROPER MARKETING MIX?

NAME / VIVEK MISHRA

IS TIDE USING A PROPER MARKETING MIX? / FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS

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Term Paper

Is Tide Using a Proper Marketing Mix?

Many may ask what a marketing mix is. A marketing mix consists of four basic

categories that relate to the given product. These four categories as enumerated in the textbook

page 375 are, developing a product strategy, creating a pricing strategy, elaborating a distribution

strategy, and finally having a promotion strategy. If these four categories are elaborated properly

and ethically, then the product will have a proper marketing mix. This term paper will be

discovering if Tide, the famous laundry detergent, has or does not have a proper marketing mix.

The first part of the marketing mix consists of having a product strategy. To succeed in

this category, you must have a brand name, a packaging, a choice of branding colours, and a

warranty. In Tide’s case, Procter & Gamble, Tide’s owner, had already chosen this name back in

1946 ((1)) when Tide was first launched. According to the dictionary, the word Tide means “

rise or move forward; "surging waves"”, and that is exactly what they had in mind when they

released this product. It was a move forward in a non-explored market. According to P&G ((1)),

the word Tide was chosen but no one knows why, and they promised that Tide washed “cleaner

than soap”. Tide’s packaging strategy was one of a kind, especially back then. Over the years,

P&G have improved the container, but always kept the same appearance. They kept the circular

target shaped background and almost the same colours, the bright orange, and yellow. These

colours have an impact on the success of the brand. The orange signifies a vibrant product,

which is also associated with warmth. The yellow, is a warm cheerful colour and according to

the textbook ((5)) page 425, it is the lead colour in products used in homes through 2004. The

brand is now home to over 41 different kinds of detergents ((3)), from Tide-To-Go, to Tide with

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Baking Soda liquid or powder. This huge expansion in their line of

products makes it easy for the consumer to choose the Tide products

versus other companies. If you look at the picture taken from my

local supermarket ((4)), Tide’s products overwhelm the competition.

Also since this brand name is well known, we will buy this product “not only for what [it] does,

but also for what [it] means” as stated on page 375 of the textbook ((5)). Combined with the

assuring new slogan “Knows Fabrics Best”, ((2)) Tide can simultaneously assure the consumers

that their brand is better and present their huge range of products to them. According to my

survey conducted at Metro ((4)) Tide’s successful branding, packaging, and quality, is making it

the best selling brand of detergent. Therefore, since Tide has an appealing

packaging, and has quality products according to ConsumerReports.org ((10)), I

can conclude that Tide has a good product strategy.

The second part of the marketing mix consists of the pricing strategy. Having a good

product is one thing, but how does it compare price wise is another. Since the days Tide first

started, the original slogan “Washday Miracle” was created because the advertisers were

confident that “Tide’s performance was truly superior” ((1)). Today, Tide still believes in this

original statement and armed with its new slogan “Knows Fabrics Best” ((3)), Tide can continue

to be competitive in this market. By releasing a line extension (411) as stated in the product

strategy, Tide’s product life cycle (414) continues to go strong and rejuvenates the brand name.

According to page 415 ((5)), Tide is probably in the maturity stage, meaning it does not lose any

money, but must price aggressively and must use

different strategies to continue to prosper.

SurveyTide Other

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As we dig deeper into Tide’s prices, we discover that Tide is well priced as it continues to

deliver the message of higher quality, but manage to sell much more than any other brand. I

went to various stores to see how Tide was priced, and found out the following at Metro: Tide:

8.99$/2.95L, Sunlight: 8.99$/2.95L, Selection Mérite: 5.99$/2.95L ((4)). At Costco ((7)), Tide

was the highest priced detergent at 23.99$/8.87L, compared to Sunlight at 17.99$/8.9L.

Although these price differences, a look into the Costco yield management system (423)

AS400, reveals that Tide is still the best seller per day. Going back to the prices found at Metro,

Tide could not be a lower price because it would then visually seem as if Sunlight, produced by

Unilever, is a better product then Tide. It would also lead to believe that Tide is in the

price/quality category of the dealer brands and generic products, which is not what P&G wants to

display their products as being. In addition, if we compare pricing using the ConsumerReports

rating ((10)), we see that Tide is a high quality product that is well priced ((6)) within the other

products shown in the table, ranging from 27-35 cents per load. Therefore, to conclude this part

of the marketing mix, I can say that Tide has a very fair pricing strategy because of the above

information.

The third part of the marketing mix consists of the distribution strategy of P&G’s brand

Tide. Since Tide is an internationally known brand, it can be found in any stores including

corner stores. During my research, I found Tide to be in every supermarket and even in a

wholesaler such as Costco. Being in a wholesaler such as Costco, Tide can sell huge amounts of

its product in an environment where consumers purchase in bulk. In addition, as the image

inserted in paragraph two shows, in retail stores, Tide owns the shelves. Their products

overpower all the other brands due to Tide’s smart line extension strategy, which almost

guarantees the purchase. Although their product is more expensive at Costco, the AS400 system

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shows that this brand sells more than any other one. Tide’s distribution is referred to being an

intensive distribution as page 446 ((5)) explains, since we can find it everywhere. Since

detergent is a convenience product (404), Tide must assure that consumers will never have to

choose a substitute product since Tide is not in stock at a specific location. Having this happen,

could result in a customer-losing situation if they discover that they like the new brand better.

To recapitulate this paragraph in one sentence, we could say that Tide’s distribution strategy is

built on the foundation of trying to reach as many consumers as possible.

The fourth and final strategy of the four P’s (375) is the promotion strategy. The

promotion strategy is perhaps the most important part of the marketing mix since the brand

depends on the marketing to highlight its assets. Tide’s assets are its huge line of products,

which require a solid brand name to be able to sell. We can say that over the years, Tide’s

brand equity (406) has grown a considerable amount that now enables them to expand their

brand line without losing profits. This ability is all thanks to successful marketing and

promotion of the brand name. Back in 1945 when Tide was still in the development stage, a

critical decision had to be made regarding the choice of going with the new product or not. Tide

was a new kind of product, created with synthetic compounds instead of soap chemicals ((8)).

This meant that P&G had to create a good strategy to promote this product. Originally, Tide ads

were found in magazines targeted to housewives, but today, Tide is targeted to the family as a

whole. Their advertisements can be found on TV, in magazines, on the Internet, by direct mail,

and in-store. Their TV and magazine ads are usually targeted to a demographic segmentation

(383), which usually is set to females or homemakers. Their internet advertisement is usually in

the form of online mini banner games, which allow users to use the Tide to Go product to wash

fabrics. This is usually targeted to a wide variety of people since everybody likes little games.

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The in-store advertisement is very important, especially in supermarkets. Tide’s in-store

advertisement is in the form of coupons. These coupons do not lower the price on the tag, but

only on the receipt. Therefore this still gives the illusion that Tide is better because of the higher

price, but gives the consumer extra customer satisfaction (369) after purchase since it costs less.

Advertisement varies from weak strategies, middle-strength strategies, and strong strategies

((9)). In Tide’s case, they always aim for the strong promotion strategy since many of their

commercials are aimed towards specific people who usually purchase the detergent. In addition,

Tide realizes that if they can reproduce a real life situation in a commercial, they will captivate

the market that associates with it. An example of this is the Tide soccer commercials, where the

kids get dirty while playing soccer and the moms just cheer on without a care because they know

the grass will come off. Tide’s high-quality perception (380) due to good marketing allows the

brand to sell for more than the competitors do. To conclude, Tide is doing an effective job

promoting their line of products since it can continue to develop and sell new products without

disrupting profits. This is due to their strong marketing concept (368) that is intentionally made

so that consumers can identify themselves while watching the commercials, and enjoy

purchasing the product with incentives such as coupons.

After examining Tide’s marketing mix through the 4 P’s, product, pricing, place

(distribution), and promotion, I can conclude that Tide has a good marketing mix. This is due to

the excellence of the brand, the quality of their products, the appealing packages, the convincing

advertisements, and the competitive pricing. All of these points allow Procter & Gamble to

market and sell a product that consumers are willing to buy at a higher price than other products.

This also makes Tide a very desirable product for P&G to invest in since it generates high

revenue. So again, in conclusion, Tide is using a proper marketing mix.

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WORD COUNT: 1, 671 words

** Attached is the ConsumerReports.org table, as it requires a membership to view. (I have one)** Also, the information found on Tide at Costco using the AS400 system is due to the fact that I work there and can access this information.

Bibl iography

(1). (2007). American Chemical Society, National Historic Chemical Landmarks. Retrieved October 24, 2007, from The Development of Tide - Marketing Tide: http://acswebcontent.acs.org/landmarks/landmarks/tide/marketing.html

(2). (2006, May 1). The McGraw-Hill Companies, BusinessWeek. Retrieved October 24, 2007, from Detergent Can Be So Much More: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982087.htm

(3). (2007). Procter & Gamble, Tide®. Retrieved October 24, 2007, from Laundry Detergent Product Information from Tide.com: http://www.tide.com/en_CA/products/index.jsp

(4). (2007, October 25). Metro Groceries, Metro Plus Marché Desjardins. 2200, Boul. Du Faubourg, Boisbriand, Québec, Canada.

(5). (2005). Althouse, Rose, Allan, Gitman, McDaniel, The Future of Business 2nd Edition. Ontario: Thomson Canada Limited.

(6). (1988 (2004), October 10). FindArticles. Retrieved October 26, 2007, from Tide takes the honors in household cleaners: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n20_v27/ai_6733424

(7). (2007, October 25). Costco Wholesale. 3600 Ave Des Grandes Tourelles, Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada.

(8). (2007, December 07). Harvard Business School. Retrieved October 26, 2007, from How Tide Cleaned Up the Competition: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4254.html

(9). (2007, June 19). Wikimedia Foundation, Inc (Wikipedia). Retrieved October 26, 2007, from Creative strategies in advertising: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_strategies_in_advertising

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(10). (2007, January). ConsumerReports.org. Retrieved October 26, 2007 , from Laundry Detergents, Ratings 1/07: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/home-garden/cleaning-supplies/detergents/laundry-detergents-1-07/ratings/0107_soap_rate.htm

Key Terms Used…

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