Gillette.
- Industry: Consumer packaged goods
- Founder: King C. Gillette
- Founded: 1901
- Owner: Proctor and Gamble (P&G)
- Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
- Country: USA
- Brand Value: $18.3 Billion- as of November 2013
- Brand Sales: $8 Billion
- Forbes Worlds Most Valuable Brands: 23
- USP: "The best a man can get"
- Brand Tone: Professional, informed, athletic and "manly"
- Website: www.gillette.com
- Social Media: Facebook (1.9m), Facebook UK (344k), Twitter (49.8k) and YouTube (19,367)
Gillette is a Boston based American brand owned by Proctor and Gamble, providing a range of male and female skin care, razor and shaving preparation products. The company was originally founded by King C. Gillette in 1901 as a Safety Razor Manufacturer. The company has a range of both Male and Female razors as well as accompanying skin care, shaving preparations and deodorant/anti-perspirants.
The first safety razor with a disposable blade went on sale in 1903; Gillette maintained a limited range of models based on this until 1934 with the introduction of the "Aristocrat". This new model featured an innovation called the "Twist to Open" (TTO) which made blade changing much easier in comparison to detaching the razor head from the handle as previously seen. In 1947 "Super Speed" was introduced, updated again in 1954 with additional versions to help shave more closely, distinguished by different coloured handle tips. Then in 1958 the first ever adjustable razor was designed, allowing the consumer to choose the closeness of the shave; this model was produced in various forms until it ceased production in 1986. In 1966 the "Super Speed" razor was updated once again and given a sleeker black resin coated metal handle; this remained in production till 1988. "The Knack" was introduced in 1966 with a longer handle; it ceased production in 1976; known as the "Slim Twist" and "G2000" in Europe from 1978 to 1988 and was redesigned as the "G1000" in England and available till 19998. A modern version of theses are still being sold in several countries under alternative names. In the mid 1960's a single blade razor featuring a cartridge and razor band, released by the use of a lever was introduced as the "Techmatic"; this was the equivalent of a modern 5 blade razor. This was then updated in 1970, featuring the adjustable user-selection of closeness of shave. "Trac II" was the world's first two blade razor debuting in 1971, Gillette claimed the second blade reduced the number of strokes needed and therefore the irritation was reduced. This was redesigned with a lubricating strip a few years later. In europe the Trac II range was known as the GII range and are still being produced in Asia. Next came a range of razors collections including; "Custom Plus", "Good News" (the first double bladed razor produced in 1976), "Atra" (the first razor with a pivoting head 1977), "Gillette Sensor" (the first razor with a spring loaded base in 199o- also released for Women with a wider head), "Sensor Excel"(1993 with micofins), "Sensor 3" (3 blades), "Blue II" (disposable razors), "Blue III", "Mach3" (the first 3 blade razor introduced in 1998, with a blue lubricating strip that faded with use and encouraged consumers to change the blade), "Mach3 disposable", "Mach3 Turbo" (released late 2001 and features 10 microfins instead of the previous 5, a new grip and improved lubrication), "Mach 3 Turbo Champion", "M3 Power" (a battery operated version of the Mach3 turbo, with new coated blades), "Mach3 Sensitive" (2012 best new product award), "Venus", "Venus Divine", "Venus Vibrance", "Venus Embrace", "Venus Breeze", "Venus Spa Breeze", "Venus ProSkin Moisture Rich", "Gillette Fusion (2006 5 bladed razor with a 6th precision blade on the rear), "Gillette Fusion Power", "Fusion Power Phantom" (2007), "Fusion Power Phenom" (2008), "Fusion ProGlide" (2010 thinner blades and low resistance coating), "Fusion ProGlide Power" and "Fusion Power Gamer".
I will be focusing on the male range of razors by Gillette.
Current Male Range:
- Gillette Sensor 3
- Gillette Sensor Excel
- Gillette Blue II
- Gillette GI Plus
- Mach 3
- Mach 3 Turbo Razor
- Mach 3 Sensitive Razor
- Mach 3 Disposable
- Fusion Disposable Razor
- Fusion Manual Razor
- Fusion Power Razor
- Fusion ProGlide Styler
- Fusion ProGlide Manual Razor
- Fusion ProGlide Power Razor
- Fusion ProGlide Silvertouch Manual Razor
- Fusion ProGlide Silvertouch Power Razor
In the USA Gillette sends every American boy a Fusion razor when they turn 18 free of charge.
An upcoming advertising campaign named “Inner Steele” will be fronted by Gillette global ambassador Lional “Leo” Messi a Barcelona football star as well as other international athletes. This campaign is parallel to the World Cup and will see the release of limited edition razor’s in various football team colours.
Social Media.
Facebook:
Gillette's worldwide Facebook with 1.9 million likes is primarily used to interact extensively with the consumer and to promote new and existing products. The posts are heavily sport related and themed, which appeals to the male consumer as it is generally of interest and it encourages interaction. The posts consist of; links to YouTube videos, Gillette advertisements, new products, existing products, promotions, promotional imagery, surveys, hashtags and sports. Gillette also has a UK based Facebook with 344k which is tailored to the UK products and promotions; it is effective for a brand to have several Facebook accounts as then the information is tailored and relevant to that user (especially when sport is involved). Looking at both page it is clear that customer interaction is important with most posts being replied to, in a "friendly" manner and plenty of customer interaction taking place on the "statuses" and images. A recent promotional stunt involved Gillette asking the public if they prefer to kiss a Man with or without a beard/stubble. This was effective for Gillette as most Women would prefer to kiss a Man clean shaven due to comfort and this view could counteract the fashion of beards and influence Men to be clean shaven.
Twitter:
Again as with Facebook Gillette has several Twitter accounts focusing on different areas and countries. The worldwide Twitter Gillette account has 49.9k followers and the UK has 18.4k. This helps to keep the content current for each follower. The Twitter accounts are very informal in their tone of voice, posting promotions, products and sports related news teamed with hashtags, encouraging followers to favorite, retweet and reply to the content. It also mirrors the Facebook interaction such as the survey regarding stubble.
Twitter:
Again as with Facebook Gillette has several Twitter accounts focusing on different areas and countries. The worldwide Twitter Gillette account has 49.9k followers and the UK has 18.4k. This helps to keep the content current for each follower. The Twitter accounts are very informal in their tone of voice, posting promotions, products and sports related news teamed with hashtags, encouraging followers to favorite, retweet and reply to the content. It also mirrors the Facebook interaction such as the survey regarding stubble.
Gillette's Worldwide YouTube has 19,375 followers and the UK has 795 followers. They both post range of content from TV advertisement, tutorials, behind the scenes, charity events and sports etc. Gillette where recently applauded for encouraging the exploration of the male with a razor on the genital area. They gave the viewer confidence by posting a step by step tutorial on how to remove hair from that area as it is not something that would be taught by their father as face shaving is.
Celebrity Endorsements and advertising campaigns.
Gillette use a wide range of celebrities and sports personalities in their advertising campaigns including:
- Tiger Woods
- Roger Federer
- Alex Ovechkin
- Derek Jeter
- Thierry Henry
- David Beckham
- Dave Chappelle
- Dale Earnhardt
- Ray Rice
- Denny Hamlin
- Matt Ryan
- Carlos Gonzalez
- Evan Longoria
- Ryan Lochte
- Kyle Busch
Celebrity endorsements are extremely useful in campaigns as consumers want to have a little bit of that luxury celebrity lifestyle. It is especially effective when a current role model who is a positive person is introduced. Gillette use Sportsmen in their advertising campaigns as sport is generally a strong all interest of all men and the role models they look to.
The most recent being the advertising campaign focusing on the Olympics, featuring a range of olympic athletes but focusing on Roger Federer a Wimbledon tennis player. This advertising campaign was realeased in sync with the Olympic games and has been shown on TV since. This campaign focused on promoting the ProGlide Power razor and shows Federer shaving with the product. A link to the video is shown below:
Alongside this TV advertisement Gillette released a range of videos featuring Rodger Federer ranging from "trick shots", "fathers day" and interviews.
Gillette are also strong supporters on Movember- a charity event raising funds for Prostate Cancer where supporters are encouraged to not shave their facial hair for the whole of November. They use the hashtag TeamGillette and encourage viewers to join the team on the Movember site. Throughout this they also post video tutorials on how to groom and style a mustache with Gillette razor. Below is an example of a Movember advertisement.
In relation to the tutorials Gillette features tutorials on how to groom several areas of the body with a regular Gillette or the upcoming Body razor. Below are two examples, "how to shave down there" and shaving your groin tutorial:
These are really good in regards to publicity and driving consumers towards Gillettes YouTube page. Men who haven't shaved that area before may find it daunting and be a bit embarrassed to ask for advice regarding the subject. This series of videos gives the consumer the option to stay in the comfort of their own home and try it for themselves. Due to the humorous nature of these videos consumers will be driven to the site on a viral basis to view the video; which could potentially lead to sales as the video will stick in their minds. This also gives the user an opportunity to click through to other sites/videos. The Gillette advertisements are also used as pre loaders on YouTube videos such as sports, mens health and game walkthroughs.
Below are some promotional imagery found online:
The video above is a stunt that Gillette used where they gave a famous american sportsman a shave through painting a billboard. This "Everyday Masterpiece" was a success for Gillette and gathered a lot of interest from the media and public.
Gillette use magazine advertising that are similar to imagery used above and are placed in popular mens magazines such as GQ, Mens Health, Nuts and Zoo. They also have banner ads on websites such as Superdrug and Boots as well as the supermarket websites and magazines websites. Gillette also use radio advertising on Radio 5 Live and Talk Sport.
**POS**
Gillette is a keen sports sponsor and it's current sponsership deals include:
- Emanuel (Manu) Ginóbili- Olympic Athlete.
- Eamon Sullivan- Olympic Athlete.
- Felipe Franςa (da) Silva- Olympic Athlete.
- Jorge (Murilo) Endres- Olympic Athlete.
- Paulo Ganso ("Ganso")- Olympic Athlete.
- Thomaz Bellucci- Olympic Athlete.
- Alexandre Despatie- Olympic Athlete.
- Tomás González Sepulveda- Olympic Athlete.
- Lin Dan- Olympic Athlete.
- Alain Bernard- Olympic Athlete.
- Paul Biedermann- Olympic Athlete.
- Chris Hoy, (Sir Chris Hoy)- Olympic Athlete.
- Liam Tancock- Olympic Athlete.
- Fabio Scozzoli- Olympic Athlete.
- Yong-Dae Lee- Olympic Athlete.
- Mario Bazán- Olympic Athlete.
- Nikita Lobintsev- Olympic Athlete.
- Rudy Fernandez- Olympic Athlete.
- Roger Federer- Olympic Athlete.
- Andriy (Andrii) Govorov- Olympic Athlete.
- Jerome Singleton (P)- Olympic Athlete.
- Tyson Gay- Olympic Athlete.
- Albert Subirats- Olympic Athlete.
Lional 'Leo' Messi.
Joe Hart.
Gillette Football Club on YouTube.
Gillette NFL Stadium.
Sky Sports.
Stratford Town FC.
Four Nations Rugby League.
Gillette Soccor Saturday.
McLaren.
The Gillette Challenge Series.
London Olympics.
US Open.
Sport advertising is crucial to a Gillette advertising campaign and is really at the heart of the brand.
P.O.S. (Point Of Sale).
The following images are of the Gillette P.O.S, situated in Boots and Superdrug in Preston. Gillette are more prominent than the brands competitors, with branded boards, labels and holders placing them at the forefront of the store and making them more eye catching to the consumer. Gillette's branding is typically a deep blue, deep orange and a darker grey in colour with very masculine design and fonts.
POS stand in a Boots store to be filled with Gillette razor blade 'dummys'- the backing board is simple with the Boots branding colours background, images of the product and the Gillette logo. The front section has a statistic related to Gillette as well as the Fusion ProGlide logo. This stand was to promote the product at full price.
As with the previous image this is a promotional holder in Boots with the same theme as the previous. This however this stand promotes half price Gillette razors, the full priced blades are placed next to this promotional stand in hope that the person whom is buying the razor will purchase the replacement blades as an impulse.
This is the main ''all year' Gillette stand in Boots, it sits in line with competitors and is organised by product- the more expensive range being at the top. The razors also hang down the side of the stand on plastic ribbons.
P.O.S for the Gillette value packs.
Above is a hanging card with value packs of Gillette razors and blades. Picture 2 & 3 are of a promotional stand in Superdrug, highlighting the fact that Gillette supports and donates to the charity Movemeber.
The Gillette range is widely dispersed in Superdrug, with the different products separated across the stand. The deodorants where hidden behind a large concrete support and difficult to see but I feel this was more Superdrug's issue due to the architecture in the store. The latter image is a small P.O.S holder, themed to Superdrug colours, with Gillette branding and the statistical quote.
This is the razor section in Wilkinsons, which is orientated towards Gillette with large card backgrounds instructing a man how to shave (encourages sales of shaving preparations etc) and the second half informing the viewer which is their most awarded razor.
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