Brand Audit Evaluation Report

Question: Discuss about theBrand Audit Evaluation Report. Answer: Owner History of the brand The present report discusses about the brand LOreal, which is a company for cosmetics and beauty products located in Paris. The company manufactures various products which include the hair colors, sun screen protectors, make-up products, skin care products, hair care products shampoos, perfumes and many more. This company has started in the year 1909 with the development of the new hair dye, which has been formulated, manufactured and sold to the Persian hairdresser[1]. The founder and owner of LOreal is the young chemist Eugene Schueller which later developed into a very big multinational company and made 28.219 billion turnover by the end of the year 2013. L real manufactures 500 various brands currently and also thousands of various beauty products in the segments of fragrance and beauty. There are around 6 centers for LOreal, which are used for research and development of new products in the countries such as India, china, japan, U.S and France and is going to establish a new center in New Jersey. In the year 1925, a new blockbuster product was launched by LOreal known as LOreal dOr which is a hair dye product known to add the golden highlights by making the hair dyed with blonde to appear as a natural one. In the year 1957, after the demise of Schueller the company has been handed over to Francois Dalle who has launched the LOreal hair care products in the consumer market[2]. Products/Services Offered under this Brand (from Product Marketing Report) LOreal manufactures the professional products which are distributed in salons worldwide. There are thousands of brands available in the market, but this brand is known to meet the needs of various hair care salons with respect to the products such as hair color, shaping and styling, shampoos and other general hair care related needs. This has been the privileged partner of the hairdressers that this division offers the products that are made from the worlds best technologies and also the top level training for ensuring the professional services from them. According to the marketing report LOreal has been developing the finest products in the hair care division for both men and women, which is trying to set new standards by manufacturing the professional hair care products and distributing then in various salons all over the world. LOreal provides the high quality products for men, women and children of all age groups and ethnicities[3]. As per the report it is remarkably known for ce lebrating the beauty diversity. It has been proven that for more than a century LOreal has devoted their energy and skills completely to developing the new products of beauty. They are being very proficient in offering their services to both men and women worldwide by meeting the needs of their beauty desires. It has been noticed that they accomplish the missions given to them responsibly and morally. Positioning of the Brand (from Product Marketing Report) From the marketing report, the Forbes has rated the LOreal group on the 28th position all over the world as the most valuable brand. Although it introduces different individual brands were all of them again consists of various brand elements which includes The Body Shop, Vichy, LOreal Paris, etc. Therefore, it is known to be a multibranded company with a strong commercial branding. It is known from the assumptions that a brand which is of highly valuable is said to possess the highest brand equity, which is well defined from the various associations and the customers behavior as it produces greater sales because of the exclusive brand name. LOreal has a strategy of using its brand elements for enhancing its brand equity[4]. LOreal is known for using the balanced set of colors such as black logo from which it can be known that this commercial brand is using its elements for brand equity as psychologically it is said that brand is known for its exclusiveness and the glamour. For recognizing the brand worldwide LOreal has set a caption for its brand known as youre worth it, by which it directly indicates that it belongs to a particular company brand anywhere[5]. By this it is evident that it has a contribution towards the brands positioning globally. According to Patrick and Hagtvedt, the caption that has been formed by LOreal is known to encourage the imagination which is proved. For the clients of LOreal it is representing the promise made by them, praise and their personal connection with the brand. From their point of you, the caption encourages the people to buy their cosmetics and cherish them with their looks. Marketing Communications How does the brand talk to its customers? Cosmetics and the beauty products are the items which people urge to buy but these are not the regular items which appear on the shopping list so customers are to be informed and encouraged with the products. With the regular promotion of the products as a reminder buyer would switch themselves towards your products. This is a very important element were company chooses various ways to promote their products which includes: Brand Elements (names, URLs, logos, symbols, characters, slogans, jingles, packaging) LOreal is known to have various brand elements which are being used as the promotional tools for promotion of their products so that it can pass on its message to the target customers. The primary element by which the people are influenced by the LOreal brand is the caption which it has given to its products known as youre worth it which is a kind of motivating slogan for the customers so they get attracted towards their products[6]. The company has created a special website and the URL so that customers can get regular updates on the new products that has been launched by them. For differentiating its brand from other competitors and for the easy identification of their products from other company products it has a special logo for its products so that it is an indication for their brand amidst of thousands of other brands[7]. Website Social Media Social media websites can be, the better way of promoting the products is best known by the companies. So here the LOreal creates a special video that is specific to the content they are promoting and the appealing images that are relevant to the product. The titles of the videos are created in such a way that it grabs the attention of the customers and motivates them to watch it without scrolling down to another post. The features of the product are shared with the customers in an appropriate manner where they post the product, content and the description of the item clearly. The company uses the social media sites to promote their products since they are regularly visited sites by the people so that it would be the best place to create awareness about their products and customers can get to know the reviews of the products, price range, etc.[8]. The visual effects are presented in an eye catching way so that it boosts the sales of the products that are promoted. The video would be the correct strategy for representing the features of the items and it can be best explained to the customers so that they get an idea of the product[9]. Advertising The most important aspect that is used by the LOreal for the promotion of their products are through ads on TV and magazines. While they are promoted with the help of celebrities as they the advantage of the point that people are craze about them and would follow their path which is an easy way of boosting their sales. They hire a brand ambassador for promoting their products of some duration of time and keep posting their ads on TV channels repeatedly as a reminder to the public so they get attracted and switch to their products. They sometimes even provide discounts on their products and packaging offers which easily grab the attention of the customers towards their brand[10]. This is known to be the potential instruments for structuring awareness. There are many advertising campaigns created by the LOreal for various products they have developed with high profile celebrities. For attracting the clients they make some attractive deals which are in turn coupled with their other prod ucts. This is the best strategy ever LOreal brand can have. Distribution (where is the Brand Available?) The LOreal brand is known for the division of the customer products for manufacturing the innovative cosmetics which are available to the larger group of people on each and every continent. The brands of LOreal are distributed in bulk in different retail channels which includes the supermarkets, hypermarkets, regular traditional stores and also the drug stores[11]. The products that are offered by this brand includes the skin care products, hair care products, coloring products and cosmetics. A brand of LOreal known as LOreal Luxe offers its products for both men and women specialized in skin care, makeup and fragrance all over the worldwide. They offer the products of high quality which is distributed in the selected distribution channel and the services provided by them are excellent as it respects the customer diversity. Its products are distributed to all the first class professional salons worldwide because of its high quality standards[12]. Competitors (Include Market Share and other Relevant Facts and Figures) LOreal group is known to be the largest brand in the cosmetics division and the beauty company all over the world. In the year 2014, LOreal was found to be the personal care brand that was leading the entire world and has gained a huge brand value which is expected of owning the asset of amount 23.36 billion US dollars. It has been noticed that the companys annual growth rate has been found to be increased by over 4.8 percent between the years 2010 to 2013. In the year 2014, Globally LOreal was known to engage around 78,611 people, and the consolidated sales that are generated by LOreal was found to be 2.53 billion US dollars[13]. The main focus of the company is on the cosmetic division primarily on skin and hair care, make-up products, hair colors and fragrances while the previous sales was found to generate 30 percent of the entire global sales of cosmetics of the LOreal brand in the year 2014. SWOT Analysis; Clearly Identify Key Marketing Challenges SWOT analysis of the LOreal brand with respect to various key marketing challenges such as competition, positioning, targeting etc. has revealed the facts as follows: Strengths: For gaining the best customers the research and the production of the innovative beauty products should be continuous. Though it has the strong competition, it is the leading cosmetic division in the world[14]. Weakness: The structural organization is decentralized as the company has my subdivisions it is difficult to have a control[15]. Opportunities: The market of this can be grown as there are many developing countries. Its market share is greater as many patents are registered under his company. Threats: A huge competition in the market in the field of cosmetics. As it produces the best products the customers might not find it as a basic requirement so downfall of the economy. Conclusion and Recommendations From the overall research and analysis of the internal environment, it can be concluded that LOreal has a very good leading position in the cosmetics division globally and also in the beauty care market because of the brand image which is strong and the companys innovative ideas. Yet, there is also a huge lot of competition in the market for which they have to compete with them so as to withstand the leading position in the cosmetic industry in the entire world, hence enough efforts should be made by them on business operations. It is recommended that LOreal for maintaining its position and growth in the market it has to pay enough attention on the internal forces which are influencing the regular business operations and the profits of the company. 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