Excellent marketing initiatives by NIVEA

Introduction

We live in an era where hundreds of companies are born every minute. Companies incorporate themselves and dissolve themselves with the change of season because of the intense competition and the ever-increasing demand of consumers. In this era of every-minute change, it is important for us to prepare our company to run the long race.

Image 1 − NIVEA Brand Logo

Companies have survived decades with the help of positioning their brand, relaunching the brand and products, marketing strategies, innovation, product improvisation, and even changing what the company might stand for to meet market demand. NIVEA is one such brand that was incorporated in 1882 and is still in the market today as one of the most trusted brands.

In this article, we will be understanding the birth, growth trajectory, and excellent marketing initiatives of NIVEA. It is time to dive into the pool of marketing and innovation to survive and thrive.

Inception and Growth Trajectory of NIVEA

NIVEA was founded in 1882 by the pharmacist Paul C. Beiersdorf for medical plasters. In 1890, the company was sold to Oscar Tropolwitz. It was in 1890 that Oscar started investing the majority of its time in developing the company and the brand name. In 1911, Oscar came up with the first cream of Nive. The word "NIVEA" is derived from the German word "nix" or "nivis," which means snow.

Throughout the years, NIVEA has seen a lot in terms of brand positioning, relaunching of products, repositioning of the brand, diversification in the global market, and taking corrective actions, but the company has always been one of the most trusted brands for skin care and cosmetics. Even today, NIVEA is the leader in more than 46 countries in the skincare market, and in more than 12 European countries, it is considered to be the most trusted brand. It has expanded its horizons in both men's and women's beauty care and then in other skin essentials to meet the rising demands of customers.

Excellent Marketing Initiatives by NIVEA

Image 2 − Nivea 1924-2010

(Attribution: Holger.Ellgaard, Nivea 1924-2010, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Here we are going to highlight the various strategic marketing moves that NIVEA has taken over the years to sustain and excel in the market.

Marketing and Selling Products that Meet Customers’ Expectations

At the beginning of the last century in Europe, the ideal female was supposed to have a skin color as white as snow. Whiteness or fairness has been an important parameter for beauty for centuries, and NIVEA launched its product with that agenda only. It pressed on the nerve that most disturbed the females and earned profits and revenue from the same. Because of the strong positioning of the brand by 1914, the company only started doing business in 34 countries, and 42% of the total revenue of the company was generated from sales outside Germany.

Relaunching the Packaging and Changing the Positioning

In 1925, the company realized the old packaging of white tin boxes for NIVEA products was not working with the customers. Customers were demanding the modernization of the product. With this, the company changed the bottle from white to blue, and the font was also changed.

The company also acknowledged that the expectation of beauty has changed as well. Now the customers were not prioritizing the white skin or the snow white color, but the "summer tan". A little suntan on white skin was considered a more attractive beauty parameter, and hence NIVEA also changed its company slogan to "healthy suntan".

Innovative Products and Buying Back Trademarks

NIVEA suffered a lot after World War II. Germany had lost in the fight, and NIVEA, as an accompanying company, had lost its patent rights in many countries. The company faced a huge blowback with courage and hence started buying its trademark from different countries and launching new products to renovate the company itself and its name.

A lot of the new products are like NIVEA milk (liquid cream), NIVEA Men aftershave balsam (something that will soothe the skin after shaving), makeup for men, facial cream, deodorants, and others.

Cutting Off ties with the Non-profitable Product Line Extensions

NIVEA as a brand was flourishing by leaps and bounds. The sales for NIVEA quadrupled, and it was becoming the leading brand for skincare in many countries. During all the extension and expansion, the company saw that not all the product lines were successful, nor were all the mergers.

For example, the company noted that its merger with a second hair care brand in China was a failure. The company started cutting off ties with the non-profitable brands and kept expanding into other product portfolios.

Global Acceptance of NIVEA

NIVEA was doing really well in the Asian market, where beauty was still considered an accessory for beauty, and while entering the Middle East market, the company had to improvise its product by adding new fragrances like musk to suit the customers’ demand and the ethnicity of the country.

Restructuring Product Portfolio and Brand Appearance

NIVEA again moved to its white boxes, and the logo was added in the middle of the packaging. Along with the cap, it was also changed, and tests showed that the new extension that was made to the cap attracted more customers to hold the product as well as look at the product.

Furthermore, the company also came up with new products, like after-shower moisturizer, to suit the customers better. NIVEA for Men was renamed NIVEA Men. The core values of the company were also changed to suit the market trend; for example, beauty as a core value was abandoned by NIVEA.

Conclusion

NIVEA today is a strong brand. It has a presence in more than 46 countries worldwide, and around 30% of women across the globe have used or are using NIVEA products. NIVEA has been able to reach this stage because giving up was never an option for NIVEA. NIVEA always understood what the customer wanted and never stooped in ignorance. Many of the new ventures by NIVEA were failures or failed to return the investment, but the company always had cash cows to milk and star products to introduce in the market.

NIVEA as a brand has continuously repositioned itself as a brand and its core values to suit the needs of the changing customer, proving that change is the only constant and companies have to be flexible in the market. What NIVEA considered in the 1900s cannot hold true and uphold itself in the 21st century. NIVEA has positioned and repositioned itself over the years, and hence today it has positioned itself in the minds of consumers as the most trusted brand.