Table of Contents
Unilever operates in over 180 nations and offers over 400 brands of products ranging from foods and home care solutions to personal care products and refreshments. However, Gugenheimer (2006) described that Unilever has not achieved similar market penetrations for all product brands across the over 180 nations. Also, Unilever markets around the world continue to enjoy both old Unilever products and new ones. Thus, the characteristics of Unilever’s markets and products around the world are better represented by the Ansoff matrix presented below.
| Existing products | New products | |
| Existing Markets | Market Penetration
| Product Development
|
| New Markets | Market Development
| Diversification Get a brand-new guide on essay writing Everything you need to get A+ this semester! By continuing, you agree to the Terms And conditions and Privacy policy  The download will start within seconds. Good luck!
|
Market Penetration
Unilever is intensifying advertisement campaigns using social media to increase the market share for its old products including Blue Band and Close Up across the 180 countries. Pringle (2008) explained that Unilever’s intensified marketing of existing products in existing markets seeks to protect Unilever’s market share from rivals offering substitutes.
Market Development
Unilever is expanding existing products including Persil, Sunlight washing power and Knorr soup to new markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to Cheverton (2000), multinational companies use established brand and marketing infrastructure in regions around the world to launch old products in new markets; hence, leveraging all of their brands globally.
Product Development
Unilever also seeks to utilize its established brand and marketing infrastructure in existing markets to launch new products. Unilever is riding on changing needs and preferences of consumers in existing markets to launch latest products including Lifebuoy and Hellmann’s. According to Ferrell and Hartline (2013), launching new products in existing markets serve to increase revenue streams for Unilever.
Diversification
Moreover, Unilever seeks to enhance its commercial performance by venturing into unchartered market regions around the world and launching new products in those markets. Ferrell and Hartline (2013) insinuated that Unilever was leveraging its vast resources to engage in high-risk expansion strategies in the hope to stay ahead of its rivals and expand its revenue streams.
- CHEVERTON, P. 2000, key marketing skills: A complete action kit for strategies, tools & techniques for marketing success, Pittsburgh: Kogan Page Publishers
- FERRELL, C. O AND HARTLINE, M. 2013, marketing strategy: text and cases, New York: Cengage Learning
- GUGENHEIMER, P. 2006, Unilever ice cream: standardization versus adoption, London: GRIN Verlag
- PRINGLE, H. 2008, brand immortality: How brands can live long and prosper, Pittsburgh: Kogan Page Publishers