Communication Strategy: "Always beautiful" for Nivea Shampoo

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“Advertising plays an important and controversial role in contributing to brand equity.”Kevin Lane Keller said in his book "Strategic Brand Management". Let’s talk about the prominent print commercial of NIVEA shampoo. Undoubtedly, it is a creative strategy to communicate product information. On top of this, it gives an impressive image to the audience (consumers).

Through analyzing visual messages, we can see as this advertisement’s content as following:

• Overall message: Using NIVEA hair care to make your hair always be beautiful. 

• Motivational (tone): Humor/ profound 

• Objective: Inform people that NIVEA hair care effectiveness is to help your hair to be glossy and lasts for a long time! 

• Main target: Women especially who have long hair. 

• Visual identify elements: 

1. Catch your eyes with the obvious and unusual pattern (a woman’s skull but glossy and beautiful hair with it) in the middle (white skull and light-orange hair): eye-catching and it also cause a little bit confused, how could it be that corrupt skull but still has glossy hair? 
2. The skull surrounded by corrupt soil skull (cold color): it doesn’t attractive to people. 
3. Name and logo of NIVEA shampoo (blue and white color ) : it can be seen clear and well-recognized by audience. 

• The eye path: At a first glance, glossy and long hair is the main and obvious object in the centre. After that, people may see the human skull in the corrupt soil. It is horrific and confused, what does this mean and why represents this? But from top to bottom, you can see the logo of NIVEA hair care on the right of bottom. That is the answer to the question and purpose of this advertising.

To conclude, it is an effective advertising that help consumers differentiate NIVEA shampoo--having glossy hair which lasting long as well. First of all, it successfully define positioning to establish brand equity: target market, necessary, desirable and deliverable. What is more, it is creative to communicate positioning concept: informational (problem-solution design), typical user of product (women who have long hair), motivational (horrific at the beginning but you will find the tone is humor and profound at the end).



Sources:
>> John R. Rossiter and Larry Percy, Advertising and Promotion Management, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997)
>>Keller, Kevin Lane, Stategic branding management: building, measuring, and managing brand equity, 2nd ed. (HD69.B7 K45 2002 658.827-dc21)