Brand Analysis of the Body Shop - Assignment Help Site..... 8 Reflection ..... 9 ... Body shop are other cosmetic brands like Revlon; Lakme Etc. brands (Nicholls 2002, pp. 6-17). This

Brand Analysis of the Body Shop The Body Shop

Executive Summary

This is a report about the brand analysis of The Body Shop. First in introduction we have tried to

learn about The Body Shop as a corporate. We then looked at the brand positioning of The

Body Shop as a Brand and associated values. Then, we specified the brand characteristics of The

Body Shop. Then we found the customer benefits associated with The Body Shop. Then, we

dwelled for the factors which are the base for Brand Equity for The Body Shop as a brand. Then,

we derived the conclusion for the brand analysis for The Body Shop as a brand and penned

down the reflection after competing this assignment.

Contents

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Brand positioning and values ........................................................................................................................ 3

Brand Characteristics .................................................................................................................................... 5

Customer benefits ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Brand Equity .................................................................................................................................................. 6

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 8

Reflection ...................................................................................................................................................... 9

Referencing ................................................................................................................................................. 10

Introduction The First outlet of The Body Shop was opened in Brighton in 1976 selling only 25 home made

and hand mixed beauty products which have been natural and working to maintain health and

beauty. This was just the start of an ecstatic journey of The Body Shop in which they have now

expanded to 6000 outlets across the world outlets (Laroche et al., 2001). The Body shop

concept was based on the point that customers are willing to pay higher for environmentally

friendlier products which have made The Body Shop as a very power international retail brand.

They have been listed as 28th in Global brands by Interbrand and as the second most trusted

brand by customers (Superbrands, 2005). The Body Shop success can be attributed to the core

principles and brand values of Environmental friendliness, community development as well as

fair trade practices which have been essential for so high vision, commitment for its corporate

values forming its core as a Trusted Brand called as The Body Shop. Major Competitors for The

Body shop are other cosmetic brands like Revlon; Lakme Etc. brands (Nicholls 2002, pp. 6-17).

This report tries to dwell deep into the brand and various characteristics of The Body shop. We

have tried to find out the reasons for inception of The Body shop as a trusted brand and how

they have used their corporate values of environmental friendliness, Fair Practices as well as

Community development to help the brand get trust of its customers as well as make them

loyal (Carbone 1999).

Brand positioning and values

The Body Shop has always been the brand which creates a difference. Various Marketers

consider The Body Shop as a marketing icon. The Body Shop has generated a brand image

without conventional branding. The Body Shop is different from other usual cosmetic brands as

the brand values are different for The Body Shop which are with The Body Shop. The Body Shop

has created a brand image using its unique association created with those values. The Body

Shop is very famous for its association with ethical brand practices. The Body Shop is also very

much nature friendly and wants to propagate the idea world over with the same. The Body

Shop products adhere to these values by using only natural ingredients and never test these

products on animals (Craven 2003, pp. 36-38). The Body Shop also packages and merchandises

its products to showcase these brand values to its customers. The Body Shop uses refillable

packs as well as those which can be recycled. The Body Shop also benefits from the same as

these keep the prices very low but these brand elements help in better reinforcing brand

positioning for The Body Shop. The Body Shop also is very much careful in messages which are

being displayed in the The Body Shop and other pop up brand merchandise. The Body Shop

makes sure that these brand messages are very enthusiastic as well as informative. Hence, all

these brand elements make The Body Shop a very different cosmetic brand from conventional

cosmetic brands (Nicholls 2002, pp. 6-17).

The Body Shop has been the personality extension of the founder Anita Roddick himself. Anita

Roddick has been a very enthusiastic environmentalist as well as advocate of human rights. The

Body Shop has been the mirror image of those efforts. She has her views being supported by

the activities which she did with the body shop. All these associations have helped Anita

Roddick to create highly positive brand reinforcement for The Body Shop. The Body Shop has

been established as a brand which works in saving environment while other brands just gives

hope to them. Also, The Body Shop is successful in communicating with customers as a very

high level which is above beauty and fairness values which are only being talked about by other

cosmetic brands (Frampton 2006, p. 65). The Body Shop always shows honesty within itself as

a brand value associated with it. The Body Shop retail outlets also try to reinforce these brand

attributes. All of The Body Shop retail outlets work in creating an impression of honest, fun and

excitement within itself. The Body Shop owner Anita Roddick personally takes interviews with

all of the body shop franchisee holders so that she can ensure that those franchises will also

work in the same direction which is being enlisted in brand values of The Body Shop and will

share the same passion about the body shop and its principles (Blackhurst 2006, p. 27).

The success of The Body Shop as a brand has always been given to the unique business model

of The Body Shop. The Body Shop as a brand always was focused on Public Relations as well as

Word of Mouth as a means to make sales rather than advertising. The Body Shop always goes

away from conventional marketing wisdom. The Body Shop products are very simple and all

new ideas for products of The Body Shop have been derived by feedback from customers. For

example, when Anita Roddick was travelling to Sri Lanka, she saw traditional women using fresh

pineapple flakes for cleaning their faces (Craven 2003, pp. 36-38). This gave The Body Shop

their highly successful product, the pineapple face wash. Many products of The Body Shop has

been the result of these conventional product sin multiple parts of world which are not being

adapted by other cosmetic brands but have given immense new product advantage to The

Body Shop. Hence, The Body Shop is said to be Niche Brand in itself. Niche can be termed as the

level of awareness that it propagates about being environmental friendly and also being ethical

as a product and brand. This is a kind of novel brand value in cosmetic brands. Normally

environmental friendliness is usually associated with being unprofitable but The Body Shop

differs from the same. The Body Shop works on the principle which is garnering profits with

principles (Andersen 1998).

Brand Characteristics

The Brand Shop as a brand has different brand characteristics attached to itself. The Brand

Personality of Body Shop as a traditional brand which doesn’t promote itself as modern brand.

They only utilise PR and Word of Mouth Publicity for promoting themselves. This leads to

conservatism as a trait for the brand. The Body shop is closely associated with organisations

which are working for Greener earth as well as developing communities across the globe

according to its Profit with Principles Core values (Smith 1996).

The Brand Symbols are usually not that prevalent and promote The Body shop as an umbrella

brand rather than its 8 sub brands which reduces confusion in its customers. The Brand has

cultural relationships with its customers as it had tried to build a base by promoting health and

beauty as a concept rather than cosmetic culture. They have tried and worked to give products

which are totally natural to help it customers (Craven 2003, pp. 36-38). The customers are

hence willing to pay higher for an environmental conscious brand. The Users imagine the higher

price points as the payment to use products which are at high price points. The Body Shop is a

British brand but now it has become a true global brand by having more than 6000 retail outlets

worldwide (Carbone 1999).

Customer benefits

Any Brand Community members try and seel marketers now as owners of any brand but as

people who temporarily work towards steering the brand. These people are now taken as more

and more accountable and more so in a direct way. Members of the community see them as

interested in the brand more than the people who market the brand as they now how in real

the product is being used and marketed. Marketers are more so accountable now a day as

consumers work in social circles but not as individual units which have no say in the brand

(Andersen 1998).

Regarding, The Body Shop brand communities they applaud Anita Roddick who is the founder

member of The Body Shop as she is voracious speaker in environmental as well as human rights

front. She has the clear insights as well as guts to speak truth in front of many people. Brand

communities may or may not like the changing strategies of the brands with which they are

associated brands (Nicholls 2002, pp. 6-17). People who are associated with The Body Shop

brand community see The Body Shop as a brand which promotes the values it is built with. With

the rise of The Body Shop as a brand and its community associated with it, the social collective

of being environmental accountability has gained popularity in the corporate circle and multiple

brand have taken the The Body Shop way of doing things into their working. This not only has

benefited environment as a whole but had increased the stature of The Body Shop as a brand

(Carbone 1999).

Brand Equity

The Brand Equity of The Body Shop has been built on multiple aspects like the products of The

Body Shop, the packaging of the products, the distribution channels that they use, the ways of

promotion that thy use and the price at which they sell their products (Craven 2003, pp. 36-38).

Product - The Body Shop has over 400 natural products which are for body care and over 500

sundry care items. The Body Shop also has customized products for its customers. All of

products of The Body Shop are made up of natural ingredients mainly of fruits, vegetables,

herbs and flowers. In every The Body Shop store, they give perfume bars which can be used in

oils and lotions at no cost, they also have gift baskets make up staff which is fully trained in all

activities with foot and hand massages given in the retail outlet of The Body Shop Only (Smith,

1996).

Packaging- in Packaging, The Body Shop doesn’t try and give excessive packaging to their

products. They only want to keep all of their products and their respective packaging very

simple. For all these activities, The Body Shop has made refilling as well as recycling of bottles

as a very much associated part of their overall environmental program of The Body Shop. These

things are changing in recent times as multiple new product offerings have been becoming

more sophisticated as well as proliferated across. Multiple new product labels have also been

introduced. The Body Shop has eight products under “The Body Shop” brand. These sub brands

add newer dimensions as well as complexities to recognition of The Body Shop as a brand. The

Body Shop also uses a new packing strategy by having testers to the products to their

customers so that they can compare their various lotions as well as fragrances before they buy

the actual product from The Body Shop (Andersen 1998).

Distribution Channel- Regarding Distribution channels, The Body Shop main outlet is also their

own retail store and no other channel is used to sell their products except their own retail

outlets. They also distribute their products using mail order catalogs. Using these product

catalogs , customers can order and buy any of The Body Shop product offering but they include

shipping and handling with the products which makes them expensive than normal products

brands (Nicholls 2002, pp. 6-17).

Promotions - The Body Shop uses traditional ways to promote their products to their

customers. They don’t make any unfulfilling promises to The Body Shop customers but they

present their products as those which can make them skin caring, hair and face helping

products. The Body Shop heavily relies of in store promotion, world of mouth publicity as well

as good public relations with third party reporting of their products and critic reviews

(Frampton 2006, p. 65).

Price - The Body Shop products are at a price point which signal high quality but are not

extreme. They normally give five sizes in every product which The Body Shop offers which also

helps them to promote different price points for their products to different setoff buyers with

different budgets. The Body Shop prices their products at different price points but keeps them

at 10 percentage points less than other cosmetic brands. Still, these are at high prices when

compared with other departmental store brands (Andersen 1998).

Profits with Principles - The Body Shop always have maintained that they maintain an extra P in

their marketing mix which is about garnering profits with principles. The main area of focus for

always have maintained that they maintain an extra P has been Stewarts for environment, fair

trade practices and developing community near to them. When we talk about environmental

stewardship, they have always maintained that The Body Shop is an environmental friendly

company who always maintain its efforts towards the same. They have tried to become energy

self-sufficient. Regarding Fair Trade practices, The Body Shop has ensured that all its trading

shall incorporate the ethical practices of The Body Shop principles. The Body Shop also supports

more than 500 communities and their developments. It tries to propagate social development

activities across the globe (Carbone 1999).

Conclusion

The Body Shop as a brand has stood different to traditional models to create brand equities.

They have updated their brands and have gained increased customer recognition with

garnering appreciation for environmental as well as ethical issues. They have been pioneer in

the usage of natural resources as well as promoting health and lifestyles as an alternative to

beauty industry. The personality, soul and core of the company, its brand identity as well as

brand image has been shown using the tiredness design which has made The Body Shop as a

long brand with loads of core values as well as having multiple brand strategies. The Body Shop

believes that only those brands will survive which have stakeholder collaboration to generate

brand equity for them. The Body Shop tries and uses the essential self-belief for right and

stemming the fundamental self-belief in the company values. These values will be well used by

the purpose with which The Body Shop exists which is using the social and competitive values

which try and consciously contribute to The Body Shop competitive advantage. The Body Shop

has evolved to reflect the changing brand design tastes and commercial imperatives needed for

any brand evolution.

Reflection

After writing this report regarding “Brand Analysis of The Body Shop”, it has made me realise

the different aspects of a brand. I have also come to acknowledge that a brand doesn’t

necessarily need over and over advertisement for its growth but can rely on Word to Mouth

Publicity to become a trusted brand. The Body Shop example shows that people are willing to

trust and buy the product if it so works in an environmental friendly way. The Body Shop as a

brand works more with its brand community. The Brand community concept has also made me

realise that Marketing Mix isn’t the only thing that needs to be optimised but also efforts

should be made to create a loyal Brand Community which is helpful in increasing the Trust for

any Organisation or Brand.

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