INTRODUCTION:

Upon institution, Burt’s Bees was a humble operation created by beekeeper Burt Shavitz and businesswoman Roxanne Quimby in 1984. The company’s natural personal care products were an instant hit among patrons at local craft fairs and specialty shops, quickly growing to reach “sales of $3 million in 1993”. As operations grew, the small team couldn’t keep up with the increasing demand for product. Since inception, the mission of the organization has been to bring natural and earth-friendly products to the mainstream market for everyone, everywhere to enjoy. By 1999, Quimby had bought out Shavitz’s share of Burt’s Bees, had begun targeting natural and specialty food stores, and had achieved placement on shelves in some national health food chains.
As the company continued to prosper, Quimby carefully selected the New York private equity firm AEA to help continue to grow the company while allowing her to maintain her active role. “Analysts expected AEA to broaden Burt’s Bees’ distribution channels to improve its mass-market appeal and build the company into a $500 million national brand by 2009” (Pg 3). A year after Quimby retired in 2005, John Repogle stepped in as the CEO of Burt’s Bees charged with the mission to maximize on the steady momentum and sales growth of 30% per year in the United States and abroad. As new product lines with a noticeably different look were about to emerge into the market, the challenge was to retain the authentic elements and loyal customer base that had been established, while continuing to grow the brand in a mass-market setting.

PROBLEMS: * In the beginning, Burt’s Bees relied heavily on a word-of-mouth operation style, with little to no marketing communications. When the company launched a campaign in 2005 it was unsuccessful due to the fact that marketers focused too heavily on the “quirky” factor of the brand, rather than a balanced distribution between the four elements of the brand’s value proposition: efficacy, natural, socially responsible, and quirky/friendly. * A significant challenge facing the corporation from a communications standpoint is, “to evolve the company through a change from being an entrepreneurial company in a niche market to a category leader in a transformed market” (Pg 11). Since the brand started so small and gained a loyal following, it is important to find a way to grow the brand without changing the overall brand identity. * Another dilemma facing the company is the burgeoning amount of competition in the personal care market. With an overly saturated industry, it is even more important for Burt’s Bees to create a brand identity that has obvious and clear points of differentiation in order to stand out among the rest. Additionally, with no guidelines from the Food and Drugs Administration on how to define natural versus non-natural, the credibility of Burt’s Bees needs to be undeniable in order to retain their authentic reputation. * In addition to the communications problems facing the company, the company is also going through a change in management, which has created a change in leadership and company culture. For a company that uses the brand as an organization model, this can create a shift in environment that must be addressed to retain the current brand identity.
OBJECTIVES:
* Increase awareness of the Burt’s Bees brand by 30% among women 18-40 by December 31, 2008. * Increase annual revenue by 40% by December 31, 2007, which would be a 13.8% achievement over the growth between 2004-2005. * Establish a positive brand identity based on the following value propositions: efficacy, natural, socially responsible, and quirky/friendly. (how will this be measured?) * Establish Burt’s Bees as the leader in the natural personal care industry.