Marketing case: Procter and Gamble sniff out business opportunities from dormitory air

Since when did social networks replace other media as the main arena for world-class brand marketing campaigns? In a recent online viral marketing campaign, Febreeze, the brand of Procter and Gamble, played the media in the main. This handwriting, enough to make the network advertising people pleasantly surprised. It should be considered, however, that companies with a strong marketing skills like Procter and Gamble spend most of their money on the edge. Advertising to social networks is not just about being fashionable, but about the confidence that social networks can bring to market returns. Previously, the company has conducted in-depth and sophisticated market research. "The 18 million student market is promising and Facebook is the most popular social networking site for students," the findings laid out the basic ideas for the event.

"Use Febreeze to keep a secret, no one knows you haven't been to the laundry for a semester." ”

The world's first generation of air fresh products Glade Spray was published in 1956. Mainly to the outskirts of the family marketing. For nearly 50 years, only housewives were accustomed to buying scent-scented sprays in supermarkets to disguise the smell of the kitchen and tobacco. Now moms and older consumers are still the main customers. But their range of aromatic products continues to expand, living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, master bedrooms and even the oldest children's bedrooms.

Young people are sometimes encouraged by their parents to make their rooms smell good. But they also seek to make themselves smell better. An online survey of 1500 young people in Stanford, a young-focused research firm, found that 1/3 of teens who use aromatic products in their rooms buy their own products. Another 1/3 are asking their parents to buy them. The last 1/3 said their parents took the initiative to send the product to the room. 1/3 of these users said the ads convinced them that the house smelled better. It can be said that college students and teenagers are now bringing new prosperity to the air freshener market.

New products come out: plugs, aromatic fan, diffuser, flashing screen, and so on, more and more dreamy color, of course, more and more expensive.

Febreze product prices range from $27.49 to $5.99 dollars. Supposedly these expensive new products and young people are a barrier. But analysts say these young people today are more casual about money than generations. Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group, said: "These young people usually buy what their parents will buy after they have a career." ”

According to a survey conducted by a market research firm, sales of aromatic products have increased by 50% in the entire industry since 2003, to $600 million trillion. U.S. sales are expected to reach $1.72 billion trillion this year. After feeling the potential of the market, Procter and Gamble introduced the Febreze air freshener products to the market in 2004. To make the product cooler, the company has created ads of different forms for men and women around the age of 20. Febreze's first clean air product was designed to look like a CD player. The product, released in 2004, has "Stop" and "play" buttons, as well as "CDs" that emit scent, not music. The CD-ROM is named "Walking barefoot on the seashore", its scent as "washed by waves" and "sailing in the Gulf".

According to the New York Times, Febreze commercial films account for 30% of the entire air freshener business, while 40% of the spending on TV sessions in the industry. In the first nine months of 2006, Procter and Gamble spent 58 million dollars on Febreze commercial films. Now the company has led a new market with its fresh Air products, Febreze, and won the attention of young people who often go to bars and come home wearing sweat-flavored shirts and jeans.

Febreze, the fastest-growing brand in the company, is now using new tricks to trick young male and female student clients. This online activity was launched in the student community: "What stinks." How? "What stinks" to mark College life----------from the armpit, boyfriend to the dormitory corner of the rising of the laundry? Yes, that's what Febreze did. Febreze Series products have been published less than 10 years. However, marketing practices have always been more daring. The main product of this online viral marketing campaign is the fresh fabric spray, with the target customers being university students. The theme is: "Start spraying, if you do not bother to wash clothes, you can use Febreeze." ”

"There are 18 million college students, and we've never really targeted them," said Martin Hettich, Febreze North American marketing manager. Although there has been little advertising in this group, there are still students who have used our deodorant spray for years, especially at a price of 3-7 dollars. So why is the brand popular among students? That's because laundry is not a very convenient thing for student life. ”

College students in the end smelly, you can ask these students:

Dartmouth College's 2-age student Emily Watson. She sprayed her dorm every week with air fresheners and sprayed 2 to 3 times on her clothes. And her favorite taste is citrus or other fruit aromas. Miss Watson had no habit of using air freshener, but a commercial ad 2 years ago changed her mind. "If you live in a group dorm, there's always a smell, if you want to wear jeans the next day ..."

Nowadays students often do long walks in the woods on computers. So Jessica Ray, a freshman at Williams University, says she likes the smell of a boulevard in the dorm. Since her childhood, she has not used aromatic products in her home, but she will use it for life.

Febreze insiders said: "Generally speaking, teenage girls are very concerned about fragrance, they always smell incense not enough." "Beauty and fragrance products are the world's two major selling items." They mark culture and fashion. The advertising of fragrance products usually manifests itself in the pursuit of a man or woman just because of the scent of the body. When a man meets a woman, the beauty and aroma of the other person is hard to resist. The scent is a natural expression for some girls who want their friends to come closer and say, "That's Linda's taste, or it's Mary's."

Fragrance is a very personal thing, but for some students, there is a deeper sense that they want to control everything in their surroundings. So, often not only girls care about the taste of the room, boys also care. Surveys show that boys are only 10% less likely to use aromatic products than girls.

Mohammad Usman of Dartmouth College said. "I go to the gym every day, and when I come back there is always a taste, because my laundry bag is there, and I have to watch movies at night, so I will spray febreze before I clean my room."

Focus on Facebook

However, how to target this potentially huge market is a problem. Febreze's original mainstream media purchase was ineffective for 18-22-year-old young people.

Realize that the university campus is the blind spot of the marketing work----The original marketing is mainly aimed at the soccer moms who seek ways to dispel the sweat smell on their sports clothes. Febreze and its longtime advertising agency, Grey, has determined that continued marketing in the mainstream media is likely to fail.

That's why Febreze chose Facebook as an online viral marketing medium. Facebook beat MySpace to become the most popular social networking site among young student groups, according to a survey just released earlier this month by Anderson Analytics.

So it's not surprising that the interactive site whatstinks.com, which displays a variety of Febreze aerosol products, actually makes a home on Facebook. And Procter and Gamble also plans to make media purchases on Facebook and launch banner ads.

On the Facebook site, Febreze the original product slogan, "The smell of fresh air," for the student group. The new slogan changes to "Your parents will visit!" The surprise comes from Febreze. "The laundry is so far away, use Febreze." ”

Other parts of the site include video games where players can use Febreze's bottled products instead of arming themselves with machine guns to attack dirty socks and boxes. There is also a "what stinks" news aggregation column, gathering the global news about smell. A recent news story is about Wisconsin State a thief who steals toilet paper.

As part of the activity, the Febreze site also runs a "What stinks" picture contest and offers prizes. The prize links Febreze with another student's favourite brand, Apple and itunes.

Febreze Gift Laundry Bag

In harmony with the overall humor style. Febreze's marketers also launched a comedy outing that branded the Febreze brand. The first event was at Boston University and Florida State University. The time is from now until the beginning of December. Featured programs are actors who meet with students to perform interactive performances of smelly student life. Every life play will be recorded on film. A number of small hostel amenities, such as bulletin boards and laundry bags, will also be distributed on the ground promotion activities. (Compile: Shi Ying)

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Source of information:

http://adage.com/article?article_id=121535 Http://daveibsen.typepad.com/5_blogs_before_lunch/2007/01/pgs_ febreze_thi.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/business/media/03fresh.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2& Ref=business