How to Get Into the News Media and Pull Big Bloggers Like Guy Kawasaki With Strategic Public RelationsFor a Good Time, Follow Me: http://twitter.com/journik
LA 310 598 1606 | NYC 347 476 1267
How to Get Into the News Media and Pull Big Bloggers Like Guy Kawasaki With Strategic Public RelationsFor a Good Time, Follow Me: http://twitter.com/journik
LA 310 598 1606 | NYC 347 476 1267
How to Get Into the News Media and Pull Big Bloggers Like Guy Kawasaki With Strategic Public RelationsFor a Good Time, Follow Me: http://twitter.com/journik
LA 310 598 1606 | NYC 347 476 1267
Nivea and Gillette had similar gains to Old Spice. They didn't launch any viral marketing campaigns. I'm telling you. I think Old Spice would have made more sales WITHOUT that campaign of theirs... How Old Spice under Weiden + Kennedy alienated their core user base. Are you guilty of the same?
With its “Just Do It” campaign, Nike increased its share of the domestic sport-shoe business from 18% to 43% (239%), and from $877 million in worldwide sales to $9.2 billion in the ten years between 1988 and 1998.
I'm on a horse.
Quick. What comes to mind when I say, "energy drink?" How about, "bra?" "Hamburger?"
If your marketing did it's job, for every category or demand vertical, you should be the immediately associated brand. If your marketing is focused on the #1 most important mission: to associate your brand with a demand vertical, you'll sell.
Despite reports to the contrary, Nielsen data shows that sales of the Old Spice Body Wash range as a whole rose by 55% over the last three months, and by 107% in the last month alone.
To make things simple, there's only one way to accomplish this mental association - demonstration.
for every category or demand vertical, you should be the immediately associated brand
Weiden + Kennedy's ad campaign failed for one reason. There was no demonstration. When I think of shoes, I think: Nike. Computer:Apple. Chinese:PF Chang. But when I think of Old Spice:Horses.
Sure, you may think 107% reported by Nielsen is not a failure. We do. Doubling your money by selling Apple in 2005 was also a failure. If you leave money on the table, You didn't win.
If you're in the middle of an ad or marketing campaign, call us at 310 598 1606. Let's talk about how to make every ounce of your message sell. Anything less than maximized ROI is a #FAIL.
continued from http://journik.posterous.com/viral-old-spice-commercials-by-weiden-kennedy
my unscientific guess is that the numbers would be much higher if
Or did it?
BrandWeek writes: "But sales of the featured product—Red Zone After Hours Body Wash—aren’t necessarily tracking with that consumer appeal: In the 52 weeks [that] ended June 13, sales of the brand have dropped 7 percent according to SymphonyIRI. (That amount excludes those rung up at Walmart.)"
Ladies, how are you? I may be mistaken but I'm pretty sure June 13, 2010 is before the whole @oldspice viral campaign started.
So picking back up on the 13th, PRWEEK writes, "Beginning July 13, Mustafa responded to questions, funneled through Twitter, from celebrities and ordinary folks alike. The brand's ad agency Wieden + Kennedy developed and coordinated 186 customized video responses that contributed to a 107% increase in Old Spice Body Wash sales over the last month, according to Nielsen data from Mike Norton, director of external relations for male grooming at P&G"
Time and Jezebel contradict that data citing WARC (a media industry research group), "But buzz did not add up to sales, according to advertising news service WARC. Red Zone After Hours body wash sales have fallen seven percent, despite the ads." - Time
Jezebel goes a step further and attributes causation: "While there is little doubt about the viral hit's popularity - the official version has racked up 12.2 million impressions on YouTube - sales of Red Zone After Hours Body Wash have fallen by 7%." - Jezebel
Look at your man.
The trouble with the WARC quotes is that I can't seem to find the original data source online. So what we're dealing with here is heresay. But regardless of whether sales went up or down, let's look at the facts.
1. P&G research shows that women are the ones who buy the shower gels of the house - as much as 70%. But the slogan is still, "Smell like a man, man."
2. The Weiden Kennedy campaign alienates it's current user base (via http://journik.posterous.com/viral-old-spice-commercials-by-weiden-kennedy ).Old Spice was originally produced by the Schulton Company in 1934. And some of the user base acquired since then will drop any product rep'd by someone named "Mustafa." In another sector of the current user base, anyone who remotely looks like the Old Spice Guy runs the risk of being asked by the cashier, "are you on a horse?"
So even if the numbers are up, my unscientific guess is that the numbers would be much higher if P&G and W+K paid attention to the undercurrent of their messaging. If you lose your core market and make strategic planning errors, you've left money on the table. You Failed: Old Spice Viral Ad Campaign Strategically Failed.
Back to me. Now, look at @kmore and @whatsnext. Does your man smell like them?
Hello ladies, how are you? (thx to Seattle Videographer for the Tip Off)
Well, It's official. The Old Spice Viral Campaign by Weiden Kennedy actually drove sales down. The drop was an immediate 7 percent according to Warc, an industry research group. - (source)
The reasons are obvious if you were raised off the teet of the web (oft called net-natives). The web user culture is totally different from the newspaper reader culture of yester-year. Weiden + Kennedy was culturally out of touch. Ironically, if David Ogilvy was at the helm, I doubt this would have happened - even though he is a 1960's ad man.
Why the Old Spice Viral Campaign Drove Sales Down
1. Stay Loyal to Your Core (warning: race discussion ahead)
If you have any market share at all, build on it.
Old Spice under Weiden + Kennedy created betrayal. Many of you are going to think the following words are nonsense but those who do aren't in my client demographic anyways so I'll spill the beans. Do you know what P&G Old Spice's Demographics are? I'm not sure but I do have a point sample of an idea. If you've been in any University Club, LA Fitness, or Equinox men's locker room with a bunch of naked dudes, and methodically stared at everyone's shopping cart every time you go shopping, you'd have a point sample idea too. It's a 50's and 60's crowd.
For a very small percent of the 50's and 60's white guys with some military background, "Mustafa" likely didn't go over well. I'm sure it's a small number but let's, for the sake of arguement, say only 2% of them were uncomfortable with "Mustafa." Then, from my subjective, non scientific analysis, these men in my gyms seem to be people who take themselves seriously. They range from old school executives to unionized blue collar workers. If the comical tone of the Weiden + Kennedy's ad only offended another 3% of their macho core, well, that would account for most of that 7% drop.
Personally, I have guy friends who are successful corporate African-Americans too. I know for a fact that a few of them use Old Spice. But after that silly messaging of a masculine product, I have a hunch they'd be as reluctant to walk through a checkout line with Old Spice as they would with a box of tampons. Are you on a horse?
How would the cash register boy react as one of my African American buddies tried to pay for his Old Spice? If you think I'm being silly, as a Korean American, my experience in the checkout line is occasionally different depending on whether I'm purchasing bread or rice. Do you have any idea how many times a checker asked me if I do kung fu; and 'what about Bob?' True story.
The ad campaign made buying a regular brand embarrassing.
2. If You Target Another Demographic, Rebrand
You buy products because they are exclusive to your psychography. Guys who wear Ed Hardy shirts will not wear Polo.
I can't think of any situation where the only way to increase your market share is to betray your existing base. If you want to bolt on a totally different demographic, you do so by totally rebranding. Nissan created Infinity because they didn't want to lose their core and make Nissans feel inferior. Honda created Acura. Toyota created Lexus. McDonalds created Chipotle.
You'll lose your core if you diffuse your marketing - even more so with a viral campaign. If you insist on keeping one brand while going after two demographics, at least do what Verizon Wireless and Subway did. Get a race-agnostic spokesperson.
Why The Heck Are They Addressing Women for a Men's Product Anyways?
3. W+K was so concerned with the medium that they forgot their message
The medium is just a medium. Whether you're on a street corner or in Carnegie Hall, the medium is just a medium. Focus on the message. Don't get distracted by the bells and whistles of the medium. W+K was in such a hurry to prove that their old-school culture was hip and relevant to "the parlance of our times" that they lost grasp of their message.
After a cursory review of any of their viral videos, it becomes clear that even their front line ad copy writers were confused as to who their target was. Mustafa generally begins his pitch, "Ladies." But the tagline is, "smell like a man, man."
Before you launch your next advertising or marketing initiative, let's talk. We might do well putting our heads together. Call 310 598 1606 or email bob.wan.kim@gmail.com
CONTINUED: Actually, OldSpice Viral Marketing Raised Sales by 7%
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