Mayor Bloomberg vs. Trojan Vibrators

Sometimes marketing is a lot of work and sometimes marketing is just plain fun…last week it was amazing fun. Trojan vibrators took on the Mayor of New York and the Mayor backed down.

Many months ago, I got the assignment to work on positioning Trojan vibrators. The challenge was straightforward. Vibrators have been fully accepted by the American public for wide use for a long time, but we Americans have not yet admitted to ourselves that they even exist. When is the last time you had vibrators casually enter a discussion in mixed company. Probably never.

For years, I have observed vibrators are identical to Twinkies in many respects and they are:  Consumers purchase millions of each on a daily basis but as soon as we need to recruit purchasers for Focus Groups, they are hard to find. People just don’t want to admit to using vibrators or eating Twinkies. My two sons are the exception. They would never question my purchase or use of a vibrator. On the other hand, I am clear, they would nail me for eating a Twinkie. By the way, two Twinkies covered with fresh strawberries and whipped cream are to die for.

So the assignment was to develop a Selling Proposition (sales message) that accurately defines these products and at the same time characterizes them as efficacious. Why efficacious? Because they are and they need to be characterized that way so they will be accepted by Walgreens, CVS and other retail stores for easy access. Americans should be able to purchase vibrators without going into an adult bookstore and thanks to Walgreens and CVS they now can.

On Monday, the kind folks at Trojan began giving vibrators away in Manhattan to promote their arrival in local drug stores and pharmacies. The reaction was, in my mind, bizarre. It was as if they were handing out guns. The NYPD simply did not know what to do. The Mayor, in a knee jerk reaction, decided to ban Trojan from doing so. Hello mayor…what were you thinking?

After a "social media" uproar from the public, the good mayor reversed himself and the people of Manhattan are happily back to normal again.  

What I would like to know is: Where are Barack and Mitt on this issue? Can we pass out free vibrators in Salt Lake City? It’s on the schedule…so stay tuned.

What do you think? Is it ok to hand out free vibrators?

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com

follow my blog by clicking one of the links below

“IF IT WORKS, DON’T FIX IT”

I have been in a series of discussions with a U.S. based company who is currently marketing a well-known consumer service. They are particularly excited that they are doing well in this lousy economy. I would be too. My natural reaction was to ask what they plan to do next to move the business forward to which they responded; “we’re going to ride this baby for a while”.

Stop here and ask yourself what you think of that reaction and let’s see if it aligns with mine. What they are saying is that they are going to do nothing until their business turns down. In my world that is a losing strategy.

Many of the assignments I get are simply the result of a client sitting on success. There is an old saying, if it works, don’t fix it”. That sounds correct and a very “cool” saying on the surface but read this carefully, “NOTHING, THAT’S NOTHING, COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.” Do not fall into that trap. Thirty-five percent of my assignments are due to a business in trouble because of that philosophy.

This is really simple. Every category of product or service I have ever been in has operated as a dynamic. The only thing you can absolutely count on is that nothing will remain as it is. What’s next is coming. Your choice is to be the cause of it or you will surely be at the effect of it. Being at the effect of what’s next is usually very painful.

If you are on top and waiting, you are guaranteed to fall. The easiest and most effective area of marketing for you to create what’s next is in your sales message. If you are making a series of simple yet effective changes to your selling proposition, you will become the leader in your category. Your competition will be reacting to you just to keep up and that posture guarantees you will grow and they will shrink. There are many examples of this kind of activity. Simply look at Tide, Southwest Airlines or Allstate Insurance. Relatively small, consistent and innovative changes in their products and services and their accompanying sales messages have kept them on top.

Kudos to the above brands…well done.

You don’t have to be a big company to do that; you do have to be smart and somewhat aggressive. Creating what’s next for your business will keep your target consumers’ interest and in turn their loyalty to you and…you will drive your competition nuts.

Good Luck,

Cheers, 

Keith Chambers

Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com

follow my blog by clicking one of the links below