How to promote P&G's Cheer?

[Case Profile]

After getting an MBA from an Ivy League university, Seth, 22, came to work in the Cheer brand group in the packaged soap and detergent division of Procter &G. From the department's thick brochure, I learned that Cheer's detergent is a white washing product with blue and green particles specially designed for open-top washing machines.

When Seth was choosing a new promotion, a blue-green gadget with red-striped long legs caught Seth's attention: it was a rubber toy for very young children, they were non-toxic, It is big enough for small children to eat, and it is safe to use. Seth grabbed it in his hand: "I'll take this back to show you guys."

Lorinda, a mother of 3, ran excitedly the next day to say her kids couldn't put it down, and a subsequent test by the Promotions Department showed: Toys are very popular. Seth named it the Cheery monster and carefully considered various promotional options.

According to purchasing department estimates, this toy costs about 6 cents each. This includes manufacturing costs and shipping from origin in Asia to Cincinnati. Seth's idea is to put 3 Cheery monsters per big pack of Cheer for promotion. Then, 1 box will add 18 cents to the cost. Seth analyzed all conceivable promotions:

1) Mail-in promotion: Let customers send the label on the detergent box to the company in exchange for a gift. This method has no effect on production, but it will undoubtedly reduce the attractiveness of the gift. Estimated increase in sales: 200,000 boxes; Cost: 75 cents per 3 gift wrapping and mailing processing fee.

2) Put it in the package: If the gift is placed in the package, there must be a prominent notice on the outside of the package. The packaging process is not affected, but the box manufacturing needs to be modified and customers cannot directly see the cute little monsters. Estimated increase in sales: 500,000 boxes; increased cost: no additional cost to change packaging will be more than $1.30.

3) Bundled on the outside of the product packaging: bundle the gift and Cheer detergent together with a vacuum packaging film, it depends on whether the factory has special equipment. But take advantage of customers who rip off the gift and steal it instead of buying the product. However, it is much more intuitive to put it on the outside. Estimated increase in sales: at least 750,000 boxes; increased cost: bundling gift outside product - $1.75, cost after packaging bulk - 45 cents.

4) Dispatch with the product: instant dispatch at the point of purchase. Estimated increased sales: 600,000 boxes; increased cost: $25 shipping per 300 Cheery monsters. There are more than 8,000 retailers nationwide.

5) Promotion on the Internet: Seth has not been able to come up with a good strategy to use the Internet for promotion, but he thinks this might be the way to go.

Seth needs to make choices and decisions before making a detailed report to his boss, Tom.

[Case Study] ●Case Study

If you study this case carefully, you will find that Seth, the protagonist in the case, focuses on how to use children's identification with and desire to acquire the little Cheery monster, thereby Indirectly affect the purchase decision of the actual buyer-the mother of the child. So what Seth needs to do is to follow the actual mode of operation under this general premise.

The "TXD" netizen of a technology company in Beijing advocated the idea of "promotional purpose - to win the hearts of consumers who care about children".

For the several promotion methods considered by Seth, we must first compare their advantages and disadvantages:

The advantages of mailing promotions are that they have no impact on production, and the cost is low ($0.75), but the disadvantages are that they reduce the attractiveness of gifts. And time-consuming and cumbersome. The projected increase in sales is 200,000 boxes.

The advantage of putting it in the package is that the packaging process is not affected, and the additional cost is lower ($1.3), but the cute little monster cannot be seen directly, and the packaging box needs to be redesigned to attract attention. The projected increase in sales is 500,000 boxes.

bundled outside the package is that it is intuitive and is expected to increase sales the most. The disadvantage is that special equipment is required, the additional cost is $1.75 + $0.45, and the gift is easy to lose due to customer factors. The projected increase in sales is 750,000 boxes.

The advantages of shipping with the product are simple operation, more sales increase, and low cost ($0.25/pack). The disadvantage is that extra personnel need to be arranged, which is prone to corruption of gifts, and there are many delivery outlets. The projected increase in sales is 600,000 boxes.

The advantage of online promotion is that it is new and has great potential, but there is no ready-made model to refer to.

Although there are some differences between the first three promotion methods, there is no essential breakthrough. In order to win the competition in the fierce market competition, the Cheer brand may wish to use a hybrid model combining traditional promotion methods and the Internet to operate this promotion.

The three armies have not moved, FLASH first

Following all the goals of putting children first, you might as well first make a small FLASH animation with the Cheery monster as the cartoon protagonist, and make it one to two months in advance in the Internet's e-mail disseminate freely at will.

Because of the deep popularity of Disney cartoon culture, in the United States, the audience of cartoons in the United States is not dominated by children in other countries, but spreads across all age groups. In the United States, where computers are popular, children who have started to learn computers, mothers or other consumers who are purchasing decision makers have the opportunity to see this cute little monster in advance through the Internet to make a preliminary impression. Think back to the FLASH animations or small movies sent from all over the world in the form of e-mail attachments every day, you can know how much influence it has on life. And FLASH animations that only last for tens of seconds to two or three minutes are not only easy to spread on the Internet, but also cheaper for large companies like Procter & Gamble.

Set up redemption counters in retail outlets

Change the form of direct gift giving to the form of redemption. Place a small card (could be a Cheery monster-themed postcard) in each large package of Cheer detergent with a random combination of 26 letters and 10 numbers on it. Number, each card number is not repeated. Customers can use this card to redeem Cheery little monsters.

Whether Cheery is placed inside or outside the package, there will inevitably be a cost of redesigning the box (promotional approach 2) or additional packaging (promotional approach 3). Using the numbered card in the package as a voucher for redemption activities can completely save this cost.

Choose from over 8,000 retail outlets to set up redemption counters with the highest sales volume or influence. It can also be set up in other non-retail locations with promotional effects and cost savings. Guests can redeem Cheery monsters with cards. When redemption, the unique number on the card is immediately entered into the computer by the staff, and the same number cannot be redeemed for gifts. Gifts have reached special use under the supervision of the company's redemption personnel.

At the same time, design in-store displays with Cheery monster images or physical objects, and put them in various retail outlets to attract consumers and explain the redemption details.

Increase the visibility and image exposure of the Cheery little monster gifts in the store, evoke the memories of the Cheery little monsters from consumers who have been bombarded by the first round of FLASH soft advertisements, and also arouse customers immediately after seeing the gifts. desire to consume. To overcome the concerns of promotion method 2, promotions must take into account the issue of visibility of the gift to some extent.

According to the above method, the promotion cost is actually converted from a constant cost to a variable cost. When the promotion budget is large, more redemption points can be set up, and when the budgetary cost is small, less redemption points can be set up, but the reserved redemption points are the most influential, thus ensuring the maximum influence of activities under cost control. On the other hand, the redemption form avoids the problem of gifts being embezzled by the staff of the retail point or too many gift delivery outlets, and saves the transportation cost (this is exactly the drawback of the promotion method 4.)

Online communication, data collection

Set up relevant webpages on the websites of P&G or Cheer brands. For consumers who are unwilling or inconvenient to go to the redemption counter to redeem Cheery monsters, they can Enter the contact address and card number on the website to get the little Cheery monster sent by Cheer.

A "Fuyang customer" of an agricultural management service company once proposed: "We must reduce the cost of acquiring customers and the cost of promotion of the company at the same time." Now, when the company's cost of After the promotion cost, it is precisely through this method that the customer acquisition cost can be saved. Compared with the original mailing promotion, the link of the customer sending the label to the company can be omitted, which saves the mailing time and gives full play to the role of the Internet, creating an operation mode that combines traditional promotion methods and the Internet. More can use this method to obtain the contact information of consumers to enrich the database of the Cheer brand.