What sort of framework do you think you could develop to keep P&G’s ad/PR firms accountable for their 50 million spend on promoting Bounty….or is all this “brand” advertising just going to turn into vapor?
Bounty Now Promises a Competent Clean – NY TIMES
By STUART ELLIOTT
Published: June 28, 2010
A year after changing campaigns for Bounty paper towels, Procter & Gamble is refocusing the brand’s advertising again.
…
The concept the campaign seeks to get across is that a single sheet of Bounty is strong and absorbent enough to get surfaces clean. The subtext is, of course, the economy, and how frugal shoppers are watching how many paper towels they use each time there is a mess to be mopped up in the kitchen.
Procter, the nation’s largest advertiser, has been zigging and zagging during the last couple of years as consumers changed their buying habits to cope with the financial crisis and the recession.
…
Although the budget for the campaign is not being disclosed, Procter spent $46.9 million to advertise Bounty last year, according to the Kantar Media unit of WPP, compared with $55.8 million in 2008 and $53.3 million in 2007.
The campaign begins amid a burst of marketing activity for household cleaning products as consumers stay home more as a result of economy-related cuts in traveling and eating out.
Um, what’s their slogan again?
Let’s see
……On the wrong end of a gun
….. In front of a raging bull
……Or, stuck in a commodity type business
Want to see some perfect examples of why you don’t want position yourself as a commodity type product that uses brand or image advertising? Of course you do. Let’s see some examples of companies hoping on that slippery slope to the bottom of the price barrel.
B&N, Amazon Drop Prices on E-Reading Devices – Publishers Weekly
In what is likely a preview of what’s to come in the e-reading device marketplace, not long after Barnes & Noble introduced a wi-fi only Nook e-reader for $149 and dropped the price of the 3G Nook to $199, Amazon followed suit dropping the price of the Kindle to $189.
It appears the device price wars have started. (continued here)
This looks like its going to be a comfy ride for all involved. How long until we start to hear the whining…
And not to be outdone, Borders, Indigo and Kobo start dropping their pants too
I wonder what is going to happen when the price of the ebooks starts falling through the floor as well?
Or how about this one, from our Asian friends
Hon Hai seeks price cuts from suppliers: source – Reuters
……….Hon Hai, the world’s biggest contract electronics maker with a client list that includes Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Dell Inc (DELL.O) and Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N), earlier this month offered workers at its Foxconn (2038.HK) manufacturing hub in China a 66 percent performance-based pay rise…..(continued here)
- Even in China, where everyone competes on price, there is always room to get pushed lower….
What is the moral of the story here? When you position yourself as a commodity product by competing on price, you are bound to get squeezed
What sort of framework do you think you could develop to keep P&G’s ad/PR firms accountable for their 50 million spend on promoting Bounty….or is all this “brand” advertising just going to turn into vapor?