Promotional Strategies:
The sensibilities of the current youth are gradually shifting to a new paradigm of consciousness. We have more influx of information due to the rise in social media usage. Human beings, who are gifted with sentience and consciousness, are rapidly getting sensitised to the issues that make plague not only them but the future generations. These human beings are moving towards the era of global citizens who are empathetic towards global causes as well as long term benefits. The last century was majorly marked by capitalistic concerns which due to social media usage have led to the rise in other types of concerns. Slowly, we see a rise in the debates regarding sustainability, climate change, bio-degradable products, social justice and egalitarianism, to name a few of the global concerns. Hence, we see a lot of individuals consciously opting for products which protect their long-term interests. Re-usable, eco-friendly products have been encouraged by individuals and we see organizations swiftly adapting to their interests. There has been a surge in the accumulation of plastic waste in the ocean which have resulted in the depletion of sea life. Eco-friendly and re-usable protects help fight the rapid depletion. According to a report in 2013, 71% of the Americans consider environment as a determinant while purchasing a product and 55% of the population across 60 countries are willing to pay more for products which are produced by environmentally conscious organizations (Green Industry Analysis, 2018). Hence, the organization can safely position their product in this segment.
We are cognizant of how the sensibilities of the human beings are changing rapidly in this information age. However, the concept of motherhood has remained the same when it comes to the matters of the baby. The crux of any mother’s concern is the safety of her baby. The safety of the baby entails not only safety from physical injuries, but also safety in regards of general health. Health comes from the safe products ingested by the baby as well as safe products used for the baby. Whatever the baby uses at an early stage, and the sensibilities the baby imbibes from its family, are taken forward by the baby when it becomes an adult. This changes only when there is more information to change that individual’s priorities. Hence, for a safer future and as well as a new paradigm shift, it is essential to target the individuals who will be major influencers of the future in this genre of products. If proven to be sustainable and eco-friendly, the inclination to purchase these products will also rise. It is worthwhile to note that according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, that organizations that invest in eco-friendly options may shell out more in the initial stage but reap back more in the long run compared to the other organizations that do not invest in eco-friendly product (Green Industry Analysis, 2018).
Unicorn Baby laundry encourages the use of sustainable products. It also satisfies the needs of the mother to be safe, trustworthy and reliable. The product is gentle yet effective on the products. Since the mothers are extremely sensitive to what they use on their babies, they invest a lot of their time online searching for appropriate products for their babies. Due to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), advertisements of similar products appear on other apps and websites. Hence, it is essential for Unicorn Baby to invest in online advertising since it increases traffic flow to the site, creates brand awareness, increases Return on Investment due to its cost effectiveness.
Should the product be marketed directly to end consumers, or to retailers or distributors?
Unicorn doesn’t have enough financial resources to create efficient way of selling their products to end consumers. At the beginning, the company should use distributors to enter a new market. The main advantages of this business model are:
Access to distributors’ business network;
Access to mass market of new country and, consequently, the possibility to reach target audience;
Reduction of Unicorn’s administrative expenses in the new market;
Distributors as a Unicorn are interested in expanding market and increasing sales.
What is the best way to promote the product in the proposed new market?
Affiliate Programs. The company works with creative bloggers and authors who should promote the products for a commission. They get personal links which must be inserted in theirs blogs, social media, YouTube channel and etc. Through these links, future customers are able to make an order and Unicorn can track the performance of each blogger or author. In order to get the best result, Unicorn has to provide full and clear instructions to blogger and authors and control their activity.
Facebook Shop Section. In addition to the main website and Facebook page, Unicorn can create Facebook Shop Section and account on Shopify.com. Customers will be able to purchase the products via Facebook page simply by clicking «Buy» button.
Search Engine Optimization. Firstly, Unicorn should create a keyword strategy (Amazon Suggest and Google Suggest can be great keyword ideation tools; SEMrush?to generate a list of keywords your competitors are ranking for, but Unicorn are not; etc.). Secondly, make sure the main website structure is simple, but easy to scale as your store grows.
Referral Marketing (word of mouth marketing). Providing rewards for referrals can be just the thing to get your visitors and customers sharing your brand with their friends and family.
Blogger Outreach. The company collaborates with authoritative bloggers to feature or review the products. They can create a referral traffic and sales. The key is to find influencers who’s following is close as possible to your target market.
Blog Posts. Blogging can be an effective way to drive traffic and promote the lifestyle around your products.?It drives?search engine traffic, attracts customers, and captures the attention of the media and high-profile bloggers who could write about you.
Instagram. The company can motivate clients to check Unicorn page everyday by: 1) publishing posts of washing results with full description, advices and questions for the audience. 2) Sharing Instagram-stories and a stop motion video of one of your products in action, run a contest. 3) Creating challenges or running a contest.
Support Govt. Schemes. Support the government initiatives especially after the Paris summit in 2015 that address the waste disposal issues to show that we stand to reduce the waste from disposable diapers filling the landfills etc. Tie up with organizations like Friends of Earth France etc. E.g. Reckitt Benckiser leveraged Indian Govt’s “Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan” scheme to promote cleanliness and hygiene in Indian markets.
Few Ad Concepts:
Refer to the following link from an Indian Ad on a mom wanting to take a video on her baby’s play-mood but ends up missing the shot because of wetting cloth diaper. This can then be used as a premise for showing our product’s POD and build trust on our detergent.
Build some tension on how life would be for the mom once the baby is delivered right from wet/soiled diapers to messy clothes. Then come up with a tagline saying we got you covered with our baby laundry product line and why we are better than the rest.
Show the changing lifestyles of families in France, e.g. people taking public transport to work, adopting E-vehicles or cycles for commute, abolishing plastic etc and then prove it to the families that our product is a perfect fit for them when it comes to saving water and disposable waste, giving them one of the best reasons to adopt.
Does packaging matter?
The purpose of Unicorn Baby and cleaning the cloth diapers is not met by the current shape and aesthetics of the packaging. It is also a hard concept to convince the newer generation of due to the cheap and easily supplied disposable diapers available in the market, which parents do not have to clean or worry about. The downside being the huge trash and immense environmental problems causing by disposing them in a landfill. The current marketing strategy suggested above should be able to convey to the newer generation that using Unicorn baby the core problem could be solved and the cloth diapers could be a thing. Now since they have branched out into other products, and also face hard competition against them, Unicorn Baby mustn’t forget its core marketing principle. In the end a regular consumer may just over look them as an overpriced boutique detergent, that they can buy in far larger quantities and for cheaper.
Coming to the packaging part of it, the current logo looks a bit like clip art from the old MS PowerPoint. Re-branding and implementing semiotics in logo building might boost the sales and trust the customers can put into this brand. We had done a primary research on how the logo looked and the name attached to it, not many people had positive comments. The survey results showed that people wanted something more baby-like for the logo and also a change in the name because of little sexual slang attached to it that could be misconstrued.
The packaging could be done a little more minimal but should not compromise on the main message. The text on the label can have a little baby font and a picture of a baby in diapers can convey and influence the consumption of our product. Since we have a unique formula, the main POD of our product can be based on this and that can be leveraged to drive sales and manipulate consumer behaviour. The container can be in the shape of a baby milk bottle to signify it’s importance and can be a symbolism for safety.
How to improve sales other than marketing?
Sales can be driven by being more aggressive in in-store activations. The sales representative’s incentive structure can be based on the number of in-store activations conducted rather than the number of shops reached. In-store activations and placement of products and shelf space covered can improve visibility and accessibility to the products.
Secondly, placing the products near the incumbent can help gain people’s gaze and intrigue them if the packaging is unique and minimal. Placing them near the products where mom’s buy their detergents or soaps and moisturizers can help gain their gaze. Cross sell or bundle the product with those of the products that mom’s use and help them try our products in new markets and new stores. The product can be bundled with baby bottles and potty toilet seats.
Lastly, tie-up with leading toy shops and exclusive baby product chains for reaching more and more customers.
