P&G finds it makes sense to target Latinas with scents
Based on research showing that its Hispanic consumers are eager to use scented products throughout their homes, Procter & Gamble formed its first multicultural partnership with Target, creating a “Touch of Scent For Every Room,” as MediaPost reported.
P&G created special end caps displaying a number of scented P&G products for use in Target stores that serve larger numbers of Hispanics. The month-long promotion grew out of the success of Tide’s Simple Pleasures line with Hispanic consumers, and the realization that they wanted even more scent options.
A P&G spokeswoman said the company worked with scent expert Alan Hirsch, who has previously developed nine aroma-based personalities for P&G’s Hispanic research division.
The products in this promotion included Tide, Dawn, Febreze, Downy, Gain, Bounce, Cascade and Mr. Clean products, and fragrances included lavender, jasmine, roses, violets, lilies and cinnamon.
While P&G said there is no clear reason why Hispanic consumers are so much more enthusiastic about scents than other groups, there is no doubt that scent matters. “We have learned that while our Latina customer buys a slew of scent products for her home, the scent experience is intrinsically important in how she rates the detergent she uses,” the spokeswoman said. “She is really motivated by freshness and goes out of her way to provide it. A fresh, new scent is something even the family will notice and appreciate.”
The company has developed specially tailored versions of products such as Tide with Febreze Freshness and Downy Tropical Bloom “that include product and packaging attributes that meet the preferences of Hispanic consumers.”
“P&G Seeks Scent-Sensitive Hispanics In Target Stores,” MediaPost, June 22, 2007. Also see “How P&G Led Also-Ran to Sweet Smell of Success,” Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2007.
Trend-tracking helps Jimmy Dean cook up breakfast success
As reported by MediaPost, food maker Sara Lee’s aggressive focus on “disciplined innovation,” driven by its new, multimillion-dollar research facility outside of Chicago, has helped put it on top of the shifting trends affecting the breakfast meats category.
The rapid growth of one- and two-adult households - up 21 percent and 17 percent, respectively, between 1995 and 
2005, and now accounting for nearly 60 percent of all U.S. households - is driving a wider variety of single-serve and portion-controlled packages.
Quick preparation and portability represent by far the biggest growth opportunities. Regardless of family size, frozen sausage consumption is rising for products that allow users to readily consume just the amount needed, according to Chicago research firm Mintel.
Sara Lee’s recent breakfast convenience innovation, Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls, neatly tie into all of these trends. These prepared medleys already include scrambled eggs or pancakes, take just three minutes in the microwave and eliminate dirty dishes.
Sales since their launch in July 2006 have exceeded expectations by more than 100 percent, forcing the company to increase production capacity to keep up with demand, said Tim Smith, senior brand manager for Jimmy Dean. The product has passed Sara Lee’s core success metrics with flying colors, he said: It’s creating new, incremental customers for the company and it’s bringing incremental customers to the category for retailers.
“Quick-Prepare Breakfast Offerings Boosting Jimmy Dean’s Performance,” MediaPost, May 11, 2007
Selling the experience, not just the brand
As reported by Financial Times writer Jonathan Birchall, twice a week, 30 or more people gather at the Nike store in Portland, Ore., to go for an evening run. Afterward the members of the Niketown running club chat in the store over refreshments. Nike’s staff tracks their performances and hails members who have logged more than 100 miles.
Meanwhile, at the Whole Foods supermarket in Seattle, shoppers attend a “singles” night the first Friday of every month. The store’s marketing staff organizes a wine tasting or sets out snacks in a room used to stage cooking classes. Customers can opt to wear a red or blue ribbon to indicate whether they are looking for a male or a female partner.
Both events are examples of “experiential” branding – corporate efforts to make companies into more than just sellers of commodities. A host of consumer brands are creating similar communities, with retailers in particular augmenting events at their traditional stores with online efforts aimed at striking up a conversation with customers.
Nike is restructuring its entire branding operation because of the enormous response to two online initiatives it launched last year. More than 200,000 runners are using the Nike Plus site, which Nike set up last year after launching a running site that can communicate with Apple iPods. The site allows runners to upload and compare their performances, and more than half visit the site at least four times a week.
Nike’s joga.com social-networking site, which was created in partnership with Google to run for eight weeks during the 2006 World Cup, was used by more than 1 million people to establish personalized World Cup pages.
Charlie Denson, president of the Nike brand, said the response to both projects helped persuade the company to divide its Nike brand operations into six categories - running, basketball, soccer, men’s fitness, women’s fitness and sports culture - with teams that would develop relationships with specific customer categories.
Joga.com, Denson said, was “a compelling platform,” but it traditionally would not have been incorporated into a sustained effort to develop customer relationships. “When the World Cup was over, our brand teams who had built that whole platform moved on to the next thing. And I thought, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, you just dropped the keys to the kingdom in the moat,’” he said.
In a similar vein, Procter & Gamble launched the Capessa site with Yahoo in January, an attempt to set up an online community “where women can share inspirational stories as well as practical tips and information relevant to the various aspects of their lives.” But the site will also enable P&G to gain insights into the “interests and product needs” of women - providing the company its own version of Nike’s running clubs.
“Just Do It, Marketers Say,” Financial Times, April 30, 2007