Dealing a blow to all the skeptics on this blog, and giving it up for the numerologists, Gillette's new Mach 5 razor has achieved a 55% market share. According to an article on WARC, this was achieved within only 5 (actually 4) weeks of launch. Pretty impressive given all the cynicism around thias product.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Marketing: Sometimes size matters
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Seed Newsvine
2 comments:
Reminds me of the Dyson effect. I got one of these free with the newspaper. I tried it and liked it but the refills are so pricey haven't used it since. No matter, it's not about user share but dollar share. Seems every market could support a Dyson strategy.
damn. i can't really hate on this. i will give it to to 'em, this is phenomenal. genius, even. gotta marvel at King Gillete's legacy - don't sell the razor, sell the blade replacements. at the website, a hot lady lab scientist awaits to tell the man about this fusion technology (and imply his irrestible attraction).
they keep it so simple it's smart.
i just still can't help but caution THE FUTURE, though. the downside of FAKE INNOVATIONS like 5 blades from 3 is that you are compelled to keep it up to infinity. and if the innovation is a "NOW WITH MORE" STRATEGY, you'll forever be offering more and more, now matter how absurd. i wonder what the end point is for men and shaving? do they just keep adding more blades? ninja sharpened? hanzu blades? lasers? nanobots that release at the cellular level to operate on your beard?
this is reminiscent of Lachan's "loss of wonder" posts...at a certain point, great innovations become "ho-hum" and when the marketer is speeding his own expiry date, it can be bad for long range sustainability. and at companies like this, THE GOAL IS ALWAYS SHORT-TERM RESULTS, NEVER LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY. you've got young turk MBAs who want to make a big score and bail to "something better". and on the other end you've got shareholders who just want a big pay out - bigger than the lat one.
i think the philosophical question for us all is - at one point is NEWNESS FOR NEWNESS' SAKE GET OUT OF HAND?
Post a Comment