It has been an exciting year and a half for Old Spice and Wieden+Kennedy after winning awards, breaking records and increasing sales with their latest marketing campaign. This innovative campaign has been a viral success and placed the brand back on the map. After premiering in the 2010 Superbowl with the now famous “The Man You Could Smell Like” commercial, Old Spice became the leading brand for men’s body wash.
Isaiah Mustafa, ot
herwise known as the Old Spice Guy, is a large part of the campaign’s success. His wittiness and chiseled features appealed to women in the masses and as a result drew men to their products. His videos drew in 110 million views for the brand and helped make their product appealing for a younger audience once again. Brands and advertisers alike are amazed by the campaign’s success and have been trying to imitate its strategy and technique.
Advertisements in television and, most especially, online videos made up the bulk of the campaign. What differentiated Old Spice from other brands using these same mediums was their follow-up strategy. Mustafa responded directly to fans, bloggers, celebrities and Twitter influencers with videos answering their questions or comments with his witty humor. This strategy showed how important fans and customers were to the brand, and reinforced the brand’s image. However, the campaign hasn’t just created buzz, but has also increased sales. The brand experienced a 107% increase in sales only five months after the start of the campaign!
The brand’s latest strategy challenged Mustafa’s position by introducing Fabio as the new Old Spice Guy. This sparked confusion and annoyance with consumers online who favored Mustafa. However, the audience played directly into the brand’s hands. Old Spice wanted to incite a reaction out of the audience and was prepared for the backlash against Fabio. They presented the idea of a duel between the two mascots. They interacted with the audience through social media and online videos, asking them to vote for their favorite Old Spice Guy. This strategy worked brilliantly, generating 22 million views for the brand compared to 34.6 million views on the original video!
This campaign is an excellent example of fresh marketing. We admire how this brand remained fresh in the eyes of its customer! Innovation keeps companies fresh! If you’re interested in seeing similar results, call the experts at King Media. We will provide fresh thinking on how to present your company’s best face to the world!
It is incredible to think that the campaign is still going; with the latest video having been released last week (Jan 18th 2012). The campaign’s success has been down to creative and fun ideas coupled with a media savvy team that know how to leverage social media. We just wrote this this review of the campaign which you might find interesting: http://www.mywebpresenters.com/articles/2012/01/look-at-your-viral-video-now-look-back-at-mine/
It’s been fun to watch the success of the campaign since its start. We’re huge fans of the creativity and originality of the videos. Thanks for sharing your blog post!