Grapevine marketing
We’ve all heard of viral marketing, product placements in movies and TV, and know the power of word of mouth. But now Proctor & Gamble (P&G) have taken this a step further. They’ve started paying hundreds of thousands of moms (literally!) to drop their products into conversations and subtly promote P&G’s brand in their everyday interactions.
“By crafting product messages mothers will want to share, along with giving them samples, coupons, and a chance to share their own opinions with P&G, [they're] using personal endorsements to cut through advertising clutter. ‘We know that the most powerful form of marketing is an advocacy message from a trusted friend,’ says Steve Knox. The program is a state-of-the-art method for reaching the most influential group of shoppers in America: moms.” Read the full story from BusinessWeek here.
Like network marketing, this might work with Boomers, but I wonder how Gen Xers are feeling about it? I wonder what I would think of a product that was recommended to me, and I later discovered the person was rewarded for recommending it? And, most importantly, I wonder what I would think of the person who made the recommendation – originally supposedly just out of friendship, but now I discover for some personal gain?
I’m interested to know what others think of this venture.
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This is another example of companies who just don’t get it and assume that consumers are too ignorant or lazy to care. With consumer advocacy groups gathering momentum and finding their voice via the internet, they are walking on eggshells.
The first thing this would do to the ‘mothers’ whom they’ve put on their payroll is that they potentially compromise those mother’s reputations – once their acquaintances and friends realise that the ‘advice’ they’ve been given was paid for, they will never again trust those ‘mother’s’ word.
And I also find it insulting that the company would stoop to such an underhanded practice of selling their product to me.
A far more respectful way of approaching this would be to hold get-togethers for these ‘mothers’ and allow them to try out all the different products being offered. Then let them give their honest opinions and let them spread the word. This would be a lot more authentic and hold far more water.
But then it would also ensure that the company offers products which would satisfy the criteria of these moms and not offload inferior quality on unsuspecting consumers.
I agree – this is a bad BAD move. The whole point of viral marketing is that there’s nothing in it for the people who spread the word, except the knowledge that they’re passing on something worthwhile. To try and control that misses the whole point. It’s exactly like that scene from The Truman Show where Truman is working in the garden and his wife is – yet again – recommending that he use a particular product. Just plain weird and there’s no integrity or credibility – both core values of viral marketing.
P&G just doesn’t get it.
Personally – I think this is clever. And I actually see this as an example of the “connection economy”.
Another thing to point out is that it doesn’t say that these women are actually paid any money. (As per Anj’s comment …)
The article says: “By crafting product messages mothers will want to share, along with giving them samples, coupons, and a chance to share their own opinions with P&G,”
I don’t think this is underhanded at all. If my friend wants to tell me about why Fairy liquid is so fabulous – she can go ahead. She’s not forcing me to buy the product. (And neither is P&G for that matter.)
We’ve probably been doing this for ages without companies realising. Just the other day I asked a friend what she did that made her car smell to great. Turns out it was a refill pack of a Stay Soft. Just what I then went out to buy.