Advertising has changed tremendously throughout my lifetime. It seems as though companies continue to push the envelope and no topic is off limits; embarrassing or not. Recently, I was watching TV with my 9 year-old stepson when a commercial for Viagra came on, and he turned to me and asked, “What’s Viagra?” Needless to say, I was at a loss for words and embarrassed at the question. I simply explained that it was a grownup thing, but I’m sure he later Googled it to find out what it was!
Because of the lack of discretion by most advertisers, it was interesting to me to read in Groundswell that Proctor & Gamble didn’t want to market their feminine products to young teens through the use of mainstream mediums. Just because you send the advertising message to the consumer, it doesn’t mean it is always received, especially if it’s embarrassing to talk about. Groundswell discusses Proctor & Gamble’s awareness of the resistance to discussing feminine products, and the different approach they decided to take as a result. They chose to focus on girls’ problems, versus marketing to them, by developing the website beinggirl.com.
The site provided a place for young girls to talk to each other and get answers to embarrassing questions that they may not want to ask their parents, and do so anonymously. You can decide to join or simply observe. Authors Li and Bernoff state that, “Nearly half of girls ages twelve to fifteen are community-loving Joiners.”
Because of the lack of discretion by most advertisers, it was interesting to me to read in Groundswell that Proctor & Gamble didn’t want to market their feminine products to young teens through the use of mainstream mediums. Just because you send the advertising message to the consumer, it doesn’t mean it is always received, especially if it’s embarrassing to talk about. Groundswell discusses Proctor & Gamble’s awareness of the resistance to discussing feminine products, and the different approach they decided to take as a result. They chose to focus on girls’ problems, versus marketing to them, by developing the website beinggirl.com.
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| www.beinggirl.com |
The site provided a place for young girls to talk to each other and get answers to embarrassing questions that they may not want to ask their parents, and do so anonymously. You can decide to join or simply observe. Authors Li and Bernoff state that, “Nearly half of girls ages twelve to fifteen are community-loving Joiners.”
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| The Social Technographics Profile of young girls, ages 12 - 18 |
P&G knew that they needed to create a site that would be a community. It had to not focus solely on feminine products, but many other topics that girls were interested in like boys, relationships, music, shaving, etc. The point was to create a safe, online community for teenage girls and to get them talking. Through their website, they provided the opportunity for discussions around their products that people would most likely not have face-to-face. By doing this, P&G could subtly advertise, reach their audience, and participate in conversations with customers where they would not have been able to otherwise.
Proctor & Gamble’s approach to creating an online community is just one of many examples of the marketing uses through social media. This approach may not be for everyone, but it certainly worked for P&G. They brought the teens to them; they provided the forum, and let them do the talking. They also allowed for anonymity. We have been discussing in class the fact that our online identities give us the liberty to be someone else or in this case, maybe ask an embarrassing question.
Feeling a part of a community is important to most people. When we are with others like us, we feel accepted and not alone. Companies can use this to their advantage by creating an online community related to what they are trying to sell. There is always the risk of negative talk, but the advantages seem to outweigh the risk. I could have used some of these online communities growing up, what about you?
I think it was a great idea for P&G to utilize social media to market their products. It is even more encouraging for young girls to go to beinggirl.com, since it is an anonymous community about a number of topics that girls would actually be interested in!
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