This Advertising Age article notes that consumers are willing to pay more money for products they believe are designed to prevent overuse. New products should increase category sales, but in this case category sales declined. Instead, P&G sales grew as the Tide Pods stole customers from competitors. The discussion of this innovation and positioning can be enhanced by using the following videos:
Discussion Questions:
- Have you used Tide Pods? If so, what are your thoughts about it? If you have not used it, why not?
- Is the convenience and innovation worth paying more money for it?
- Based on the videos and article, what positioning strategy is being used (see Chapter 4)? Explain.
- Describe the target market for Tide Pods, demographics and psychographics.
- Looking at the methods of segmenting markets in Chapter 4, which segmentation method is best for Tide Pods? Why?
- Based on the success of Tide Pods, can you think of other product categories that might benefit from an innovation that provides a specified amount?
- The article mentioned toothpaste manufacturers have increased the size of the tube opening and show a large amount on a toothbrush to encourage consumers to use more. Is this ethical? What other products fall into this situation of encouraging overuse?
Clow/Baack 