5 Marketing Lessons from the Founder of OxiClean
Originally posted to LinkedIn Pulse [Read the original article here]
Every summer growing up, my family would stop in at the annual Fair at the PNE in Vancouver, BC. Our favorite part was walking through the marketplace which exhibited hundreds of vendors selling ingenious gadgets and gizmos designed to make your everyday life easier. From the Vitamix to the Magically Shammy (or ShamWow) – the presentations and demonstrations never failed to “wow” the audience. Which is why you can understand my excitement when I found out I would be meeting the man who gave us Billy Mays.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Joel Appel, founder of OxiClean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom and one of Colorado’s greatest entrepreneurs. He shared his story of growing his business – from inception to the sale of the company for $325 million. While infomercials and traditional selling principles have changed a great deal over the decades the core principles of selling still live on when marketing in today’s digital world.
5 Marketing Lessons from Joel Appel, Founder of OxiClean:
Joel walked us through his OxiClean and Orange Glo story. Below I've summarized the top 5 takeaways for the modern marketer.
1. Understand How to Breakthrough the Market
Two words: Billy Mays. What could be more brilliant than juxtaposing cleaning products with a boisterous, masculine and memorable man? One key ingredient in the success of OxiClean and Orange Glo was that Billy Mays stood out. He broke the rules of what was expected. When you are competing against the likes of Clorox, Pledge, Shout, and Fantastik, brands with colossal marketing budgets, you need to be clever. You need to understand what your competitors are doing and think creatively to find a way to earn the attention of your target audience.
Lesson for the modern marketer: Be clever and break through the noise.
2. Drive Awareness
Putting a product on a retail shelf in today’s over saturated market is a tough way to win market share. The overwhelming number of consumer brands means you need to prove your worth to your target audience. People want to know why they should pick your product over the multitude of alternatives. The best way to tell them why? Simply by showing them.
Infomercials and home show exhibitors have mastered the art of product demonstrations, providing the real-life proof consumers crave. Pre-internet, Joel understood the power of media and used it to his advantage to market OxiClean. Joel started by making a large, sunk cost investment in a two minute commercial (starring Billy Mays) that demonstrated the power of OxiClean. He then purchased a small amount of media time to test the market. They were able to earn double the cost of their initial media test back in sales from airing their commercial and so they bought more. Eventually upping their spend to $100,000 of media time per week.
However, the true goal of the infomercial is not to drive sales but to drive awareness. The media coverage helped OxiClean win a place in the minds of consumers and eventually a place on the shelves of retail spaces. Walmart, Target, and Costco all began to carry OxiClean which gave their product legitimacy. They were able to go from being an infomercial product to a top consumer brand used in households everywhere. Today marketers can follow the same formula using social advertisements and online videos – the modern-day infomercial.
Lesson for the modern marketer: Invest in a high-quality demonstration of the value of your product and test online media channels to reach your target audience.
3. Stay True to Your Brand DNA
The success of OxiClean brought an onslaught of competitors into their market – what Joel calls, “the attack of the Clones”. Every big brand wanted a piece of OxiClean’s pie and they went after it in full force. OxiClean’s competitors aired commercial after commercial directly attacking OxiClean. At first, OxiClean ignored the head on competitor ads, but when sales began to decline OxiClean went looking for help. They partnered with a reputable marketing agency that told them to change a number of things about their strategy, from altering the packaging to even canning Billy Mays. The result? Sales plummeted even further.
Revamping their packaging confused OxiClean buyers; the changes made their brand look like something else, something their buyers did not recognize at all. These mistakes cost OxiClean a further drop in sales of 35%. Realizing that the changes were hurting more than helping, they went back to their roots. By improving their product and reverting back to their tried and tested initial marketing strategy they were able to stabilize the company – illustrating the importance of not wavering from your founding principles. When you build a brand that picks up momentum you need to stick to what works.
Lesson for the modern marketer: When your brand compass is tested, go back to the basics – your founding 4 P’s (product, place, promotion, price).
4. Be First to Market and Work Out the Kinks as You Go
Joel Appel’s success launching numerous new businesses comes down to a science he has perfected: conduct marketing research, test the market and ramp up. When you identify a viable opportunity you need to move quickly. If you are a small fish in a big sea and wait to be second you will miss your chance. No one remembers the second movers (without a huge investment of advertising dollars) – moving first is critical. But move wisely. Execute marketing research to find out what consumers need and then smooth out the flaws in your design once your business begins to grow.
Lesson for the modern marketer: Start frugally and then perfect your product or service offering over time.
5. Love What You Do, But Don’t Make Decisions with Your Heart
Love what you do. Words to live by for every professional, but exceptionally important for entrepreneurs and innovators. Pioneering new paths takes guts, grit, and conviction. You need to be passionate but also be smart. It is important to love what you do but know when to get out quickly. Some ideas just don’t stick and no matter how emotionally invested you are, you can’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. Know when to pull the plug.
Lesson for the modern marketer: Know when to separate your emotions from the facts.
Do you have a favorite infomercial? What lessons can you glean from the timeless principles of infomercial selling?