I recently attended an AMAKC event featuring Faultless Starch and MBB+ Agency where they presented a case study of brand rejuvenation. Faced with declining starch usage due to changing fashion trends, Faultless Starch approached MBB+ agency to help them rejuvenate their brand. In a nutshell, here’s what they did.

First, Faultless hired a company to research what kind of people frequently use starch for ironing. They looked up demographics (quantitative data) and opinions/ feelings of starch users (qualitative data). Research showed their audience was typically male, white-collar workers, mostly concentrated in the southern regions of the U.S. Some thoughts they heard from starch users included “When I iron, I have a sense of pride knowing I look my best”, “I feel better about myself when my clothes are starched” and “Looking well-put together gives me an edge at work.” Faultless took this research to MBB+ and asked them to develop a marketing campaign that would increase sales of Faultless Premium starch.

MBB+ started by finding Faultless’s audience and crafting a message to connected with their audience. They decided to use a brand advocate – “someone who could share their wisdom with people who may be struggling to look their best.” That’s where Ironing Board Sam came into the picture. Sam served as a spokesperson for Faultless, utilizing his musical talents and long history of performing. MBB+ built a new website for Faultless featuring “Ironing Board Sam-isms,” a series of short videos of Sam singing about Faultless spray starch. They promoted these videos, such as “The Wrinkle Blues“, on social media and other digital platforms, targeting the southern region of the U.S. where the majority of starch users reside.

 

The campaign resulted in 13% increase in Faultless Premium starch sales and gross profit, 1.5 million impressions, 2.8 million brand interactions, 124,713 coupons redeemed and 102% lift in intent to purchase Faultless Premium starch.

So how does this relate to marketing as a grocery retailer?

When faced with a challenging market, Faultless looked at what they were doing well and developed a strong marketing strategy around that concept. Retailers should do the same! Look at what you’re doing well and advertise the heck out of it. Think about what makes you unique and develop your marketing around it. If you’re a hometown, local store, emphasize that everywhere – in your weekly circular, website, social media pages, in-store signage – every marketing platform your store uses. If you’re a family-owned business, capitalize off that.

If you’re not sure what you’re doing well, look at data from your loyalty card provider. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software collects loads of data on customers enrolled in your loyalty program; you can analyze that data to learn about your customers shopping habits and improve your store’s offers. If you don’t have a loyalty program, then simply ask your customers what you’re doing well. Survey customers at the register or through out your store to find out what people like about your store. Once you know your strengths, create your marketing material around them. Remind your customers what makes your store unique and why they enjoy shopping at your store.

For videos of Ironing Board Sam, check out the Faultless Starch website – https://faultless.com/sam/

*Slides/ images courtesy of Leah Mountain, MBB Agency.