A recent article in The Wall Street Journal detailed declining U.S. sales of liquid softener, which has put P&G under pressure. As the owner of market leading products Downy and Gain, P&G has maintained the safety of its softeners in response to consumers' concerns over harmful chemicals. It is not only these concerns but a lack of education on the product that has led to a 15% decline in sales between 2007 and 2015. Millennials "don't know what the product is for," said Jejurikar on a call with analysts this month.
To educate the modern Millennial clothes washer, P&G and competitors have launched explanatory ad campaigns. P&G is also seeking to alter perceptions by rebranding its product as "fabric conditioner."
We turned to our sources at AccessConfidential.com for a look into marketing budgets for fabric softeners (a.k.a. conditioners).
- In 2015, Downy just about doubled Gain's total media spend of $35MM.
- Snuggle, owned by The Sun Products Corporation, allocated over 40% of its media budget to cable television in 2015.
- Despite the press attention to increased marketing efforts, Gain decreased its media budgets significantly from 2014 to 2015.
Will P&G iron out the wrinkles and tap into the Millennial market? How will 2016 and 2017 budgets reflect new priorities for the CPG category?
Get profiles on 30K advertisers and find the contact information for the decision makers you need to reach at AccessConfidential.com.
Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleagues.
The opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author and/or subject(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet, Inc. management or associated bloggers.