Page 90 - 100 Great Marketing Ideas (100 Great Ideas)

41 FORM A CLUB

People like to associate themselves with the products they buy,
and very often people have a great deal in common with other people
who use the same products. Motorcyclists have a strong fellow
feeling for other bikers, private pilots often meet up to swap stories
and share experiences, and even rail commuters form associations
to campaign for better service from the railroad.

Such groups are powerful—from a marketing viewpoint, they can
create strong loyalties among their members (such as the Harley
Owners Group, or HOG, for owners of Harley-Davidson motorbikes)
or they can become a real thorn in the company’s flesh, like the
aforementioned rail commuters’ groups.

The idea

Huggies is a Kimberly-Clark brand of disposable diapers that, as
well as the basic version, offers variants such as swimming versions
and Pull-Ups (used for potty training). The brand is successful in
a competitive market, but one element in the marketing that gives
Huggies a distinct edge is the Huggies Club.

The Huggies Club is open to expectant and new mothers, and
offers discussion forums, advice from other new mothers, and the
opportunity to provide feedback about Huggies products. The site
avoids the patronizing “this is how to do it” approach common
to many other sites—the site genuinely belongs to the mothers,
and they are free to discuss anything and everything to do with
having a baby and looking after it, whether it is related to Huggies
or not.

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