Page 472 - Foundations of Marketing

Integrated Marketing Communications | Chapter 15 439

Emerging Trends

Procter & Gamble Generates Renewed Interest in Tide through Viral Marketing

How does a mature brand remain relevant today? Procter by implementing video clichés such as talking animals
& Gamble’s Tide laundry detergent used a combination of and celebrity cameos. Yet rather than defending itself,
satire and social media to go viral. Viral marketing is one Tide capitalized on the free press by responding with a
of the most effective forms of marketing. Viral marketing video similar to what was described and placing the video
is a strategy to get consumers to share a marketer’s mes- on YouTube. The video attracted over 20,000 views and
sage, often through e-mail or online video, in a way that earned the company a following through a powerful
spreads dramatically and quickly. Viral promotions can media outlet.
enable brands to gain traction through a simple click and These types of digital marketing campaigns are par-
track the output in a cost effective way. ticularly important as P&G has declined in retailer ratings
It all started when Tide wanted to respond to an article over the past few years. Yet as P&G’s success with digital
written about the company. The Onion , a satirical newspa- media has shown, using innovative marketing campaigns
per, mocked Tide’s attempt to stay relevant to consumers can generate an interest in even the most mature brands.
a

© iStockphoto.com/CRTd

customers and stakeholders, a company employs public relations. Public relations is a broad
set of communication efforts used to create and maintain favorable relationships between an
organization and its stakeholders. Maintaining a positive relationship with one or more stake-
holders can affect a firm’s current sales and profits, as well as its long-term survival.
Public relations uses a variety of tools, including annual reports, brochures, event sponsor-
ship, and sponsorship of socially responsible programs aimed at protecting the environment
or helping disadvantaged individuals. The goal of public relations is to create and enhance a
positive image of the organization. Increasingly, marketers are going directly to consumers
with their public relations efforts to bypass the traditional media intermediary (newspapers,
magazines, and television). Companies like Best Buy have been creating content on YouTube
with the goal of bringing viewers into the “geek world” as well as providing tutorial videos on
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electronics-related issues.
Other tools arise from the use of publicity, which is a component of public relations.
Publicity is nonpersonal communication in news-story form about an organization or its prod-
ucts, or both, transmitted through a mass medium at no charge. A few examples of publicity-
based public relations tools are news releases, press conferences, feature articles, and even
social media sites such as YouTube and Twitter. To generate publicity, companies sometimes
give away products to celebrities in the hope that the celebrities will be seen and photographed
with the product, and those photos will stimulate awareness and product trial among their
fans. At the start of the Academy Awards, stars receive gift bags with free products valued in
the thousands of dollars. Ordinarily, public relations efforts are planned and implemented to
be consistent with and support other elements of the promotion mix. Public relations efforts
may be the responsibility of an individual or of a department within the organization, or the
organization may hire an independent public relations agency.
Unpleasant situations and negative events, such as product tampering or an environmental
disaster, may generate unfavorable public relations for an organization. For instance, Beef
Products Inc. (BPI), which used a pink meaty pulp to increase the leanness of ground beef,
nearly went bankrupt after a blogger called its product “pink slime.” After major news chan-
nels got wind of the story, customers began leaving BPI in droves, causing the firm to shutter
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many of its factories. To minimize the damaging effects of unfavorable coverage, effective
marketers have policies and procedures in place to help manage public relations problems.

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