| Wouldn't it be deadly dull if everything was the same? | | | | - Attend the major bathroom product trade shows. |
| One type of breath mints: Tic Tacs cinnamon. One | | | | Set up meetings in advance with bathroom paper |
| flavor of ice cream: pistachio. Variety is the spice of | | | | analysts and the editors of Toilet Paper: Just Kleenex |
| our lives. It's what makes the eyes twinkle, the taste | | | | On a Roll?, Two-Ply Gazette, and Bathroom Products |
| buds tingle, and the ad guys rich. If every toilet paper | | | | Journal. (Of course, I made these up) |
| was squeezably soft, what could you say about | | | | - Hold a "Softest Toilet Paper" contest. Publish the |
| Charmin? | | | | results; Get media coverage. Send demo products to |
| As we all know, though, every toilet paper is | | | | toilet paper reviewers. |
| squeezably soft (unless you're in a public restroom - | | | | - Get Charmin's spokesperson on the popular talk |
| where do they find that stuff?). But Charmin was the | | | | show, "Potty Talk." |
| first to call itself squeezably soft, and they | | | | - Garner an industry award. Send a press release. |
| communicated this message every chance they got | | | | - Do a press tour of the bathroom paper trade |
| using a variety of methods (a spokesperson who | | | | magazines. |
| couldn't resist squeezing the Charmin, soft focus | | | | I won't go on because I've still got that product demo |
| product shots, splashy magazine ads, billboards, you | | | | image in my head, but you get the idea. In all of these |
| name it.) This is what's known as differentiating a | | | | activities (called "tactics" in PR lingo), the key message |
| product. It also positions the product within its | | | | would be reinforced, like a mantra: squeezably soft, |
| marketplace: if Charmin is squeezably soft, where | | | | squeezably soft, squeezably soft. Pretty soon, the |
| does that leave its competitors? They'll have to come | | | | target audience (people who use toilet paper) find |
| up with another "position" because that one's already | | | | themselves thinking: "I think I'll buy Charmin this time. I |
| been filled. | | | | don't know why, but I have this feeling it must be |
| The above is an example of how advertising positions | | | | squeezably soft." |
| and differentiates. But who has the bucks to do an | | | | For larger organizations like Charmin's parent company, |
| expensive ad campaign like this one? | | | | Procter & Gamble, a combination of advertising, |
| Let's take a look at how we can do the same thing | | | | marketing, merchandising and public relations is used. |
| (albeit on a smaller scale) with public relations. | | | | But if you can only afford one avenue, public relations |
| A public relations program for differentiating Charmin | | | | can be an effective, low-cost way to differentiate and |
| might work something like this: | | | | position your company, its products or services. |