Owning Stain Moments and Sources of Stains

House proud Turkish housewives can be set in their ways when it comes to laundry. Collectively, they resist the use of additives in their laundry and are unaware of the products available to them. The success of any brand trying to break into such a resistant market depends heavily on when and where it engages with its audience.

Aware that the typical Turkish housewife is very strict about their housekeeping regime, and that there was a general knowledge gap about stain removal products, Ariel decided to concentrate its efforts in those moments when stains represented the biggest threat.

The first key “stain moment” identified came with evening mealtimes during Ramadan. During this holy period in the Muslim calendar, Muslims are not allowed to eat during the day, and the fast-breaking meal in the evening is a celebratory affair involving friends and family. Turkish women plan and prepare these meals carefully, and the prospect of a stained table cloth is unacceptable. The ritual of watching television for the official notification of fast breaking time is a popular one, so Ariel devised a TV execution that focused on the suitability of Ariel for cleaning table linen.

Other activity saw the use of floor stickers at the supermarket located near particularly stain-dangerous produce, and distribution of free samples at shopping malls. The brand also targeted passengers at bus station coming home from their summer holidays, who might be worried about the post-holiday laundry.

A targeted blogging strategy saw the delivery of 10,000 trial kits, to spread the brand awareness online. Combining the blogger samples with those distributed at shopping centres and transport hubs, a total of 400,000 kits were given away.

The intense strategy appears to have been successful. The combination of carefully targeted marketing, sampling and a persuasive 1-on-1 engagement strategy using Ariel representatives in shopping locations, saw an impressive rise in Ariel’s market share to 31%. Brand awareness also improved, with aided recall rising to a brand high of 96%.