In order to build brand awareness and gain additional market share, Barbasol rolled out a social media campaign with the concept of “Shave Like a Man” (Lacy, 2013). The idea is to bring back a time when being manly was the way to go. The challenge for Barbasol like many other brands around the world is how to integrate their social media channels effectively (Scott, pg. 72). The demographic that Barbasol is targeting in their social media campaign is the 18-25 year old young adult (Lacy, 2013).
In order to be a brand that is relevant today social media is a must. Therefore, Barbasol launched a new website, rolled out a series of YouTube videos and integrated it all with an active Twitter account. Barbasol has done a fantastic job at listening and communicating with their customers and potential customers via FB and Twitter. As I now know , on the web, customers, stakeholders, and the media can immediately see what’s on people’s minds (Scott, pg. 64). Barbasol’s consistent monitoring and response time has indicated the brand cares about what customers think.
The newly launched Barbasol.com website is clean and crisp. The website flows well with the rest of the company’s social media campaign. It is clear that the content is written by someone who is passionate about the topic of shaving cream and the barbershop culture (Scott, pg. 53). Just have a look at their shaving tips section.
Reference List:
Scott, David Meerman. (2013). The New Rules of Marketing and PR
(4th ed.). New York: McGrawHill
Lacy, Lisa. (February 4, 2013).
Barbasol Looks to Previous Generations In Shave Like a Man Promo. Retrieved on
February 12, 2015 from http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2239960/barbasol-looks-to-previous-generations-in-shave-like-a-man-promo
Hi Loren – Interesting example! I actually wasn’t familiar with Barbasol and I did some research after reading your post. I think you’re right, the “Shave Like a Man” campaign is really clever and funny. Similarly, Brut’s campaign “Let your man out,” and Old Spice’s “Smell like a man, man” campaigns target the same demographic with humor, too (Elliott, 2013). Given the competition in the male hygiene product category, I wonder if Barbasol has differentiated itself enough as a brand to resonate with its target audience?
ReplyDeleteBarbasol’s website is rich with content and true to its heritage positioning; however, the content on its social media channels seems to be lacking a general focus. Its Facebook page has the most engagement (~35,000 likes), but I don’t see the same valuable content shared as I do on its website. I think by playing up the humor of its “Shave Like a Man” campaign and better integrating its website content through social media, Barbasol could grow its brand awareness, and eventually its market share and revenue. In addition to better social media tactics, how else do you think Barbasol could grow its fan base? What third-party endorser should they think about recruiting?
References
S. Elliott. (2013, January 27). Across the Generations: Advice on the Proper Shave. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/business/media/from-barbasol-shaving-advice-across-the-generations.html?_r=0
Mary & Team - How could Barbasol improve its social media marketing/ presence to become superior in regards to its competitors?
DeleteHi Loren – Very insightful and well written post! As a man and an occasional user of Barbasol shaving products, I’m on board. Gillette uses famous people and professional athletes to market their products paired with modern products, Dollar Shave Club focuses on price and convenience, and Barbasol embraces being a man with a more traditional approach. As frugal as I am, Dollar Shave Club doesn’t interest me. I go between Gillette and Barbasol depending on what’s being offered at the location I’m shopping and prices (sales). Barbasol is traditional. I’ve seen it in almost every barber shop I’ve been in. To reach a younger clientele, it was imperative for Barbasol to use social media to reach their 18-25 year-old, young adult target market. Whether it be their cool website, #likeaman hashtags, or interesting YouTube videos focusing on manly tasks Barbasol is letting us know it’s out there and that it’s a manly option.
ReplyDeleteScott reinforces the fact that although it’s great to have desirable products and services, “The most important thing to remember as you develop a marketing and PR plan is to put your products and services to the side for just a little while and focus your complete attention on the buyers of your products” (Scott, 2013, p. 161). I believe that like Mary’s reference to Red Bull in her blog post, Barbasol also does a superior job of focusing on the customer.
Do you feel Barbasol should breach their target market and expand it to include women? If so, do you think it’s something they’d be successful doing? What are some of the weaknesses in Barbasol’s marketing plan or how it uses social media? You mention they should leverage their YouTube videos more; how could they use the other social media platforms to increase viewership? Think about how we’ve utilized social media to increase traffic to our blogs. Are any of its competitors doing something that Barbsol themselves should be trying, i.e. delivering products to consumer homes?
Thank you and best regards,
Andrew
Works Cited
Scott, D. M. (2013). The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, & viral marketing to reach buyers directly. (4 ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Mary, awesome feedback. The one important element that Barbasol still has is that it is made in America. The fact that since 1919 the brand still manufactures their product in the USA (Ohio) instantly gains the brand a loyal following. BRUT and Old Spice are no longer made in the USA. For Barbasol to expand they should look at endorsements from the NASCAR world. Also, I think endorsements from additional sports such as Hunting, Boxing and Motocross would be beneficial to their growth.
ReplyDeleteLoren - Great point and I think the "Made in America" attribute is Barbasol's point of differentiation, don't you think? I think they can really play up that point even more in their social media communications and on their website. I also think you make a great point about connecting with American culture in their communications, specifically with sports like NASCAR, Hunting, Boxing, and Motocross. Do you think a specific NASCAR driver could help drive growth for Barbasol? How could Barbasol use social media to incorporate a celebrity endorsement?
DeleteMary, Loren - I think the 'Made in America' attribute is a testament to Barbasol. I think a young Nascar driver or golfer, such as Jordan Spieth would be a great endorser for the brand.
DeleteAndrew, thanks for the comments and questions. Barbasol does have a female brand of shaving cream that they do well with. In fact, when the female shaving cream brand started to take off more jobs where created in the USA. That is why I like Barbasol so much. Personally they embrace the ultimate CSR strategy. The better the brand does the more jobs that are created in the USA. That is in addition to the millions the company spends in the community and around the USA on a variety of important causes. Barbasol seems to be split in their social media strategy, They have good content. Now it is about integrating that content. When they release a YouTube video the link should be Tweeted, posted on FB, blasted out via newsletter, embedded in various blogs throughout the web, personally emailed to friends of all the employees of the company, etc. Make the day about promoting the awesome content that Barbasol created. It will work and the benefits will be solid for the brand as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThere are other shaving creams brands that utilize social media by tapping into third party endorsements of major sports figures. This is something Barbasol can improve on. It will cost a considerable amount of money. Although, I think the benefits might be worth it if the goal is to expand market share.
Hi Loren - Thank you for your insight and answers to my questions. As a final point, if you were creating a social media marketing plan for a new shaving cream, would you follow an approach similar to Barbasol's? What would you do differently or similar?
DeleteThank you,
Andrew
Mary, I agree on the point about differentiation. I would be curious to know if Brut saw a sales dropped when the company decided to move manufacturing to Canada instead of the USA. I would tailor an entire social media campaign around a celebrity endorser. Social media applications such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook would be in full swing with the endorsers image and comments. Celebrities instantly add credibility today. Although, the cost of getting a celebrity to endorse a product is usually very high. I still think it is worth it especially for a brand such as Barbasol.
ReplyDeleteHi Loren,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great example that you picked for this week’s post. Barbasol presents an interesting challenge. The Barbasol brand has been on store shelves and in men’s grooming arsenal for many years but it has a product that is designed for a simple singular task with numerous competitors and no diversification in the product line beyond shaving creams. To me it seems that Barbasol is trying a little too hard to be relevant within social media. There messages are scattered and unfocused in building a brand message. From my experience in shaving, which I don’t enjoy in the slightest, I want a shaving cream that will help make the job easy and less irritating on my skin. Just promoting “being a man” does not sell it for me in the least. Barbasol should focus on how they have evolved their product over the 90 plus years they are doing business and better tie customer testimonials that speak to the satisfaction of its use. Do you think that they have tried too hard to fit in to the social media cool club?