Before I go any further I want to say I have NO marketing
experience, have never worked in the marketing department of any company nor
have I worked in advertising. This is how my imagination sees a new product
being launched. The product we are talking about is toothpaste. I will not identify
the brand or the product within that brand, but the following is based on
something I bought.
Around a table representatives of Research and
Development Department and Product Support are
gathered to discuss the pricing and
benefits of a new product.
PS: It’s great to have a new product to add to our range of
twenty different types of toothpaste. Please tell us about this one. What is
special about it?
R&D: This is our latest Super Duper, cure all problems,
toothpaste.
PS: Great. What is so special about it?
R&D: It does everything the other toothpastes do but
better. So we can charge more.
PS: Does it cost more to produce?
R&D: Well, actually, no. It’s pretty much the same.
PS: That’s no good, we have to have a fairly legitimate reason
for charging more.
R&D: We solved this by asking our packaging supplier to
come up with a new type of top. Instead of a simple flip cap, or a screw top
with a pull-off piece of foil over the opening, they have made a sealed cap that
needs to be inserted into the lid to release the seal the first time it is
used.
PS: Ah! Like one of those tops that needs to be pierced.
R&D: Oh, no. this is much more complicated. The cap has
a serrated edge to it which you insert into the top of the cap to match up with
inverted serrations which you then twist to remove the seal.
PS: I see. And we tell the customers how this works on the
packaging?
R&D: No need for that, we need pretty pictures on the
packaging to show how clever the toothpaste is at cleaning your teeth and
preventing sensitivity.
PS: And for this we can charge more?
R&D: Yes, the tops are more expensive to make as they
need twice as much plastic for a start, let alone the engineering involved in
making the serrations and the release mechanism.
PS: Great. Because it is more expensive customers will
realise it is a better product. It is a better product, isn’t it?
R&D: Well, it’s toothpaste. It does pretty much the same
as any toothpaste if used correctly. Seeing as how most people don’t use
toothpaste correctly, it doesn’t really make that much difference. But we can
charge more for it and that will increase company profits.
PS: It says in the test results that some people have
complained that they have a strange sensation in their mouths after using it.
R&D: Probably down to the chemicals in it. But we can
use that to say that it gives a tingling fresh feel to your mouth after use.
People are suckers for gimmicks like that. Most toothpastes don’t leave you
feeling anything, but if your mouth is tingling after use you know you have
done a good job!
