The Customer is Always….
I have been reading with interest the ongoing debate over P&G’s introduction of the new Pampers Cruisers with Dry Max.
No, really, keep reading.
Yes, I am into diapers. Really into diapers. I have two children ages 3 and 20 months. But I am also in corporate PR, and any time loyal consumers get riled up and launch a Facebook page to complain about corporate marketing practices over one of their favorite products, I feel greatly divided.
One side of my brain (the mom and consumer and spender of large amounts of cash on Pampers Cruisers) says: You Go, Informed Consumer, Speak Your Voice! The other side of my brain (the marketer and corporate PR gatekeeper) says, Yikes. What Would I Do?
To sum up: P&G launched a great new diaper technology (Dry Max) that is more absorbent, thinner (i.e. more comfortable and better for packaging), and more environmentally friendly than their traditional Pamper Cruisers brand. The product was endorsed by President Clinton at the recent Clinton Global Initiative. The problem? The new Dry Max Pampers were introduced in existing packaging for Pampers Cruisers – with no marketing or other method of informing consumers about the change.
Parents opened the familiar purple box and saw a thinner and (what they assumed was) cheaper and less comfortable diaper. It was missing a whole layer! Never mind that tests had proven Dry Max to be more absorbent, with a superior technology. Never mind that Dry Max diapers were thinner (meaning you could stuff more into an exploding diaper bag). Never mind that they made less of an environmental impact than traditional Pampers Cruisers. And did I mention Bill Clinton loves them?
Hell hath no fury like a Mom spurned by a Corporation. Consumers reacted strongly. Many felt they were outright deceived; some were just angry or confused; while others went so far as to launch a Facebook page in support of the old Cruisers.
Ad Age’s Jack Neff did a great job reporting on the story here.
You can get the short version at the parenting blog, strollerderby, here.
P&G says the complaints and feedback were within the ranges of what they expected, and that marketing communications for Dry Max, including sampling, are set to launch this month. Fine. But at this point, the PR becomes an animal hard to control. That beast has got to eat.
Personally, I’ve tried all the diaper brands out there (well, not me personally but you know what I mean), and the Cruisers are the best. To me, as a mom and a marketer, there is only one way to address my current questions, and that’s the holy sample. I’ll be looking for mine in the mail or at my favorite retail outlet. I just think, as does Neff, it should have arrived about 6 months ago.
And the forgotten voice in all this? I’ll ask my kids what they think. They’re the final vote.
