Who has not seen an Old Spice ad recently? The campaign has been a huge viral success. But while it has put the brand name to the front and got everyone talking about this being the new model, has the campaign done what it was meant to? has it increased sales and market share? The short answer is that it appears that it has not. (Bnet)

Procter & Gamble (PG) faces an unpleasant dilemma on its Old Spicebrand: Its campaign — featuring an impossibly handsome man in a towel who tells women, “So ladies, should your man smell like an Old Spice man? You tell me” — is hugely popular but sales of the product are going down. The campaign reached a climax this week as the Old Spice Guy filmed more than 200 improvised videos replying to questions and requests from Twitter users. Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan, the Ellen Show and Perez Hilton were among those who got YouTube-ed replies.

But the shower-fresh brand has a dirty secret, as Brandweek notes:

For instance, it was none other than P&G that picked up the Film Grand Prix this year for Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” TV spot from Wieden + Kennedy. There is little doubt about the viral hit’s popularity. Launched in February, the official version has racked up nearly 12.2 million YouTube views.

But sales of the featured product—Red Zone After Hours Body Wash—aren’t necessarily tracking with that consumer appeal: In the 52 weeks ended June 13, sales of the brand have dropped 7 percent according to SymphonyIRI. (That amount excludes those rung up at Walmart.) P&G execs were not available to comment.

* This view of the results is under challenge – they are not my numbers – please have a look at the end of this post for comment that suggests that the Old Spice Campaign may be doing much better

On the other hand, how much do you know about the Kotex campaign for U BY Kotex? Maybe you have not – you have missed some fun there too. But what they have done has worked. This is a new product and in less than 6 months it has reached an 8.3% market share in a mature market and it has not cannibalized the older Kotex brand. So what is the difference. Both had used very funny viral videos. What is the secret? I called on Jordan Miller who is the point person on the campaign and asked her this question.

At the heart of the Kotex Campaign is “Listening” and real conversation. The big idea was to take a taboo subject – periods – and offer up the support and the safe place where women and girls could help each other with advice and support. The funny videos were ‘Ice Breakers” and not an end in themselves. Their point was to make it easier to talk about a topic that even in our progressive time was off limits. The early videos also pointed fun at the old Kotex ads that had girls twirling in white swimsuits and where pads always had a blue liquid. If I have intrigued you go to this link to see some videos – the ones that Kotex made and now also the ones that the public have made.

This Facebook snip says a lot. We see the taboo aspect of the topic and the fear. We can see that Kotex have made it safe to ask questions. We can see that Jordan Miller is personally on top of the site – she never seems to sleep! Many questions are answered personally.

On the main site there is a panel of Experts, Mums and Peers that answer more generic questions.

So what has happened? What has made this work?

Simply, Kotex (Kimberly Clark) have seen through the viral fun aspect of social media – though they have pulled this aspect off very well – and got to the core. They have set up a space where it is safe to have a conversation on a topic where the silence has been deafening.  They have levelled the power by telling the truth about even themselves and laughed at how they used to talk about the issue and the product. All the video that they mock was their own old ads.

Central is no pounding message about the product! But a focus on the people who have concerns about their periods. The Old Spice ad is really about Old Spice. The U By Kotex campaign is about you and people like you who share a common problem.

I asked Jordan what she thought was the secret and her answer was that the senior folks really believed that this was the way to go – “They are the best Client I have ever worked for”. It’s ironic that top level support is still pivotal now when the culture  is so opposed to letting go power.

And power has been let go. All organizations who go down this road are scared that someone will say the wrong thing. All sorts of safe guards are set up that risk reintroducing the corporate voice and slowing the pace down.

Senior leaders gave up this control to their point person – Jordan. Who has been allowed to be very edgy on an edgy topic. The campaign is not run on a day by day basis by a committee but by one person who has a real voice and a rweal personality who is well known to all who participate.

For we know that we can’t have conversations with institutions but only with people. In my opinion this is the most important aspect of the entire campaign – the trust that Kotex put in a single person who has to participate in real time 24/7. There is no time to oversee and still be human. So the choice of who you pick is critical. The give up of power is critical. Not many organizations can make  this move but it is I think the key.

So what next? Kimberly Clark have to go forward. Not only has the campaign been a technical success in that it has moved product – but more important they are now connected to a community of 1.4 million women who have found something important to them in the conversation. What a place to find yourselves in as an organization! No more twirling!

So the “conversation” that we all need to have is not about your product or your service per se – but it is about your customers. What do they need to talk about? It’s not just about a funny viral video and being talked about. It is about having conversations about matters that are important to people.

The “conversation” has to be hosted not by an impersonal institution but by a person who in turn has to be trusted not to let the organization down.

“These markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny and often shocking. Whether explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakably genuine. It can’t be faked.” (Cluetrain)

This is not easy – everything we have learned to-date makes any of this hard.

Later this week a story about Boingo – who have found some ways about how to make this easier to start.

PS

PS Ciaran McCabe contacted me to tell me that the Bnet news of falling sales for Old Spice is being challenged

According to PR Week sales of the product increased over 100% last month. A piece in Forbes.com uses the same SymphonyIRI study to show that sales were up 7.9% from the previous year. At this time, there is no way to know which numbers are real and which are not. However, the -7% number still sounds fishy to me.” Source: The Ad Contrarian (Bob Hoffman, owner of SF ad agency Hoffman/Lewis)

PPS from a Commentatin: Rob, love both of these campaigns and agree that the Kotex campaign should get way more credit and press, but people have got to STOP citing these SymphonyIRI numbers in reference to the Old Spice campaign. They measure the year ending June 13th, 2010, a full month BEFORE the viral/social aspect of the Old Spice campaign even started. Not only that, they include 7 full months of sales data BEFORE the tv even ran. I recognize you’re just quoting from other reporting, but you ought to stop and consider whether you should perpetuate the incorrect conclusion that a campaign isn’t working by including PRE-CAMPAIGN sales data as your evidence. And guess what else? According to sales data released by Nielsen in the last few days, the body wash sales are actually up 52% over 3 months and 107% over the last month. Let’s all wait and see data from AFTER the campaign ran before we start drawing conclusions. Seems to be that would be fair.