Tag Archives: branding

Who Smells?

Most of your students are probably in their late teens or early twenties. They can surely remember how it felt to go through puberty and all the physical changes it wrought in them. Using ‘adult’ products may have felt too old and stodgy, but the ‘youth’ products may not have fit all the needs too.

Deodorant is one of those tricky products to choose as youths turn into adults. Deodorant is used daily by 90% of Americans aged 18 – 29. That’s a lot of product and it comes at a time when the younger consumer is trying on different products and personalities to fit their needs.

Entering the tween/teen market with a fresh approach is Miles, a deodorant designed specifically for teens. The products were designed to help ease the stress of being a teen and uses inclusive branding for all teens, regardless of gender, expectations, or activities. While legacy deodorant brands represent a more traditional view of manhood, Gen Z views themselves with more focus on individuality. Key words for the product are clean, rugged, and fresh – quickly conveying the scents and brand focus.

Only sold online currently, Miles is sold at $8.99/unit. It will also be available this spring at Target stores.

What does your deodorant smell like?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Show Miles’ website: https://hey-miles.com/
  2. Discuss the importance of clearly defining a target market.
  3. In the case of Miles, is the buyer the same as the product user? What are the differences between the two groups?
  4. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a profile of a target market for Miles. Include demographics, psychographics, behaviors, values, attitudes, etc.
  5. Based on the target market profile, what makes this product unique for these customers?
  6. Next, have each team select three different tactics to use for Miles. Explain why each tactic was selected and how it will be used.
  7. Debrief by putting together the entire suggested lists on the white board. As a final step, have the entire class vote on the top three tactics to use.

Source:  Norfleet, N. (24 February 2023) Sweet smell of success? Deodorant line hopes so. Minneapolis Star Tribune.

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Tik Tok Interns

Do you use TikTok? If so, you are a part of a community of 1.5 billion monthly users around the world!

TikTok was launched in 2016 by Chinese tech company Bytedance.  In 2017 TikTok went global and has since grown to become one of the most popular social media apps in the world. Downloaded more than 3.5 billion times since launch, the app regularly garners 500 million additional downloads each quarter, and was the most downloaded app of 2022!

TikTok may have started with a young audience of teens, but it is far from being just a teen app.  In the U.S., the age range of 25-34 year-olds accounts for nearly 25% of its users, an important demographic for brands and advertisers. And, 18% of all Internet users use TikTok. TikTok is available in 154 countries and 90% of its users access the app daily.

TikTok is so valuable to brands that many companies are now hiring TikTok ‘interns’ to help them reach users. Job sites have listings for “TikTok content creators.” These creators are being asked to both make and appear in videos promoting various products and retailers. Companies hiring this expertise include Claire’s, Whole Foods, Travel Pro, and even Rosedale Mall located in Roseville, Minn. Brands are hiring college students and other young people to help them successfully navigate TikTok, and create an impactful campaign.

What will you create?  

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Show TikTok in class: https://www.tiktok.com/
  2. You could also show a specific company/brand. (Ex: Fenty Beauty: https://www.tiktok.com/@fentybeauty )
  3. Poll students: How do they use it? When? How long? How influential is it on their behavior?
  4. Have students uploaded their own videos? If so, show several of their videos in class.
  5. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a brand/company and analyze the company’s TikTok campaigns.
  6. Make sure students first identify the target market including demographics, psychographics, behaviors, values, etc.
  7. [Additional assignment: Have each team create an original TikTok video for a product or company they would like to work at.]
  8. Show TikTok’s career site: https://careers.tiktok.com/campus/project/internships

Source:  Maheshwari, S. (14 February 2023). Wanted: Interns who can make TikTok hits. New York Times.

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What’s Wrong with Fluffy? Do the Test at Home.

We all know that the pet industry is booming. There are more pets in homes than ever before!

And that means people need more pet products such as foods and toys. According to Morgan Stanley financial services company, the pet industry is expected to grow to an estimated $275 billion by 2030!

This growth also means that having more pets bring on more pet illnesses for owners to be concerned about. And visits to the veterinary clinic can be quite costly and time consuming. What if pet owners could get a diagnosis for their furry friends at home? It has the potential of diagnosing pet illnesses earlier, and at a lower cost.

That’s the premise behind a Minneapolis-based company named ‘My Simple Pet Lab’. The company makes in-home pet diagnostic tests for dogs and cats including stool tests, ear infection tests, and more. The tests were designed by veterinarians and can be used by either vets, groomers, or pet parents. Tests can be done at home, sent to the lab,  and results are emailed to you within days. It gives a test result easy to understand and share with your vet automatically online.

Distribution is a key goal for the company and tests are being added to Target stores in addition to Walmart and Amazon, plus through various vet clinics, boarders, and groomers.

A healthy pet means a happy home.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:  

  1. Discuss how to build and use a SWOT analysis grid: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (internal and external factors).
  2. For MySimplePet products, break students into teams and have each team build a SWOT analysis grid.
    1. Strengths: what is company good at?
    1. Weaknesses: what needs work?
    1. Opportunities: what is going on in marketplace?
    1. Threats: what should company be wary of?
  3. Based on the analysis, what are the issues and risks that might occur?
  4. Debrief by building SWOT analysis grid on the white board.

Source:  Williams, N. (15 December 2022). Make of in-home diagnostic tests for pets ready to grow. Minneapolis Star Tribune.

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