A New Promotion for Duracell
Duracell has been a pretty well-known brand for their everyday use batteries, but a newer product of theirs, the Ultra M3, needed to gain more attention. The Ultra M3 is a higher powered battery for use in high-drain electronics. So what Duracell decided to do was take a new approach to the advertisement of this battery and promote it through concerts. I think it makes really good sense to focus on concert-goers, because this is a group of people who obviously care a lot about their music, and probably play it on high-drain devices such as stereos. And although many people use products such as iPods that don't need any kind of battery, there are still many other electronics (like stereos) that people own that use batteries, and that they find really annoying when the batteries die quickly in them.
The promotion of the Ultra M3 consisted of Duracell setting up marquees at different concerts and festivals over the entire summer of 2007. Called "Duracell Powerhouses", these marquees made a point to keep the music going until late to symbolize the long-lasting power of the Ultra M3. The campaign also had Duracell working with MTV, iTunes, and AOL music to ensure reach to their target group of music fans. Overall, I believe that choosing this target group was a smart move for Duracell because they obviously reached a large population of likely users of the Ultra M3.
This article was found on http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=125948.
posted by Danielle @ 1:52 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
Although I may not understand this target that well, the choice of targeting these music enthusiasts still confuses me. To me, enthusiasts say IPOD, MP3, Computer. What is their use for the battery? If they are having a party or are DJing, I would assume they get their power from an outlet source. I do not really understand their need for this product. Perhaps it would be better targeted towards the actual bands, even amture bands. They must need the batteries for their equipment such a wireless mics and for their sound equipment if they play in a outside venue with no power source. An interesting venue would be South by Southwest (SXSW). I do think that this was an inventive way to reach the target audience and great way to make a loud splash onto the scene. The use for this product is what I am missing.
My opinion on this article is it was a great idea to take a new approach to the advertisement of this battery and promote it through concerts. Like the article states Duracell who is a well known company was having a hard time with their new product the M3 gaining the attention it needed to do well. They needed to show the difference from the M3 and the other batteries they sell by separating the two in the consumers mind and showing that the two are not the same item. The Ultra M3 is not an ordinary battery but, on the contrary it is specially made for the electronics that need a higher powered battery for use in high-drain electronics. I think it was a good idea to market to concert-goers because they are people who enjoy music and probably use electronics like stereos that normally drain regular batteries quickly; and although it is true that many people who use stereos could use a plug to operate the electronic, there are plenty of places that outlets are not available like the beach, park, or even a parking lot where you may want to play your stereo, if you were tailgating at a concert or professional athletic game. I think the way they went about promoting the M3 with Duracell setting up marquees that kept the music playing until late at different concerts and festivals called "Duracell Powerhouses" was a great idea. It very creative and showed the extent of how well these batteries operate. It was also very intelligent to have Duracell participate with MTV, iTunes, and AOL music, because that is defiantly a shore way to reach their target group. Even though I feel they chose a great target group, I feel as though they could have chosen another target that would have been just as good. That target group would be parents who have younger children who need stronger lasting batteries to operate some of their toys. For example the older game boys or the new portable DVD players to name just a few. All I am saying is that I do not feel Duracell should limit them self’s to marketing to one target group. Although, I cannot deny that they were successful with their target group; the numbers do indicate that they raised awareness about the Ultra M3 by 10 points, exceeding their goal. So at the end I definitely feel they were successful!
I agree that the "powerhouses" were a good strategy for meeting the target that Duracell chose for the product. Hopefully, this strategy will prove effective for them, but I have to question if they did choose the right target market. It might make more sense for them to target businesses that would have a use for such a product. I'm sure there are businesses that require on-the-go music. It would take a good amount of research, but I'm just not sure that concert goers really do have much of a use for the product. I consider myself a music fan, but I don't usually use batteries in my stereo. I will be interested to see what kind of impact the promotion had on the brand.
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