Case Study – Pantene’s Solution
Pantene’s Solution for Bad Hair Days
Pantene made its debut in 1945 in Switzerland by the drug firm, Hoffman-LaRoche as premium hair care line, inspired by the ingredient panthenol. It was introduced to the US in 1960, and is part of Proctor& Gamble, Inc. It became a billion-dollar global brand in 1995, support of the tagline, “Hair so healthy, it shines.”
With more than 300 new hair care products bring released each year, the space is very competitive. In 2013, Pantene largest distribution channel retailer was Walgreens and product sales were falling 7% due to competition. To illustrate the competitive nature of this category, a recent research on Walgreen’s website shows 1.598 products under the search term “shampoo’.”
How could Pantene revive their falling sales volume? One strategy was to solve the problem of switching hair car products. People tend to switch when they had bad hair day. Pantene gave them an app that included the local weather in a “Haircast” and that included humidity factors that could affect the frizziness of hair.
Pantene’s strategy was to tie in with well-known consumer channel, with a loyal following to promote shampoo using mobile content and banner advertising. The Weather Channel shares forecast about weather conditions and what they mean to them, and since 1982, have helped people with trustworthy information based on science and technology. After partnering with The Weather Channel, which brought Pantene expert credibility and relevance, the Haircast based on local weather conditions included geo -targeted messages with products for a bad hair day, including humidity and dry heat, along with a coupon for $2 off at Walgreens. The #haircast hashtag was also shared on social media, and among female meteorologist, who received weather preparedness kits from Pantene.
Results
Post campaign measurements showed a 10% increase in sales at Walgreens, one of the originals goals. They exceeded their goal with a 24% year to year growth, and that contributed to an overall 4% sales lift in the entire category at Walgreens, showing the bigger effect on total revenue for the chain. In their 5,500 Walgreens stores, Pantene set up free- standing display unites, increasing their merchandising goals by 37.5%, as they now had more visibility. #haircast tweets averaged 370,000 on Twitter.
Questions
- What were the market considerations that lead to Pantene’s movement to mobile strategies?
- What metrics and tools were utilized in this case? What other ones can you list that would be useful?
- Describe how local and geo-targeting can be used in another example of a product or service you know?