The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
4/8/2002
Circulation: 181,217
OLD SPICE BRAND SAILS ON BY BRIDGING GENERATIONS
John Malmo
Most after-shave lotion is water, a little astringent and perfume. The primary differences
among brands are the proverbial bells and whistles in their advertising.
What man older than 30 can't sing this ditty?
"(Whistle) `Old Spice means quality,' said the captain to the bo's'n. So look for the package
with the ship that sails the ocean. Yo-ho. Yo-ho. (Bell)."
The never-ending challenge of keeping any brand successful is bridging customer
generations. "It's not your grandfather's Old Spice."
How P&G continues to refresh the Old Spice brand, generation after generation, is proof
positive of the enduring value of brand equity and the chameleon-like quality of strong brands
in skilled hands.
Few companies are as experienced as Procter & Gamble at managing brand equity.
Venerable brands such as Old Spice are refreshed periodically with new products and new
reasons for consumers to remember the brand and to care about it.
Long ago, of course, the Old Spice brand was extended successfully into deodorant and
soap.
"We're a younger brand," Old Spice brand manager Derek Bowen told The Wall Street
Journal, "but the perception is that we're an older brand." Indeed, Old Spice means
deodorant among the younger crowd, after-shave to us old goats and some of each to the
'tweeners.
Among all men, Old Spice deodorants are No. 3. Yet among guys 12- 19 Old Spice is No. 1,
important since most don't use any brand of after-shave.
P&G recently doubled its Old Spice advertising budget to $48 million on behalf of two new
deodorant products and Cool Contact scented deodorant wipes. Yikes.
Some professionals believe Old Spice deodorant wipes will fail. They claim women will use
wipes, such as Unilever's new Dove wipes but not men.
Regardless, what's impressive is the way P&G can span age segments, extend and expand,
reposition and reintroduce a brand that was long of tooth 40 years ago. The "ship that sails
the ocean" is a baton P&G passes from generation to generation.
A brand with high consumer awareness can be a pot of gold or a fearsome responsibility.
Almost anyone of voting age can remember such brands that no longer exist, many due to
mismanagement.
Knowing what in a brand to change and what not to change comes from experience and
intuition. Stay very close to your customers. Watch what they do, not what they say they do
or will do. Study your competitors. Act accordingly.