Account Planning School of the Web

1

• Account Planning School of the Web
• Assignment Refresh Mr. Clean
• Brett Macfarlane
• me_at_brettmacfarlane.com
• Brettmacfarlane.typepad.com

Note this is an identifier slide and not part of
the presentation ?
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Mr. CleanBusiness Challenge

• Mr. Clean has been around seemingly as long as
  dirt itself.
• The brand has lost sales growth momentum and is
  challenged by upstart brands such as Method and
  green cleaners.

3
Brand Challenge

• While brand awareness is high, if not universal,
  on the shelf Mr. Clean products have become just
  another option to pick off the line, rather than
  a brand actively chosen.
• Consumers now have real choice with upstart
  brands offering tangible differentiation. And
  people are increasingly choosing these upstarts
  and paying more for them.

4
Symbol Addition

• Mr. Cleans reliance on practical attributes has
  left no emotional connection to the brand and
  squeezed profit margins.
• ? New Lower Price
• ? XX more inside
• X ? XX times more effective/easier

5
The Upstarts

• Everybody gets that a cleaner cleans and being
  the cleanest cleaner doesnt really stand out
  anymore. Relying on efficacy is increasingly
  irrelevant.
• The upstarts, have carved out emotional
  territories by aligning with significant cares
  and interests of consumers - the environment and
  the visual aesthetic cleanliness of a homes
  interior above and beyond just dirt
  cleanliness.

6
Baggage

• As a category champion Mr. Clean has a lot of
  clichéd communications baggage to be wary of.
• The harried housewife.
• The pride of a clean home.
• Effortless cleaning claims.
• Packaging featuring those uber clean
  illustrations.

7
The Opportunity

• Mr. Clean retains massive brand leadership over
  the upstarts.
• Lets evolve Mr. Clean into a fresh mental
  territory that differentiates the brand and adds
  value to its usage. All in a way that builds
  pricing power and creates a more emotional, and
  therefore loyal, link to the brand.
• This position can be rich enough to filter though
  all aspects of the brand and into all
  communications.
• And universal enough to apply to a broad range
  targets/demographics as campaigns and specific
  products require.

8
But Lets Be Real

• Lets not try to sugar coat this. No matter how
  many smiles and shiny people one shows, cleaning
  is still dirty. You dont like the process, just
  the end result.
• And price and efficacy is increasingly a zero sum
  game.
• And as a leader, lets not follow the upstarts.
  Lets create and own a new territory that makes
  cleaning fresh and relevant in todays world.

9
The Last Bastion of Daydreaming

• We are all busy people, and cleaning is just
  another chore on our To Do lists. But there is
  an easily overlooked benefit of the cleaning
  ritual. In the 30 or so minutes you spend, by
  yourself usually, completing a simple cleaning
  task you give your overworked mind a break.
• Your mind starts to wander.
• Kind of like in grade 3 math class.
• Its a bit of a mental time out.

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What if

• Instead of a chore, cleaning became a time out.
• A chance to clean your home, office, cabin and
• your mind.
• A chance for your mind to take a rest and wander
  about.
• Mr. Clean celebrated the last bastion of adult
  daydreaming.

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How This Could Manifest Itself

• Visually focus packaging around fantasy. Mr.
  Clean himself is fantastical to begin with after
  all.
• Make packaging more than a container but a
  vehicle for mental games i.e. the adult cereal
  box.
• In store end cap display care pack a magic
  eraser, CD, a Cosmo magazine and chocolate.
• Instead of the nag he is, make Mr. Clean an
  empathetic icon and give him a voice. Hes too
  perfect, whats the dirt on him and what does he
  think about when cleaning. Lets blog it and give
  him a AM radio talk show.
• Contextually select media buys fantasy movies,
  escapist dramas, travel shows, etc
• Sponsor a mental health column in Real Simple.
• Mr. Clean mental chill out lounge at outdoor
  festivals.
• Print ad placement beside Sudoku in metro
  dailies.
• And so on.

12

• Thank You
• Brett Macfarlane
• me_at_brettmacfarlane.com
• Brettmacfarlane.typepad.com