How do you find an opportunity in a crowded marketplace like toothpaste?
When Craig Dubitsky went to The University of Rochester, he had a wild passion for music. He also opened a campus restaurant, started a trucking company helping students move, sold custom carpets and co-founded the UR chapter of The Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs. He was a busy dude who occasionally went to economics classes too.
After college, he co-founded eos, a women’s personal care brand known for its spherical lip balm and he launched Boots in the U.S. from the U.K. He was a founding investor and board member at Method Products.
It comes as no surprise that he should start Hello, a personal care product that likes to ask a simple question.
What’s in your toothpaste?
Craig created a toothpaste brand that is vegan, cruelty-free and free of all synthetic dyes, artificial sweeteners and flavors, microbeads, parabens, triclosan and even gluten.
With the help of the agency 72andSunny from LA, he created a video called An Inconvenient Tooth with its animated character Toothy who starts the discussion, what’s in your toothpaste.
Based in Montclair, New Jersey, the digital campaign highlights such toothpaste ingredients as saccharin, propylene glycol, and artificial dyes, is being supported with targeted online media, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram content, as well as influencer partnerships, the company said. Shoppers are encouraged to share the video and sign up online to receive a free sample or coupon.
Brush Up on Your Marketing
Hello was able to trademark the brand name Hello, which is quite a feat. But it also demonstrates some crucial lessons in marketing:
- When you look at a category, can you notice what is missing? Who would think about vegan toothpaste? In a space dominated by Crest and Colgate, how do you fill a void? The answer is to focus on something they don’t feature.
- Even though there was a “natural” player in the category, Tom’s of Maine, there was still room to slice the pie thinner serving people with an even narrower need than Tom’s promoted. And Tom’s was recently purchased by Colgate so Hello can become the upstart and new challenger brand.
- There is always a community for alternative and non-mainstream goods. And broad categories, like toothpaste and dental care, allow a small share to represent a meaningful amount of revenue.
- I buy Crest but never thought about the ingredients. Their marketing caused me to look at something I took for granted in a product I have used for more than sixty years. I’m not sure I’ll switch, but their campaign made me consider this option.
- I’m a sucker for great puns so the play on Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth drew me in to learn more.
Marketing a me-too product is a toothless activity. Find a gap and fill it.
Products need to serve communities like consumers who care about the ingredients in their toothpaste. Have you created a product and are now searching to market it? That’s backward. Call me to talk about your marketing and how some seasoned advice could enhance your sales. Jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or 919 720 0995. You can schedule a time to talk by using my calendar. No obligation.
Photo courtesy of Hello.
