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Why is Tide so popular?
Eli Lehrer informs me that Tide has a high market share even though it is more expensive than most other brands. This source says the market share of Tide is about forty-four percent, with the sum total of all Proctor and Gamble products (Gain and Cheer are two others) accounting for about two-thirds of the market. Is Tide so good? Does Tide really "know fabric best"? I couldn't name one supposed feature of the product and I've been buying detergent my whole life. I couldn't even tell you what brand I buy. Maybe it is Tide. This is the kind of question that Wikipedia isn't much good for.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on January 24, 2008 at 01:45 PM in Economics | Permalink
Comments
The only thing Wikipedia is good for is to get the plot rundown for Episode 4 of Season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
(I buy Tide - it was what my mother bought)
Posted by: yoshi at Jan 24, 2008 1:54:26 PM
Some background on the chemical (i.e., cost-based) explanation for retail price differentials here.
Bottom line: It's not just marketing, despite the factless histrionics of the malcontent you link to.
Posted by: KipEsquire at Jan 24, 2008 2:07:48 PM
i buy unscented, fragrance free All because Tide fades and shrinks my clothes. so there.
Posted by: dude at Jan 24, 2008 2:09:47 PM
“I want to be a race car passenger: just a guy who bugs the driver. Say man, can I turn on the radio? You should slow down. Why do we gotta keep going in circles? Can I put my feet out the window? Man, you really like Tide...”
http://thinkexist.com/quotation/i_want_to_be_a_race_car_passenger-just_a_guy_who/342690.html
Posted by: R.I.P. Mitch at Jan 24, 2008 2:12:22 PM
When Consumer reports tests the brands price makes a big difference and Tide was a consistent star.
Posted by: Lance at Jan 24, 2008 2:15:42 PM
Because Tide is (chemically) better.
Tide was the first laundry detergent that both cleaned well and didn't "scum" (created unpleasant surfactant-salt complexes) and thus could be used reliably in automatic washers.
That chemistry achievement was notable enough that is was recently recognized in Science.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/314/5803/1221c
Proctor & Gamble has consistently invested in the technology of Tide ever since. Two modern examples I know from friends ( I am an erstwhile chemical engineer) are (1) developing the touchy technology that allows modern detergents to be sold in a concentrated form without the surfactants "clumping," and (2) that remarkable pouring spout that a four person team spent 18 hellish months engineering/testing/failing/trying again.
My father, who (a) does the laundry in his house and (b) is a cheapskate who prefers generics swears by Tide. He says nothing else gets the clothes as clean and bright; he made me switch back from All.
So there you have it: underneath all the marketing hype, Tide is the best product because it has a long, continuous history of intensive R&D behind it.
There's gotta be great book in this story....
Posted by: tylerh at Jan 24, 2008 2:27:42 PM
Procter & Gamble's philosophy is
A. Spend a lot on R&D to develop better products
B. Spend a lot on advertising to let the world know you have better products
This goes along with things like hire good people, train them well, be honest, and so forth.
It's worked for them for a long time.
Posted by: Steve Sailer at Jan 24, 2008 2:34:38 PM
Procter & Gamble's philosophy is
A. Spend a lot on R&D to develop better products
B. Spend a lot on advertising to let the world know you have better products
This goes along with things like hire good people, train them well, be honest, and so forth.
It's worked for them for a long time.
Posted by: Steve Sailer at Jan 24, 2008 2:35:16 PM
Tide wins, case closed. It's all about intelligent investment. Tide for me has always been relatively price inelastic.
Posted by: Meds at Jan 24, 2008 2:39:17 PM
I just buy the store brand, and it seems to work as well for less money.
HOWEVER, Oxyclean is another matter. I've had success in using Oxyclean for the various uses it's listed,
but the store-brand cheaper version doesn't seems to be a copy (like for detergent) -- it's actually
lower quality. When I pour Oxyclean in water, it instandly dissolves and chemically decomposes ("fizz.."),
whereas the store-brand takes its sweet time to mix, and so I'm not sure if it's much use for anything.
No, I'm not Billy_Mays, I just call 'em like I see em.
As for concentrated detergent? What a crock! They have those little spigots/faucets on them so you're
supposed to be able to push the little button for it to dispense into your cup underneath. Unfortunately,
every one of those that I or my mom or her friends used, utterly FAILS to stay closed when not in use.
Yes, even when you close the top which is supposed to stop it from draining. Why can't you guys get that
right before marketing it? Or at least sell concentrated with the easy-pour shape of the regular?
Posted by: Person at Jan 24, 2008 2:47:24 PM
From the ACS article posted by KipEsquire:
J. Keith Grime, vice president of R&D for P&G's global fabric and home care unit, says Gain's success ...
Ummm.
Posted by: nathaniel at Jan 24, 2008 2:48:34 PM
Here's another: why is Heinz Ketchup so dominant?
Posted by: at Jan 24, 2008 3:07:41 PM
I don't know if he still teaches at GMU, but I remember from his lectures that Professor Rustici in the econ dept over there used to own a supermarket so he may be able to give you interesting insight into something like this since he is sort of in the unique position of selling these products and being an economist.
Posted by: Tim at Jan 24, 2008 3:38:46 PM
I buy Tide because that's what my mom bought. I never bother to compare pries, I assume my mom knows the best detergent.
Posted by: Warren at Jan 24, 2008 3:50:49 PM
I know why! All of the above are wrong!
First, but not most importantly, is that if a detergent works, you probably aren't going to switch. So whatever you bought when you were at that point in your life when you first started buying detergent, is what you will continue to buy.
Second, and importantly - When you DO start buying detergent, its tough! there are a lot of different potions in that crazy aisle. The softeners are right next to detergents, and some detergents have all these different options, bleach, etc. And all the while your head is trying to remember what will harm your clothes, whether or not bleach is ok, etc...
All you want is the detergent! Just plain, vanilla detergent that works and that you can put in your machine. You see that familiar Tide logo and BINGO. At the bare minimum you know its a safe choice. Its basic, its detergent. Done. And it does work, so after using it once, there is no reason to switch, and go back to that agonizing selection process. Get out of this awful aisle and away from its myriad of complex options... Go to the cracker aisle, where things are comfortable and safe and familiar.
At least, thats how I felt as a college freshman. I'm sure many other people know better. But as long as a sizable proportion of people feel this way, its enough to give a decent advantage.
Posted by: Chris at Jan 24, 2008 3:53:28 PM
Q: Why is Heinz Ketchup so dominant?
A: because it's perfect. really. gladwell wrote a whole article about it:
http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_09_06_a_ketchup.html
Posted by: ramster at Jan 24, 2008 3:53:42 PM
I have always bought Tide. This is because Tide was the first - and for quite a while, the only - detergent to remove phosphates, a pollutant that destroyed waterways. This made it the only choice for me. I never switched after that, having never had any reason to.
Posted by: Stephen Downes at Jan 24, 2008 4:15:00 PM
I got a year of free Tide with my new washer, I plan to switch to Trader Joe's "HE" brand when it's gone.
Posted by: odograph at Jan 24, 2008 4:18:54 PM
I use Win sports detergent on all my clothes. It doesn't shred clothing, nor does it coat it in softeners and residue to hide that fact. It is also biodegradable.
Posted by: akatsuki at Jan 24, 2008 4:21:56 PM
My mother always used Tide. I can't count the number of times I've been told "your clothes smell nice". But after switching to generic stuff during/after college, the "compliments" disappeared.
I'm sure other detergents are equally pleasant, but it's not worth my time to find them. So now it's Tide for me too.
Posted by: Zac at Jan 24, 2008 4:37:38 PM
Ah, Nathaniel, you beat me to it!
Posted by: Yancey Ward at Jan 24, 2008 5:08:44 PM
I bought a competing brand instead of Tide once, and it didn't get my clothes clean very well at all. I was surprised -- it was another popular brand with lots of advertising behind it.
There might be some that beat Tide, but I'm not interested in experimenting to find out. Consumer Reports indeed has Tide near the top, as another commenter pointed out.
Posted by: Phil at Jan 24, 2008 5:16:53 PM
Several years ago, a Consumer Reports article on laundry detergents rated Tide as the best and warned against using cheap detergents, on the grounds that they're harsh and will cause clothes to fade. So my mother told me, which is why I also use Tide today.
This article here says that Consumer Reports rated various Tide brands as the best but says the cheap brands are also very good.
Posted by: blue at Jan 24, 2008 5:18:38 PM
Heinz is easy: Taste. It's a taste many of us have become accustomed to so we continue to buy it.
Posted by: Vincent Clement at Jan 24, 2008 5:48:04 PM
Quote" “I want to be a race car passenger: just a guy who bugs the driver..."
I KNEW that sounded like Mitch Hedberg. Still love the stuff on XM but it makes me sad.
Anyway, I like the generics and think the Costco Kirkland stuff works well in my front-loader. But there seem to be a lot of comments that found it worked and stuck with it. There are costs associated with switching to a new brand (time, energy, what if I have to throw away stuff I hate, I have to learn how much to use of the new brand, etc..)
Posted by: asparagus at Jan 24, 2008 6:30:51 PM
I wasn't using Tide but I think I might start.
Posted by: Susannah at Jan 24, 2008 6:33:38 PM
Now that you mention it, I wonder WHY my mother used Tide. Other than switching to the fragrance and dye-free version, I've never thought about it much. My daughter uses it too. If someone doesn't ask questions, my 2 granddaughters will probably be using it as well in a few years.
I can't think of another product I've put less effort into evaluating. The clothes are clean. End of story.
Posted by: mae at Jan 24, 2008 6:36:00 PM
I suspect that when our mothers (or grandmothers, as the case may be) were first buying detergent, the chemical advances in the detergent led them to purchase it for that reason. Now they're all essentially the same concoction (with difference - we'll get to that...), but we continue to buy what our mothers and grandmothers bought. They know laundry best, right? And why switch when it works?
That said, I use Gain. I'm allergic to Tide, my brother is allergic to Surf, and my sister is allergic to All... we break out in hives if exposed to clothes washed in those detergents. I don't know why we all ended up allergic to different ones, though. So anyway, my mom used Gain, and now that's what I use!
Posted by: Betty at Jan 24, 2008 6:57:38 PM
Once a consumer packaged good product takes the lead, it can be very difficult to dislodge even if (or perhaps especially if) there's not much difference in product quality between it and its competitors.
I used to work for Hills Bros coffee. Nationally, we had less than 10% market share and were getting beaten up all the time by Folgers and Maxwell House.
But in Chicago we had c.40% of the market. All because, more than 50 years before, the company had handed out free 1/2 lb cans of coffee to a huge number of people in town. Despite their best efforts and all their marketing smarts neither P&G or KGF could make a dent.
Posted by: Martin Bishop at Jan 24, 2008 8:41:35 PM
I'm surprised that some Amway (or Quixtar, or whatever they call themselves these days) salesman doesn't bust in here yelling about Tide being sold by Satanic Procter & Gamble and that SA-8 kicks Tide's a$$, and that you can get financial freedom if you just sell some SA-8 and get six other friends to do the same and so on...
My mom used SA-8. I use Tide (specially formulated for front-loaders).
Posted by: DougM at Jan 24, 2008 8:50:40 PM
Tide smells FANTASTIC. Period, end of story.
Posted by: andrea at Jan 24, 2008 8:55:02 PM
Here is one feature where Tide is the technology lead hands-down: enzymes
Posted by: Paul N at Jan 24, 2008 9:29:02 PM
In our house Tide is no different in results than the other brands. The only product that is different is a local one which green certified soap, borax and washing soda and that's it. Gets every thing clean cheaply and no residue.
Posted by: TW at Jan 24, 2008 10:07:35 PM
My mom used Surf powder (early 80's) and it irritated my skin, especially as she had a habit of using too much. When I started cutting lawns at age 12, the first thing I did with my money was buy liquid Tide and started washing all my own clothes. Haven't looked back since.
Posted by: Shaun M. at Jan 24, 2008 10:34:44 PM
Wasn't it Tide that came in new washers back in the day? It was featured in their print and teevee ads. That's why your Mom uses it.
Posted by: Goldrush at Jan 24, 2008 11:20:34 PM
I married into a family with three daughters who ended up being more or less “traditional” wives. They all experimented with different laundry soaps. They all decided that if you could afford it, Tide was the best quality. When I married one of them and moved overseas, we brought Tide from the US whenever we could, because it was the best laundry soap. Q. E. D.
Posted by: Sleeper at Jan 25, 2008 12:24:47 AM
Heinz Ketchup is dominant because it is the best.
Posted by: RJ at Jan 25, 2008 12:58:26 AM
A good explanation is "Sunk Costs and Market Structure", by Sutton. And there is a current empirical paper by Bronnenberg et al. that explains in term of Sutton's theory why some brands keep high shares of the market.
By the way, what is the deal with "Proctor"? I see it spelled like that so often that I will end up believing that is actually the name of the company.
Posted by: londenio at Jan 25, 2008 2:46:28 AM
My 2 cents worth, and devalued thusly (my having no expertise to comment here) - it seems to me that if you happen to be the first to produce something, or at least the first to do it right, you're likely to have a pretty constant flow of return customers - given that life's time constraints make the value of time saved for use elsewhere a major determining factor. Kleenex, Cheerios, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, all come to mind instantly when someone asks me to think tissue, cereal, burgers and coffee - even though I'm pretty indifferent about the first one (I think of it as back-up toilet paper), I prefer Kix, if I want a real burger I go to TGI Friday's or a pub, and I enjoy Starbucks bolder java. Tide just seems to have done it right - it's the first visual image I think of when someone utters such an uninteresting topic as detergent.
Posted by: TomG at Jan 25, 2008 6:29:52 AM
One more reason comes to mind too - from having read all the interesting responses - that of family tradition. "We've always done Thanksgiving with real cranberries" and "Mom always made her apple pie from scratch" are the ideals one holds dear, even in a world full of substitutes. And I've heard people refer to certain tastes like that from McDonalds as "comfort food" - it giving them a sort of psychological boost out of the doldrums, or as a stress reliever. It's the familiarity of it, rather than its relative value (ie. bang-for-the-buck effectiveness). So that's sort of true - that if Mom bought Tide, then so do I ("when I was young and rebellious I tried out the other brands, but now I've become settled and more like my parents every day" type thinking).
Posted by: TomG at Jan 25, 2008 7:00:05 AM
Heinz is so dominant because god loves pittsburgh
Posted by: max davis at Jan 25, 2008 7:59:52 AM
God sure has a funny way of showing it then.
Posted by: Josh at Jan 25, 2008 9:41:14 AM
Most of the Heinz answers are demand driven. As with Tide, the question is: why don't the competitors match Heinz in terms of quality in the way that, say, Pepsi takes on Coke? Gladwell hints that Heinz has something of a secret formula (thanks for the link), but there are very few ingredients...
Posted by: at Jan 25, 2008 9:55:39 AM
1. As Steve Sailer and others note, Tide has a reputation for being either chemically superior to other brands or at least as good as all of them. You can't go wrong buying Tide. P&G is good at marketing, but good at chemistry as well.
2. Brand positions tend to persist over time. As Martin Bishop notes (with Hills Brothers Coffee), long-ago actions can create persistence.
There are five articles in Feb 2007 JMR that look at this phenomenon across a couple of dozen categories in US and France. See articles by Bronnenberg, Ataman, Kruger, Lodish (and their co-authors). Kruger's comment is particularly aimed at persistence.
http://www.marketingpower.com/content84061.php
or, for an ungated summary
http://www.b-s-i.org/blog/?p=138
3. Brands persist (Tide, Coke, Heinz Ketchup and other brands have been leaders for many decades), but retailers are more vulnerable.: A&P used to dominate supermarkets. Sears used to dominate department stores and catalog sales. KMart was the dominant off-price retailer.
4. A final note on Tide: it's been the dominant product for decades despite many changes in product (the most obvious ones being powder-only to mostly-liquid, and changes in concentration level, but changes in chemistry as well) -- and changes in the surrounding technology, since current machines are a lot different from the ones in the 1920's.
Posted by: ZBicyclist at Jan 25, 2008 9:59:37 AM
Well, I can't really explain why the market share is so large, but I buy Tide because it is the only detergent that is in my grocery store that is made for high efficiency, low water washing machines.
Perhaps their market lead also helps them get other types of product (like HE detergent) into stores while lower market share brands can't get their whole product line in all stores.
Posted by: John at Jan 25, 2008 10:00:45 AM
Heinz Ketchup and and Bic lighters are 2 of the most perfect products ever invented; perhaps the only 2 where I will absolutely refuse all substitutes.
Posted by: JaHerer22 at Jan 25, 2008 10:04:12 AM
I grew up in a cheap household that used store brand detergent, to the detriment of our clothes. As a result, when I moved out and began buying my own detergent, I tried all the name brands, but have never gone back to anything generic. Though I don't have anything against Tide, I really liked the smell of Surf, and so that was my preference, until its formula was changed. So I've been experimenting again and Gain (P&G's lower tier brand) is my most recent purchase and I'm not that thrilled with it. I'm finding that it's not as adept at dealing with stains as I'd like, so I think I'll be buying Tide next round.
By the way, has anyone found the Downy ball to be a revelation as I have? Because I was never hanging around my washing mashine while running a load, I wasn't able to add fabric softener at the right time and had to rely on dryer sheets. The problem with dryer sheets is that they a) are obnoxious to deal with, and b) don't do anything for clothes that have to be line dried. With the Downy ball I could use liquid fabric softener without babysitting each load. Once I bought a front-loading machine with a built-in fabric softener dispenser I gave my Downy ball to my sister so she could experience the the magic for herself. P&G really is good at innovation.
Posted by: Christina at Jan 25, 2008 10:44:03 AM
As a former market research service provider a Home and Beauty Care company most often butting heads with P&G in the Laundry Category, I have a lot of perspective on it based off findings. And bear with me, when it comes to market research I have pretty robust information:
* Echoing the sentiments and actual reports above of many, P&G detergents typically perform better in terms of both cleaning and the conditioning of clothing. Granted, we now wash clothes in modern america not to clean them per se, but to "refresh them".
* The "mere refresh" needs as opposed to "Deep cleaning" being a priority opens the door for price segments in lower tiers for consumners: A&H, Xtra, Purex, Store Brands that do significant volume, even if dollars are more modest. Testimony to this is P&G has a 55-60% share of sales dollars, but a 40-45% volume share of sales since its products are premium largely.
* P&G manages their Fabric Cleaners, Conditioners (By the way, Downey is their brand and is by far number one conditioner), and Dryer Sheets (By the way, Bounce/Downey is the number one/two brand by far there too) as a massive portfolio, with each targeting certain segments:
** Tide is the best performer, most expensive, most high end benefits included.
** Gain is the experiential and frgrance brand, and has strong ethnic performance: quality and an experience. BTW, it challenges for status of 2nd biggest brand itself.
** Cheer is a the Color-Safe premium brand
** Dreft is the Baby, non-irritating brand
** ERA is the Budget Brand to compete in that segment
* Consumer segmentation studies and a Decision Trees suggests that with Laundry category the first decision is whether you are a Tide customer or not. Then, if not, you typically believe "All are the same"/"I am poor" and your decision is based on price. This harms mid-level brands such as ALL or Wisk that try and have a hybrid of some quality and innovation, but competitive mid-level pricing.
* Consumers pay more and get excited over high order benefits that Tide is a leader in providing new versions of on a yearly basis. What are those? High Efficiency, With Touch of Downey, With Bleach Alternative, With Color Protector, Free & Clear, Cold Wash, Scented, Various Sizes, etc. By the way, when you bu yany of these, note the number of loads per bottle changes (lower), even if bottle is same size. that's their marging boosting! Only ALL sometimes comes out with benefits such as these first. (Small and mighty, anti-allergen)
* Shelf-Sets and sales are dictated by P&G due to their demanding share. If shelves were organized by TYPE rather than BRAND, it would help smaller brands and change consumer mentality about choice of product. Scented onlyt first, then High efficiencies, THEN with Bleaches, etc. Insrtead, you have the ubiquitous wall of orange taking up the whole section.
* Also, P&G's budget for discounts and specials is much larger, as well as tie-ins with its other leading brands Febreze, Downey, and Bounce that synergistically boost each other.
This all said, the biggest challenge for Tide and P&G go-forward is the changing face of the US consumer (Hispanic, etc.), the rising costs of raw materials (partial petroleum basis for liquid detergents), sales rise only as population does (no new markets or consumers), quality ceasing to be a key differentiator.
People alluded to Heinz's dominance as well - there are small chips in the facade, they always must remain vigilant. Remember, Heinz doesn't compete with Ketchup only - it competes with all condiments. mayo, Vinegar, Ranch, Mustard...Staying relevant is important.
Posted by: Jeff G at Jan 25, 2008 11:00:10 AM
Oh, and by the way: All the sources you folks have for market shares of consumer products (IRI) do not include Wal-Mart or Warehouse CLubs, or Dollar Stores in the equation. Just so you know, only about half of the detergent in the US sold is in Food, Drug, Target & Kmart. P&G's overalll share is NOT as high when facotring in the bigger pack-size and sicount stores. Dollar Stores account for approximately 10% of all detergent sales, for example, and rarely even carry Tide for obvious reasons...
Posted by: Jeff G at Jan 25, 2008 11:06:22 AM
Jeff G - Wow, that is great information. I had no idea that I cared about this topic until today. I love the blogosphere.
Posted by: aaron at Jan 25, 2008 12:16:38 PM
My wife, who is Macedonian and moved to the States seven years ago, insists on Tide even though it was not marketed in her homeland. She settled on Tide right away, more or less, and that was that -- woe betide me if I buy anything else.
Posted by: Invigilator at Jan 25, 2008 12:59:51 PM
FWIW, Procter & Gamble are big into testing on animals: http://www.idausa.org/facts/pg.html. But then again, those bunnies, cats, dogs, and hamsters probably could use a good chemical burn from time to time.
Posted by: slag at Jan 25, 2008 4:02:06 PM
Ahh, memory did serve. Tide was introduced about 1946, and:
The link between the new heavy-duty synthetic detergents and the new automatic washers was reinforced a few years later when P&G struck agreements with a number of washing machine manufacturers to pack boxes of Tide in the new machines.7
***
7 Dyer, et al., Rising Tide, p. 77. The Federal Trade commission eventually disallowed such exclusive agreements, but by the time the FTC acted, Tide had become inextricably linked with the new automatic washing machines.
from National Historic Chemical Landmarks, http://acswebcontent.acs.org/landmarks/landmarks/tide/marketing.html
Posted by: Goldrush at Jan 25, 2008 5:05:20 PM
Obviously I am the only person whose Tide fragrance irritates my skin to no end. Where I live fragrance free HE Tide is nowhere to be found, much to my disgust, as I would buy it if it existed. I do 3 to 4 loads of laundry today with 5 kids in the house, I take laundry detergent seriously. Tide works for getting clothes clean, but it is instant skin breakouts the moment I use it.
Posted by: Bobbi at Jan 25, 2008 5:08:04 PM
As usual in consumer products, check the historical accumulated investment in advertising for an explanation. What is the real difference of Coke, Colgate or Gillette against their competition?
Posted by: PlanMaestro at Jan 25, 2008 7:35:47 PM
Dunno, I walk into the most convenient store, scan the detergent rack for the lowest price/loads ratio, and buy that. I've never noticed my clothes being more or less clean in any given period. If there's a tide/non-tide difference, it's below my horizon...
Posted by: Paul Gowder at Jan 26, 2008 2:47:25 AM
To the last comment, that's why in the case of detergents Tide wins out among the relatively indifferent ... it markets itself a lot so that the brand recognition is instant, it has the benefit of having wisely chosen a loud design too - so if it's on a shelf with its competitors, it usually stands out first and will therefore most likely be chosen by the indifferent - except by those who also care about its relative price, which is a different indifference curve still (and if Tide keeps the price down in those areas of mostly young, single folk - such as university settings - they win that one too)
Posted by: TomG at Jan 26, 2008 5:49:33 AM
There are a lot of ways of acquiring a dominant market share. Most brands which acquire one then lose it - either through clumsiness or through listening to a short-sighted accountant and trying to milk the brand for all the short term profit that is going. The way to keep a dominant market share once you have got it are:
- Maintain your relative quality. This means a lot of technical work, and much market research to ensure that the consumers agree with what your technicians say. Heinz (packaging) and Coco-Cola (new formula) both nearly messed up on this. Gillette messed up in spades and lost out when Wilkinson marketed a better blade. Ditto Ford and GM when faced with Toyota.
- Advertise and distribute to remind your existing consumers that your brand has not gone away and remains "the best".
- Make sure that new consumers entering your market get acquainted with your brand before they acquire brand loyalty to a competitor.
In economic terms, what you are doing is keeping low both the consumers decision cost and the chance of the consumer's regretting a purchase of your brand. And that is where the nice, fat, year after year, reliable profit is to be found. P&G accountants are not short sighted.
Posted by: Diversity at Jan 26, 2008 10:57:10 AM
Check Business Week for an alternative explanation
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2008/id20080122_229434.htm?campaign_id=rss_topStories
Posted by: PlanMaestro at Jan 28, 2008 11:33:08 AM
Why is Tide so popular?
Well the reason I use it is because my family has probably been using it since it was invented. You can say it is part of my culture. In the Philippines most of the products they have are big name brands such as Colgate the toothpaste and Tide the detergent. It’s what they see in TV they use. When they refer to toothpaste they use the word Colgate. When they refer to laundry detergent, they say Tide. Many big brand products substitute many words in the dictionary. So when my grandparents immigrated to America, they instilled that same logic to my parent’s heads. Then the same carried over to my sister and I. When my dad asks me to buy more laundry detergent he always says "Buy more Tide". Every other brand is obsolete to my family.
Well the reason why I think most households choose Tide is because it’s what we see on TV usually and it has a very appealing color. I think the color grabs you when you go down the aisle in the store. It’s a bright orange that no one can miss. Also when I go to the stores to get detergent, Tide usually has the most selections. Most of the aisle is covered with bright orange Tide products.
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Posted by: baom at Feb 9, 2008 12:19:24 AM
I own a Advertising Firm so I could break down the psychology of why you buy tide but I wont. All I will say is look at the Consumer Digest Report. SA8 and Tide are tested against each other in several categories, and the evidence is astonishingly clear. SA8 is a better QUALITY product hands down. Minus the Bright Packaging. (Hint Hint. LOL)
Posted by: Arias W/ at Feb 26, 2008 4:42:54 PM
I own a Advertising Firm so I could break down the psychology of why you buy tide but I wont. All I will say is look at the Consumer Digest Report. SA8 and Tide are tested against each other in several categories, and the evidence is astonishingly clear. SA8 is a better QUALITY product hands down. Minus the Bright Packaging. (Hint Hint. LOL)
Posted by: Arias W/ at Feb 26, 2008 4:43:16 PM
