A Little Marketing Spending Can Go a Long Way

By Barbara Bacci Mirque

Dial Corporation’s CEO Brad Casper, speaking at the 2009 ANA Advertising Financial Marketing Conference which concluded last week, noted that you can make “one buck look like 10 if you are creative and think about how to efficiently target.”  He explained their philosophy which is you don’t need to be the biggest spender to create effective campaigns and a little idea can generate a large return.  As a result they went from being a fast follower to becoming a fast initiator.   As an example he talked about the Purex Green brand which created a $100 million franchise in a year and received an award from Wal-Mart a being the most sustainable brand.  They also conducted ethnographic research deep dives in which they discovered a key insight  - there were a lot of shower products for women in most families showers’ but little for men.  Thus was born “Dial for Men”.  Their innovative marketing included messaging in men’s urinals and gas toppers.  They calculate they spent 75 – 100% less than their competitors and their marketing spend paid back in a year.  The results: in all categories their share of voice is below their share of market and they are growing into a most admired company on the Fortune list.