Digital CPG Blog

Several media outlets recently received a bar of soap from Diapers.com parent company Quidsi, inviting reporters to a launch party for their next project, Soap.com.

The card reads that it will be “one of the biggest retail launches in history,” promising “a fresh approach to ecommerce,” and that they are “raising the bar in online shopping.”

As more brands turn online to expand their reach, it’s no surprise that Diapers.com is trying to expand their reach beyond their existing market. How the company implements such big promises will surely be a launch to watch.

While some brands are still in social media “learning mode,” other brands are using social media to launch new products. Like P&G did last week with the launch of their e-store, several brands are now using social media as a tool to build buzz around product launches, identify issues and flaws, and discover previously unknown demographics who enjoy the product.

No longer are brands waiting until a product is on the shelves before beginning an ad campaign. Elaine Wong of Brandweek reports:

• Procter & Gamble held a “Shave Studio” in New York’s Times Square in advance of its Gillette Fusion ProGlide launch. During the four-day event, which took place in April, P&G asked males to try out the new razor—which is pitched as turning “shaving into gliding.” It then posted users’ feedback on a site called ProGlideChallenge.com. Fusion ProGlide hits stores next month, and the ads, by BBDO, began running early this month.

• Kellogg launched FiberPlus Antioxidant Bars with social media outreach in January 2009, but traditional advertising for the line didn’t start until June. There was also a six-month lag before the launch of advertising for its Special K crackers, which initially had relied on blogger outreach.

We love that so many brands are taking advantage of social media as a tool to build respect and enthusiasm for an unknown brand. Such practices often reap benefits beyond the social media sphere as the word-of-mouth percolates up through the mainstream media and to key demographics.

P&G went live with their e-store last week. It’s another great example of how CPG manufacturers are selling direct to the consumer online.

“Manufacturers of goods have been facing increased pressure and competition from their retailers for years,” eCommerce provider Shopatron argues.  “Any retailer worth his weight is offering store brands of their most profitable products – competing directly with their suppliers. And because they maintain the customer relationship, they have an unfair advantage.”

And so manufacturers are turning online to sell direct in order to have access to that data, diversify their revenue, optimize their digitial advertising and marketing dollars, and procure insights that help support the retail channel.

Jack Neff of AdAge reports that the CPG industry going direct-to-consumer is a major trend: “P&G’s e-store comes as other package-goods marketers are also ramping up e-commerce efforts. Alice.com is hosting e-stores on its site for about 30 marketers, most of them in package goods.”

P&G relied heavily on social media to launch the e-store, which is meant to be a ‘living learning lab’ for e-commerce in which the company will share what it learns with other retailers.

For this latest venture in e-commerce, P&G is adding social features such as “product ratings, shopper feedback forums for users to share tips and links to its Facebook brand fan pages, through which consumers can buy products directly.”