Edgy, Sexual, and Market Leading

The Axe line of deodorant and body sprays have done what nobody could’ve believed they could – enter a super-saturated market and assumed leadership within four years of it’s launch. The full details of the story can be found at Advertising Age: Axe Cuts Past Competitors; Claims Market Lead (subscription required).

It’s a classic marketing cliche: Sex Sells. Axe (produced by Unilever) has sold its products entirely on the elusive marketing promise that if you use this product, you will attract hot women (Axe is an entirely male-oriented product line). Ironically, Unilver is also the same company that produces Dove which has made enormous strides in its Free Our Girls from Beauty Stereotypes campaign. But beyond just the simple story of sex appeal is the powerful marketing strategy that Bartle Bogle Hegarty and WPP Group has employed.

Using a combination of television, print, package design, and of course web, the Axe line of products has used corporate-sponsored viral strategies and non-traditional marketing methods to propel them from nonexistance to market leadership.
On the web side, GameKillers.com features rich media, video, and unabashed marketing copy. The integration to the target audience is unbelievable. You can visit individual Game Killers on Myspace, you can download wallpapers, you can watch films about their game killing powers, you can even download ringtones. They also have a second site aimed almost exactly at the same demographic at Order of the Serpentine which includes more viral videos and brand building experiences.

Of course this strategy was executed with millions of dollars on hand, but with one fundamental truth. They were determined to take an edgy sub-culture approach to reach their demographic. I’ll be honest, I tried Axe, and quite frankly it didn’t appeal to me (nor did women swoon to me like I think they do to Shmuly). I honestly have not seen another company or brand that has postured itself so well across so many emerging medias as Axe has. The only one that comes to mind is Fox’s American Idol, which has embraced mobile media and the web from the start (perhaps a considerable reason for it’s sustained success). The web is not the only marketing medium available, but when used in conjunction with a sound brand strategy, it can provide the crucial element to maintaining user involvement and brand preference.