We've seen economic cycles compared to the ebb and flow of the tides before, but Ellen Byron this morning takes us from the general to the specific. To wit: the mere presence of Tide Basic on the
shelves of our supermarkets "is one of the most telling signs to date of how the sour U.S. economy is forcing mass marketers to shift course."
Basic is about four-fifths of the cost of
the Tides that are more robust in their cleansing attributes, and represents a significant shift from the way business is usually done at Procter & Gamble. Rather than create a cheaper brand to
compete with generics, P&G decided to take the risk of cannibalizing its top-selling label. As one of those making the suggestion, an associate marketing director named Suzanne Watson told a
formidable roomful of executives on the Laundry Leadership Team last November: "Just listen and keep an open mind." (That's W-A-T-S-O-N.")
The council had questions about the color of
the box. It didn't want to spend more on raw materials such as fragrances. It debated power vs. liquid. Past dinnertime, it was still tussling over the name. But by June, boxes of Tide Basic were in
Wal-Mart and Kroger stores across the South, and heading elsewhere. Bottom line? That ship is still at sea, but Byron's piece is a nice inside look at the P&G process.
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