Teaser Campaign: Learning from Others Mistakes

There was a major advertisement battle last year in India. It was about the “Mystery Shampoo” and if it was the number 1 shampoo.

Around July 23rd, P&G Pantene came up with the idea of Mystery Shampoo. It was on TV, web, blogs and print but nobody really knew what it was. The idea was to build buzz about the “mystery” theme, finally ending with a big reveal that it was Pantene.

There was just one hitch with their plan: their biggest competitor. There had been hints of the Mystery Shampoo campaign before it launched, and just a few days later on July 28th, Dove came out with a counter advertisement “There is no mystery. Dove is the No. 1 Shampoo.” Any buzz that Pantene was trying to build was ruined and Dove reaped all of the rewards from this campaign. This is a classic example of smart entrapping of a competitor in marketing.

So what went wrong with Mystery Shampoo?

• Gave hints about campaign even before launch
• Too much time between tease and reveal
• Gave enough time for smart competitor to cash-in on the opportunity

Cautions and Some Tips

• Teasers extended to long durations can be put brand at risk
• Don’t give hints to your competitors
• Don’t use incorrect statistics (you can and will be sued by competitors!)
• Guard yourself for defence before you go out to attack a competitor
• Create good memory about brand by using strong visual effects. Build a story. Build curiosity.
• Your product should be available in market when you launch/reveal the campaign. A teaser is all about building curiosity and expectation which ultimately leads to purchase
• When you create expectations, make sure that your delivery meets those expectations
• Use different mediums to maximize your exposure. Make the best use of social circles
• It is worth making big noise when you are ending your campaign

Tags: digital campaign, search campaign