Alec Black Introduction to Brand Management January 26, 2009 Brand Brief
The Tampax Community The Brand at a Glance History Tampax, the product, was created and trademarked in 1931 by Dr. Earle Cleveland Haas. He created a hand powered, hand operated machine that compressed cotton and used string to hold it together. He then found two paper tubes that to create the original applicator. He took on this this challenge in order to solve the discomfort his wife had been experiencing with her “sanitary pad”. He later sold the patent to Gertrude Tenderich who formed the Tampax Sales Corporation with a small group of Denver investors in 1934. She used Haas’ device and her sewing machine to create the devices in her home and then formed a small sales force to spread the product. They quickly found that they did not have enough capital to be profitable and sold rights to the design to Robert A. McInnes, a Canadian entreprenuer. He was given a license to manufacture the product and sell it in Canada and the “British Empire”. While trying to market the product in the East, Tenderich met Ellery Mann who was a product promoter. The match worked perfectly and Tenderich, McInnes, and Mann combined forces to form Tampax Incorporated. With Ellery’s ability to bring heightened awareness they achieved the success Tenderich had dreamed of when she bought the patent. They changed the name of the company to Tambrands Inc. in 1984 and were later purchased by Proctor & Gamble in 1997. Since the creation of Tampax Incorporated in 1936 they have been the leading seller of tampons globally. Today In 2007 they held roughly half of the entire tampon market with recent estimates putting them at 51% market share. In order to compete in
the plastic applicator market they recently created Tampax Pearl and grabbed 12.8% of the plastic applicator market in its first year. In 2007 they had over $684 million in sales. Products Tampax offers two basic products with variations that can be made to each. They make the Tampax Pearl, which has a plastic applicator, and Regular Tampax Tampons which uses cardboard. Variations such as scent and size differentiate the individual products. Target Market Tampax targets women from age 15 to 55 but tends to focus more on the younger end of that spectrum. With girls entering puberty at younger and younger ages they see this portion of the market as having the most potential. The Baby Boomer generation is now beginning to enter menopause and the American market (especially on the older end of the spectrum) is shrinking. Tampax targets women age 15 to 35 that live an active lifestyle. It even created an interactive resource page where women, especially teenagers and young adults, can talk to each other about topics that revolve all around being a woman, not just tampons or their periods. Also they can seek advice from those who have already experienced certain life events.
Images and Associations Look and Feel Tampax uses bright and colorful aesthetics for all of their marketing communications. Also they tend to use smooth, rounded and clean colors and patterns. Their website is a great example of this.
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Logo
Recent Mottos The current slogan - “Made to go unnoticed” The previous slogan - “The one. The only. Tampax.” Print Ads
This ad focuses on the fact that Tampax is so reliable that she can swim with sharks without worrying about leakage.
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This ad plays off the fact that Tampax is so reliable that it never takes a day off so you don’t have to worry about your tampon and can focus on other issues. 4
Again this is an ad targeted toward a younger demographic focusing on the fact that Tampax is so reliable that it will never let you down or “Take a day off� 5
Brand Values When Tampax was acquired by Proctor & Gamble in 1997 they shifted the values of their brand to match that of their new parent company. Those values include integrity, a passion for winning, leadership, ownership and trust. These are seen as the core of their business that every employee must share in order to continue to succeed as they have.
Value of the Brand The Tampax brand name allows for a markup of anywhere from 50% to 122% (depending on what store you use) over private label or non-name brand tampons with the same qualifications. This means that simply putting the Tampax name on them allows to the charge twice as much for the same product in certain situations. The brand as a whole has enormous value as last year they had over $684 million in sales and continually have nearly 50% market share in the tampon industry. When Proctor & Gamble bought Tambrands in 1997 the brand was valued at $1.85 billion by industry experts.
Emotional Rewards The emotional rewards that Tampax offers its customers are confidence, relaxation and peace of mind. Tampax offers reliability so that the user doesn’t have to worry about any mishaps or embarrassing situations during their time of the month and gives them the freedom to live life as they would any other time and worry about the things that really matter.
User Experiences For the most part, the feedback regarding Tampax has always been been good. However when someone does not care Tampax their reviews are scathing, with some consumers calling for the firing of the engineers or upper management. A few years ago they reformulated how their tampons were made and it was not met very enthusiastically by many loyalists. There was an outcry for them to bring back the traditional style and applicator. Overall Tampax consistently receives satisfactory marks by most reviewers. Here are a few examples of good, bad and scathing reviews.
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The Good http://www.xomreviews.com/tampax.com I really like tampax tampons and have used them for 35 years!!! I recently bought the new styled cardboard tampons. They work quite well and the applicator is pretty. http://www.epinions.com/reviews/ Tampax_Pearl_Tampons_With_Plastic_Applicator_Super_Plus_Absorbe ncy_Fresh_Scent Best Tampon Pros: Super plus absorbency, braided, Pearl applicator Cons: Wrapper is loud If you have a very heavy flow, this is the tampon for you. It expands which is very nice, so you worry less about leaks. It also is braided, so that absorbs more when it is about to leak. The pearl applicator is very easy to insert. The Bad http://www.epinions.com/review/ Tampax_Pearl_Tampons_With_Plastic_Applicator_Super_Plus_Absorbe ncy_Fresh_Scent/content_406053555844 I wasn't going to review Tampax until they started leaking. I chalked it up to heavy bleeding post my last C-Section. Many chat boards revealed heavy menstrual bleeding as a post-surgical issue for many women, and I jumped on that band wagon. It was a done deal, until I ruined a pair of linen pants "trusting" in Tampax. http://www.epinions.com/reviews/ Tampax_Pearl_Tampons_With_Plastic_Applicator_Super_Plus_Absorbe ncy_Fresh_Scent Don't buy! Pros: The smell is very fresh and clean. Cons: Read Review... I bought tampax pearl supers and it turns out they open to each side and not all the way around so sometimes i leaked. My favorite tampon is Playtex Sport it opens all the way so you have full protection. The Ugly http://www.xomreviews.com/tampax.com I HATE the new Tampax! After 30 years of brand loyalty and complete satisfaction with Tampax I now have to go BACK to when I was 13 and shop for a tampon that works. 7
I'd like to ask what sort of idiot decided to change what has worked for 30+ years http://www.xomreviews.com/tampax.com I do not know the people that approved these new cardboard tampons, but I believe they should get FIRED! Did they do market research at all? Did they research all age groups? I do not believe so! If they would have done their jobs, they would have found,(let's see I will just research the reviews I see listed), that 2 out if 3 people do NOT like this insufficient tampon. With my post, 3 out of 4 DO NOT like this tampon. The applicator is nice. Why change the tampon? The rating of 1 is way to good for this product.
Positioning Tampax positions itself based on reliability. They want to convey an image of never failing. Rather than focus on the absorbency or other attributes of their product like their competition they choose to focus on the performance of their products. They want to be the tampon you can always count on.
Value(s) Reputation Since its creation, Tampax has had the reputation of being at the pinnacle of quality and innovation in the tampon market. They created the industry and continue to be its leader in sales as well as innovation. They continually prove this with sales records and their ability to change the market as they did with the recent introduction of Pearl. Relationship The relationship between Tampax and its customers is one of loyalty and trust. When reading over the many reviews of Tampax online, seemingly countless women posted about their relationship of 30+ years with this brand. These women form a trusting relationship with Tampax and their brand loyalty is of great value for the company. Experiential In a 2007 survey 63% of American women (aged 18+) reported having used Tampax with some degree of regularity. This is a testament as to just how many women have experienced this brand. The two words that Tampax feels epitomize the Tampax experience are reliability and comfort and a quick search of reviews shows that many of the customers agree. 8
Symbolic Since inventing the market, Tampax has become the symbol of the entire tampon industry. The sight of the blue and white logo evokes the same set of associations in nearly everyone. The prevalence of spoof ads and news reports online involving Tampax also reveals how iconic it is of the tampon market as a whole. Whenever anyone needs to bring up anything about tampons, Tampax is continually the first name that comes to mind.
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Brand Story
When Dr. Earle Cleveland Haas set out to create the first tampon, it
was with the goal of making his wife’s life easier. He wanted to create something practical that also allowed her to be comfortable and uninhibited by this necessary accessory. The large sanitry napkins that were used at the time were bulky, uncomfortable, impractical and inconvenient. By creating this seemingly simple product he changed the lives of nearly every women since then.
He called this original prototype the Tampax and just as the name
has stayed constant so too has the pupose and goal of the company. Tampax doesn’t try to get flashy or overthink what they are doing. For over 70 years they have stayed focused on the two goals that Dr. Haas had, comfort and practicality. In an industry where reliability is king, they stick to focusing on that without convoluting their message.
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