…and a story about adland’s ability to change the game when things get tough, to keep it winning.
Ad blockers. Technology start-ups. Brad Jakeman. Adland has had an inglorious year.
But it’s not full of creative thinkers for nothing. [Pardon the grammar – it makes the point.] If the 30 second TV isn’t solving client’s business problems because no one is watching. If the full page ad isn’t solving business problems because no one is reading. If a digital ad is as visible as a grain of sand on a beach…
…If brands can’t tell people what they want any more, make brands give them what they need. Here’s a great Aussie example.
That’s how ad agencies like M&C Saatchi are thinking.
Australian Weaving is the last Australian cotton mill standing. And it’s being hammered on price. When Australian Weaving took its business problem to M&C Saatchi Melbourne, the agency realised that its category was already full of noise.
So M&C looked outside the idea of adding another voice. It added a new product and brand.
The 2 Litre Towel undermines the value of cheap towels. It does what towels are meant to do – beyond the scope of what a towel has ever done. The 100% cotton towel absorbs up to 2 litres of water. If that doesn’t make Australian Weaving’s Australian-made quality and value proposition stand out…
It stands on the underpinning of being manufactured locally. And it reinforces, in itself, the idea cutting cost on quality just won’t deliver the results.
Sanja Lalic, marketing manager Australian Weaving, commented, “Quality towels are not something of a high priority for households, until such time that they use one that doesn’t do its job! This is too often the case, with many imported towels adding chemical fabric softeners to hide the harsh feeling of their low quality cotton – with these ‘softeners’ actually repelling water rather than absorbing it.
“We have developed the new 2 Litre Towel brand to educate people on what they’re buying in an innovative way, and simply encourage them to go back to basics when it comes to the purpose of a towel – absorbency.”
David Dahan, managing director M&C Saatchi Melbourne added, “This is how the concept of The 2 Litre Towel was born – we saw an innovative way to break the category convention by reframing the true benefit of a towel – and reminding people what they buy them for.
“The brand simply serves as an explanation of a product that is unique in terms of its function and most importantly, delivers on its promise. Something that simple.”
Photograph Simon O’Dwyer. The Age Newspaper ‘Business’. 131115. Photograph Shows. Michael Mazur, general manager of Australian Weaving and Paul Taylor from MxC Saatchi with The 2 Litre Towel to be sold at David Jones.
And to attract buyers’ attention? The 2 Litre Towel comes in a range of birght eye-catching colours. Ok, so do cheap towels. But cheap towels don’t come in an empty 2L soft drink bottle, sold from a fridge display in a striking POS activation, do they?
The towel is exclusive to David Jones nationally in the lead-up to Christmas. It is available both in-store and online.
