"How do you convince the world that you don't poop at all?" - From the video 'Girls Don't Poop'
“Girls Don’t Poop” is the name of the advertisement that went viral over social media networks for a product called Poo-Pourri. Poo-Pourri is an environmentally friendly blend of oils that eliminates bathroom odors. It is one of the very few advertisements that I could stand to watch to completion on YouTube instead of skipping to the main video I clicked. Before I really delve into their ad let me start off with talking about Generation Y.
Generation Y are the younger people that are up and coming for marketers. Gen Y is a generation of consumers about 82 million strong and they are more than ready to spend money. Businesses have to learn to connect with this generation because they are the major consumer group of the present and future with an expected $2.45 trillion annual spending power by the year 2015. Now marketers might think they know exactly what appeals to this generation, but take it from someone who is part of this generation, they don’t have it exactly figured out yet.
Generation Y are the younger people that are up and coming for marketers. Gen Y is a generation of consumers about 82 million strong and they are more than ready to spend money. Businesses have to learn to connect with this generation because they are the major consumer group of the present and future with an expected $2.45 trillion annual spending power by the year 2015. Now marketers might think they know exactly what appeals to this generation, but take it from someone who is part of this generation, they don’t have it exactly figured out yet.
Social media is a big tool that companies try and use when attempting to appeal to Gen Y but making an ad go viral isn’t the only key to profitability. Viral ads that have nothing to do with a product always bothered me. A lot of companies put out videos that are tear-jerkers but when I have no idea what your product is or why I need it, I’m not going to buy it. Also, quality is a big necessity. I grew up barely remembering a world without the Internet and Google. You can absolutely bet that I do my research about a product before I buy it. Whether it’s asking my friends, looking at reviews on Amazon, or looking at your website; I’m going to thoroughly vet something before I buy it. Another thing that is important is the ease and convenience of buying your product. I prefer doing my shopping online and with services like Amazon Prime, I’ve been spoiled which makes my purchasing expectations high.
Now with all that said, I want to talk about Poo-Pourri, they got everything that I stated above and more right when it came to their marketing. The company made a video that not only sold their product and blatantly portrayed itself as an ad, but it also forced a conversation about the product rather than displaying an easily forgotten cheap moment of humor. They have a ridiculously clever motto as well, "Our business is to make it smell like your business...never even happened." Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and a creative website make Poo-Pourri extremely accessible on nearly every social platform that is popular. Their site has been shared over 41,000 times, they have over 268,000 'likes' on Facebook, and their video has been watched almost 27 million times on YouTube. Their website is packed full of user-generated testimonials and video reviews as well. They serve an incredibly concentrated niche but they've been able to sell over 4 million bottles of their product which is absolutely incredible. They also offer full refunds on their product if their consumers aren’t satisfied which not only shows how confident they are in their product but also how important customer satisfaction to them is. You can get their product on Amazon, on their website, or even in stores now. This company showed just how powerful Gen Y can be as consumers, this is a product that nobody imagined would be where it is today but they were able to tap into Gen Y and all of the attributes they find important to create a successful and not to mention profitable marketing campaign.