HOW DR. SQUATCH REVOLUTIONIZED SOAP MARKETING A SOAP BUILT FOR MEN
Many unfortunate conditions have descended upon the global shipping industry, causing shipping containers to topple overboard into the sea at increasing rates. In 2020, 3,000 shipping containers were lost overboard — the most in seven years. Every shipping container lost holds millions of dollars of cargo, so shipping and retail industry leaders are assessing the causes of these accidents while also searching for solutions to prevent them. Increasing Demand From the Market for More, More Quickly Consumer demand for any and all products under the sun has increased steadily in recent years, and the pandemic only served to exacerbate that trend. The more demand there is from consumers, the more products need to be shipped around the world — which results in a bigger strain on the shipping industry. More Pressure on Ships and Crew s More to ship means more cargo boxes on ships, making them increasingly top-heavy and at risk for toppling into the ocean when ships hit waves and strong winds. At the same time, the increased cargo inspection is leaving crews more burnt out. This leads to errors and inspection oversights which can also lead to cargo spilling overboard. At least three quarters of all shipping industry accidents and fatalities are due to human error. Increasingly Unpredictable Weathe r The Pacific Ocean is home to some of the busiest shipping routes and worst weather in the world. Winds over the Pacific Ocean are the strongest they’ve been on record since 1948. That, combined with ship captains deciding to sail through storms as opposed to around them, to save on time and fuel, means bad weather is a more common reason for cargo getting lost overboard. So far in 2021, 1,000 shipping containers have been lost overboard. Over 226 million containers are shipped every year, so it might seem like an insignificant problem. However, those incidents still represent 60% of the monetary value lost in the shipping process. To mitigate these losses, ships should sail around storms and find ways to prevent burnout among their crews. As for the rest of us, maybe we should take a good, long look at our Amazon shopping carts and ask: Do I really need someone to ship this thousands of miles for me? Chances are the answer is no.
when you’re competing against name-brand companies in the supermarket, you have to think, “What are these big corporations unable to provide?” Smart Marketing For Haldrup and his boutique brand, the answer was deeply personalizing their content and building a community through targeted marketing. Haldrup is far from your typical marketing guru — but even as a former IT security consultant, he was savvy enough to notice the different strengths in online marketing platforms. He’s also invested plenty of money into video ads that people want to watch. Haldrup took a risk and paid $20,000 to a professional marketing agency to create a humorous ad about soap. It immediately paid off, increasing the soap subscription base from 11,000 to 17,000 in three months. Today, as of this writing, the ad has over 114 million views. The contents of an average Dr. Squatch soap include lye, vegetable oil, and a variety of scented essential oils, which are not particularly groundbreaking ingredients. But while there’s nothing new about Dr. Squatch’s soap itself, the brand’s targeting and tactics are completely innovative for their industry. Men and women alike have come to adore Dr. Squatch for its attractive subscription
Jack Haldrup has a common autoimmune skin condition called psoriasis. Because regular supermarket soaps burn his skin — leaving it dry and irritated — he was forced to seek natural, gentler soaps. He told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “I ended up buying handmade soaps from farmers markets, and they made my skin feel great.” While Haldrup relied on natural soaps for his skin, he also realized how beneficial they are overall. But the average guy, he thought, wasn’t going to seek out soap at a farmers market or health food stores. That’s how Dr. Squatch, now a $100 million soap business with a massively successful 2020 Super Bowl ad, came to be. But marketers are all asking the same question: How’d he break into a corporation-dominated market like soap? Not Just for Hippies At 29 years old, he created Dr. Squatch, an all-natural soap brand for men. This is highly unusual — for many years, soap has been primarily marketed to women, perhaps since companies assume women make the household soap decisions. But Haldrup believed everyone deserves healthy soap. Although they expected their sales to be highest in coastal cities like New York or San Francisco, their biggest audience turns out to be middle America. “[Our soap] is for the guy who would never normally consider buying natural products because he thinks they’re for hippies,” Haldrup says.
system and humorous, personalized messaging.
They’ve become a great example of how powerful a strong message can be, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for the company! We’re rooting for you, Dr. Squatch!
It’s not easy to break into a highly saturated market like soap, but
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