When someone asks me the secret to success in social media marketing, I often say that the product has to be something that consumers feel passionate about, and more importantly, that they are willing (and excited) to share their passion. I then go on to say, “tampons, for instance, are not something most people feel passionate about.”
So what to make of Procter & Gamble’s willingness to put the Tampax brand out there in the social media space? Tampax has been a willing sponsor of teen girls’ social networking (last year it sponsored a cheerleading-video competition on a site called Takkle.com).
Now, it is sponsoring Stardoll, a virtual world of sorts where girls can dress up cartoon doll avatars and then interact with each other. At Stardoll, Tampax sponsors the MonthlyGiftClub, where members can get gifts based on group milestones. According to Brandweek, some of the gifts might include white virtual clothing for their avatars — a play off of Tampax’s campaign featuring women wearing white clothing.
Here’s where I start to go “ewww” and wonder why girls would join this club. But I checked it out and it’s surprisingly active. The member list runs nearly 3,000 pages (and there are a couple dozen names per page). The guest book runs over 1,000 pages, and the discussion forum is quite active (if you call a lot of “lol” and “thx” posts active). No one’s talking about Tampax or tampons per se, but then again no one’s actively dissing the brand (that I found). Which says something.
Maybe I need to find a new product category to mention when I talk about brands that don’t make sense in a social environment. Anyone have any ideas for me?
