I guess the most important question for a brand team is: who buys our products?

It’s time to change your toys? One of Durex’s ads displayed alongside our product range in our Mannheim Germany office

It seems to be a very simple and down to earth question at first, but you’ll be surprised at how tough it is when you try to answer it. So one afternoon the Durex brand team sat down to try and figure out who actually buys our products and the ones from our competitors. Similarly, how does our target group differ from the one of our competitors? And if we knew this, is it then possible to make assumptions of how we can expand our product portfolio to satisfy the needs of our competitors’ target groups?

The debate already started when we decided on the method of analyzing: bottom-up or top-down? Do we discuss each product and derive ‘the perfect consumer’ with her/his specific needs? For example do men and women differ when it comes to condoms? Do people in relationships or singletons purchase different condoms? Or does it just depend on each individual consumer’s characteristics and not on their ‘life situation’?

Or does it go more like this: How many people in Germany are in between the age of 15 and 65? How often do they have sex per week/month? And how often do they purchase condoms?

At the end of the day both research methods have their pros and cons. And we did not come to a final statement or to a final research question, unfortunately. But I guess that some things DO take time (although in the FMCG universe, we’re all about being really fast, fast, fast!). And since the consumer is the most essential building block of our Durex brand, there need to be a hell lot more hours and brainstorming invested into analyzing. Before I started at RB, it always seemed so obvious that brands knew about who their consumers are. I guess now that I’ve experienced what marketing is, I guess this is only partly true and it actually requires a lot of hard work. But all this hard work all ends up in opening new possibilities.

Our finding of the day: We need support from our sexual & wellbeing category department to see how best to brief market research agencies and how to structure surveys – “dry” stuff perhaps, but definitly necessary!

Some of Durex’s product range in Germany

Can’t get over the embarassement of buying condoms? Try this trick…

Hi Guys. Here’s my first blog, so please do enjoy and read it because it most likely applies to you to!

I’ve been working at RB for two months now, and I find it very fascinating by one of our brands – Durex. It’s THE brand that popularized condoms, lubes and sex toys to the world out there. But guys – please DON’T BE ASHAMED about condoms! However embarrassing it may be to talk about our sexual indulges, having an active sexual lifestyle is important, but equally, knowing how to PROTECT each other with condoms is even more important.

Before I began this blog, I always wanted to write about Durex, but I didn’t know how to approach this subject until – flash back – I remember this rather strange and awkward situation which happened last week.

I was doing my shopping in a Parisian supermarket chain, and of course, as a self-professed RB addict that I am, I checked all the shelves to see if everything was normal and our products were in place.

Then comes the contraceptive shelf; I saw a guy snooping around for condoms while monitoring his surroundings for any wary glances. At the cashier, I saw the same guy in front of me trying to hide his box of condoms (and of course, Durex was his choice ) under a bag of chips.

And there, I started to ask myself lot of questions … Why are so many people so embarrassed about buying condoms? They are condoms, not dildos or whatever sex toys.

For me there is no reason to be ashamed and I am going to tell to you why:

1. You are showing to everyone that you have a sexual life. I am sure a lot of people out there envy your “situation”.
2. Not only do you have a sexual life, but you are also being responsible for yourself and your partner.
3. You will have a clear conscience later and you will not be asking yourself millions of questions because you DID actually protect you and your partner!

So, to that guy at the supermarket (and of course, all guys/girls out there): Stop being so stressful and ashamed about buying a packet of condoms. There is nothing more natural and reassuring!

And to sum this all up in one motto: “Use Condoms… and Use them Without Moderation!”

Let’s say that from now!

I’ve been working as Durex marketing intern for three months now. I must say I did not specifically apply for a position on the Durex brand. However, during my job interview, I found myself suddenly talking about condoms. Condoms – okay, nothing wrong with that – I guess most people have – more or less – had experience with condoms and so is a socially acceptable topic that one can openly talk about.

But Durex is not just a maker of condoms. We also make other kinky stuff like lubricants or sex toys, or what we formally call “lubes and devices” here at RB.

My interviewer, one and a half decades older than me, had no difficulty talking about this, so I jumped happily into the discussion while masterfully hiding my embarrassment and red cheeks until the end of the interview… which I guess worked now that I am interning for them! Likewise, since ‘Sex and the City’ gave empowerment to the world of ‘verbal sexual liberty’, I am used to this kind of talk from soap operas, although I would never have imagined having to relate this to a business perspective.

Some of the rather “interesting” questions asked

Q: Who would you target lubes to?
A: Probably older women who already went through their menopause, seeing that they have less hormones and so would get less wet as they become older

Q: How would you advertise lubes to GPs?
A: It’s a problem solver for older women who have been in their menopause already, and has a comforting effect to teenagers who are afraid of their first time having sex- lubes are fun and make gliding easier. (I did not know this part about the menopause..)

Q: Do you think you can handle the “sex toy embarrassment”?
A: I didn’t know if I could talk about this with strangers… but hey, there I was sitting and talking about all these other stuff so my answer was “yes” and looking back, there is nothing embarrassing.

When I started my internship, it took me around two weeks to break through the embarrassment hurdle. The perception that we talk about sex all the time is of course wrong. We do talk about sex, because that is the business of our products but not in an intimate or personal way. For me, it was very important to get comfortable with the brand, to explore its history of where it came from and where it is going, to develop a feeling for the different kinds of consumers we address and therewith our product range. I am not a shy person but I am also not a person trying to outperform herself on every party either. I think you have to be very open-minded and particularly in the beginning, accept that it is daily business for the people to talk about lubes with Pina Colada flavour and vibrating penis rings. Maybe the relationship between talking about very intimate products and your own private sphere is difficult to distinguish at the beginning, but with time comes comfort – no pun intended!

I do like the fact that Durex is a highly emotional brand with lots of drive and energy towards young consumers. This is what I will be posting about next time!

It really goes to show if you put in the effort, it will pay off in the end.

Recently, the Australian marketing team presented the 2012 Brand Plan. Brand Plan – those 2 evil words that would send a shiver down the spine of every marketer. They will mean longer hours, never-ending workload, extreme consumption of chocolate, lollies, pizza. But it’s not all that bad.

This year was my first experience with the dreaded “Brand Plan” and I am happy to say that I did survive! Sure, I worked some late nights and did up my consumption of all things junk food, but I also got to experience the development and planning of our core business – our brands. It really was a great learning process and provided a great platform to understand the drivers of every brand at RB. And working on Dettol, there is always something exciting happening, so this process also meant working up some great initiatives for 2012 – from new product development to our new and improved schools program. It also meant that as a graduate, I was able to contribute my ideas towards furthering our growth and success in 2012, something that I am really excited to see happen!

After all our hours of hard work and stress, it was time to have some fun! Our post-brand plan celebration consisted of a delicious 3 course lunch at a cool inner-city bar, followed by a team building cocktail making course at the Hilton Hotel. It was a great setting for the team to let their hair down after working hard during the previous 3 months, and a great opportunity to chat to and get to know the wider marketing team. At the end of the cocktail class, we were put into teams and had to re-create the cocktail recipes that we had just been taught. We were judged on speed, taste and presentation. I am very happy to say that my team won (and get to return to the venue to spend our gift voucher =D ).

There is now rest for the wicked, however, so we are now straight back to work – putting our plans into action! I can’t wait to put my learning into action the second time around. 2012 is going to be a very interesting year!

Today, we’ve had an intern training session aimed at generating ideas on increasing brand awareness. There were interesting talks about our company’s values and goals and how we can help further develop and promote them. For us interns, the most exciting part of this is the role we can play in shaping the promotional strategy, whether that may be at our university or at RB job fair stands. We are also encouraged to voice your own ideas. This is what’s so great about being part of the RB team. You help build the RB brand by sharing your ideas. You have a voice!

Me (on the second row to the right) with the RB marketing team in Brazil !