THERE’S LIKELY A CONTAINER OF it somewhere around your house. It’s OxiClean, the powdery stain remover originally made for laundry problems that customers discovered cleans much, much more. Some have found it works great for cleaning boats, decks and outdoor furniture, while others have added a few scoops to the pressure washer to blast mold and dirt off home siding.
Yes, the OxiClean customer is known to be innovative in the use of the stain remover. And this cadre is quick to share the news with the company, as well as their friends and family. Capitalizing on that willingness to share, OxiClean this month launches a seven-month promotion, centered on an essay contest, to promote its latest stain remover.
“Our consumers are very loyal and continue to provide us with new uses everyday,” says Cathy Underwood, brand manager at parent Orange Glo, Denver. “We’re already getting the stories, so why not reward them for that and create even more buzz within the community.”
To enter the OxiClean Amazing Stain Contest: 101 Uses In and Outside the Home, participants must write about their favorite clean-up story using OxiClean in 50 to 200 words. As an incentive, those who write an essay receive a 3-ounce sample of the new product, OxiClean Dual StainFighter, a liquid version of the flagship powder, which hits store shelves April 1.
For each of the first six months of the campaign, representatives from Gage Marketing Group, Minneapolis, which helped develop the campaign, read through the essays and pick the top 101 finalists. Orange Glo then selects a winner for that month.
“The benefit [of the lengthy campaign] is it offers the opportunity for a larger audience to be able to participate in such a fun and unique contest, while extending the brand with the visibility of the new product,” says Jay Zemke, VP-business development at Gage.
The six monthly winners get $1,000 and in October their essays are posted online where visitors vote for their favorite.
“It’s all American Idol-ish,” Underwood says.
The writer of the most popular essay wins a weeklong trip to Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Those who participate in the voting for a grand prizewinner will be entered into a random drawing to win a portable DVD player for their automobile. The 100 essayists not selected each month receive a bobblehead of OxiClean spokesperson Billy Maze.
In addition to the essay contest, a total 5,100 demonstrations will take place at Wal-Mart stores on May 1, May 15 and June 5. There, simulated washing machines (basically plastic containers) will show consumers how the product works. Samples will be handed out, along with information on the product and the contest.
Teaser ads began last month. The 30-second TV spots for Dual, which started March 15, have been shortened to tag on 10-seconds of promotion for the campaign. E-mail blasts — which started March 22 with a “coming soon” theme — will total six waves of 300,000-to-500,000 transmissions. On-pack bursts appear on product and an FSI drops in June.
