Febreze Market Research: Case Study

Procter & Gamble, founded in 1837, is a leading global parent organization with diverse consumer goods brands. It is known for its innovative products that challenge convention (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023). In 1996 the industry giant launched a brand called Febreze, a first-of-its-kind, colorless liquid odor eliminator in the US. The brand produces a broad portfolio of high-quality air fresheners for different purposes, such as diffusers and aerosols for residential and commercial applications, fabrics, and cars, including aromatic gels and candles (Procter & Gamble Co, 2022). Over the years, Febreze has built a strong brand reputation and established itself as a household brand. However, the strongest brands must go through some rain before the sun shines.

One of P&G’s well-renowned chemists discovered the ideal answer for odor neutralization in 1993 while experimenting with a chemical called HPBCD. The story goes that one day when the chemist returned home after experimenting with the substance, his wife could not smell the cigarette smoke off him, despite him being a chainsmoker. The next day, the chemist experiments with the same chemical, creating a liquid that removes all odors from the fabrics. The P&G executives were overwhelmed and excited upon discovering this innovation, as the market had never seen such a liquid that not only masks odor but also completely eradicates it (Anand Damani, 2016). P&G spent three years and a lot of money in product development before finally launching Febreze. The marketing team, led by Drake Stimpson, decided to position Febreze as something that would help people eliminate embarrassing odors and designed marketing materials with this concept in mind (Jeba Jarin, 2021).

However, the campaign was unsuccessful, and the product failed until P&G hired behavioral experts to assist them in determining the problem and the new alternative. After conducting interviews and recording people in their homes to analyze their behaviors and routines, it was discovered that Febreze failed due to a lack of research on consumer needs and expectations. The fact is that people cannot smell a scent after overconsuming it, so there is no need for the customer to purchase the product in the first place (Anand Damani, 2016). After analyzing consumer patterns, the marketing team needed to position Febreze as more than an odor eliminator. They developed the product into an air freshener to give Febreze a distinct scent. They finally relaunched the product in 1998 with the tagline “Cleans life’s smells” (Jeba Jarin, 2021). The goal was to instill a good image of cleaning scent in the customers’ minds as a lovely reminder of a clean environment (Kuhn, 2020). 

Market research assisted the P&G marketing team understand pertinent information about consumer wants and differentiators, which revealed chances for product enhancement and resulted in more effective marketing strategies. Following the relaunch, Febreze invested in developing more diverse scents for its collection. By 1999, sales revenues had reached $230 million, a significant increase over original sales. Today, Febreze makes a revenue of $1 billion per year (Cohan, 2012).

References:

Anand Damani. (2016, June 7). How the world’s best marketer got it wrong, but eventually got it right – Behavioural design. Behavioral Design. https://www.behaviouraldesign.com/2016/06/07/how-the-worlds-best-marketer-got-it-wrong-but-eventually-got-it-right/#sthash.CGRrMQS1.YhSWN1O3.dpbs The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2023, April 21). Procter & Gamble Company | American company. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Procter-and-Gamble-Company George Kuhn. (2020, July 17). How market research saved Febreze | Consumer behavior case study. Market Research Companies New York | Drive Research. https://www.driveresearch.com/market-research-company-blog/how-market-research-saved-febreze-consumer-behavior-case-study/#:~:text=Through%20other%20research%20interviews%2C%20the,confirmation%20of%20%22clean%22 Jeba Jarin. (2021, June 20). Febreze: The Fall and the Rise; a story recreated. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/febreze-fall-rise-story-recreated-jeba-jarin Peter Cohan. (2012, February 19). Jurassic Park: How P&G Brought Febreze Back to Life. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/02/19/jurassic-park-how-pg-brought-febreze-back-to-life/?sh=4c6769837f6d 

Procter & Gamble. (2022, March 23). Brands. Retrieved 17 September 2022, from https://us.pg.com/brands/#Home-Care