National Clothesline

Marketing is most effective when it has a simple and clear message that directly reaches its target audience. For a good example, check out the recent Apple computers ’ ad campaign that prominently features two actors engaged in various comedy skits: one man serves as a visual metaphor for Windows-based PCs and the other symbolizes Mac computers. The PC is an older man dressed in an outdated suit and tie. However, the Mac is a young and hip twenty-something, casually dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Apple knows its target: personal computer users who ascribe to a more fun and creative lifestyle.

In one of the commercials, the PC is terribly sick and eventually passes out (crashes) as the Mac tells the audience that his PC counterpart is susceptible to 114,000 different computer viruses. Sure, Macs have viruses, too, but not nearly as many, which is precisely the point the admakers wish to hammer home. Other ads accentuate the “cool” Mac software that comes equipped on all of its computers and its ease of use. Not once do they feature any technical jargon, just easy-to-understand statements accompanied by not-so-subtle visual aids that are both informative and amusing.

The campaign does a wonderful job of highlighting all of the Mac’s purported strengths and the Windows-based PC’s apparent weaknesses. After watching the ads, it’s hard to imagine that Apple owns less than 4 percent of the market and Windows-based PCs have captured over 96 percent. It ’s a staggering mismatch, but it is proof that even small fish can make a big splash with a smart, well-conceived marketing plan. Apple isn ’t trying to capture 96 percent of the market, just a larger percentage of younger computer users who love listening to iTunes on their iPods. The strategy is an excellent example of a company that knows its Dominant Selling Idea and markets accordingly. This month, columnist Dennis McCrory examines the subject (see page 60) of DSIs and how important it is to achieve a recognizable brand name. He writes: “A great brand is one that’s successful because it’s different from your competitors’ and meaningful to customers.”

The Apple ads accomplish this idea seamlessly. What lessons can be learned from this? Well, you don ’t have to be the best cleaner in the world to be successful; although, it helps if you are the best cleaner in a specific area in your target market. Having such a specialty is the key to building a brand name for you plant. Once that is in place, the next step is to deliver that brand message to your customers. Keep the message simple and clear and your audience will respond.

Do-it-yourself at-home garment care took another hit last month. This time it was the “washable suit,” an innovation that looked ready to chip away at one of the foundations of the drycleaning business. It was touted as a non-dryclean option that could revolutionize wardrobes.

Well, maybe not. A UK consumer products magazine, Which?, tested the suit and found it lacking. Initial testing was promising. After being worn once, then washed and tumble dried, a researcher reported that the suit was still “comfortable and a good fit.“

So far so good for the revolution. But it was a different story after the suit was washed and dried 12 times.

“The suit showed a significant amount of shrinkage, most noticeably in the sleeves, which lost more than an inch in length, ” the magazine reported. The verdict, according to Which?: “Sounds like an attractive option, but if you wash and dry it too frequently, it will shrink. ”

The wool/polyester/lycra washable suits are made by Bagir, Ltd., and sold in the UK by Marks & Spencer and in the US by J.C. Penney. The UK retailer objected to the Which? report on the grounds that the repeated washings don ’t reflect normal usage in which the suit should “relax” to its “original state” as it is worn. The magazine allowed that, indeed, wearing the suit might “stretch it back somewhat to its original size.” But will the owner of the suit be pleased to find that it needs to be worn for a while before it stretches back to the something approximating the right size? Probably not.

It looks like this washable suit is headed for permanent storage in the back of the closet, joining the unused boxes of Dryel.