Procter & Gamble Co. is launching its biggest laundry detergent innovation in decades: Tide Pods. These highly concentrated tablets - two times more concentrated than the regular Tide liquid - have three chambers of detergent inside a plastic film that dissolves in cold water. The tablets contain only ten percent water, and can be used in regular and high-efficiency machines.
Even though the U.S. market has traditionally resisted using laundry tablets, Proctor & Gamble is backing Tide Pods with a $150 million marketing campaign. “We want marketing that’s as innovative as the product technology,” said Alex Keith, VP of North American laundry in an interview with Ad Age. “The powder-based tablets we launched last time came right as the market was making an inflection point toward liquid detergents.” Tide’s goal is to shift the work of pre-treating, soaking, and other laundry-related tasks to the detergent. The test results so far have been compelling; with 97 percent of test consumers agreeing that the new formula “provides excellent results with minimal time and effort.”
The media is already buzzing about the test launch that is scheduled for July, with the full line hitting shelves early next year. Originally planned for September, the Launch was pushed back due to high retail distribution demand. Procter & Gamble took a risk letting their competitors know about Tide Pods five months before it is available, but the brand is confident its patents will protect the product. "I don't imagine that this is going to be able to be copied in any way that it will become a threat," P&G Chief Executive Robert McDonald was reported as saying by Fox Business News.
Tide Pods follows in the footsteps of Tide Stain Release single-dose gel packets, launched in 2009, which have become the Stain Release line’s most popular product. Can a pod-ful of innovation and a $150 million marketing load change consumer thinking and habits? One thing is for sure: It will all come out in the wash.
Comments