Method Products – Marketing Methods & Product Management

Posted by Shaun Abrahamson on Tuesday, 9 September 2008

What can we learn from the most valuable and fastest growing brands. We discussed 37Signals which might be a little esoteric given their focus on business software.

But Method Products makes, among other things, soap and cleaning products, so this should have broader appeal. And perhaps more interestingly, we found a few similarities to 37Signals in their approach, despite their very different business (I am sure 37Signals users, are clean, too). 

A brief history of fighting dirty

Method was inspired by the realization that most cleaning products such as Windex, Tilex, etc were born in the age of mass marketing – in the 50s. They almost seem like they would be perfectly at home in an episode of Madmen. So the questions then – what should updated cleaners look like? 

The founders, Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry don’t seem to be the guys who dreamed that one day they would make soap. But they did feel very strongly about a few things and they asked a lot of questions.  Why would I use poison in my home, to clean it? Why couldn’t I create better, more environmentally friendly products? Why should a more environmental product not work as well as traditional products? How do people feel about cleaning their homes and how has it changed? Eric Ryan goes into great detail in this aaaa.org 2007 video summarized nicely, here.

The result is not the conventional solution-for-a-problem product or a new marketing approach, but an emerging new culture of cleaning. A cleaner way of cleaning. A better way of cleaner being. Actually, lets look at some of the numbers. 

In 2006, according to Inc Magazine, Method Products was ranked the 7th fastest growing company. In 2007 it had slowed a little to only 508.4% growth, in business, known more for its flat or declining growth. Method competes against some of the best known players in the cleaning business such as P&G and Unilever. And as a clever calculation suggests that their competitors spend more on their toilet paper than Method spends on the advertiting ($15m vs $3m in 2006).

So how is Method managing to spread like the germs they vow to destroy?

They have a better product. Better for your health. Better for your home. Better for the environment. Better to look at. And yes, it will still clean. maybe even better. But when you throw the packaging away it wont live on to damage the envionment. And they seem like they dont take themselves too seriously – maybe you’d like to be invited to one of their parties. 

This doesnt just happen. The team recognized that cleaning has changed and rather than the old approach to storing products under the kitchen sink or hiding them in a closet, you might be inclined to leave them out. So why shouldnt they look alot better? Like perfume or other high end “lifestyle” goods?

Coming out of the closet (or out from under the sink)

Method focuses on Style + Substance. The ubstance comes from a commitment to research and find better ways to make their products better for homes, people and the planet. And their style, in some part comes from a well known designer - Karim Rashid.

As a result of their partnership, their products look like nothing else on the surrounding shelves – like placing a laptop next to a typewriter or they might say – placing a Mac next to a PC. In other ways it echoes Apple’s experience with the Mac – it just looked like it belonged to a different time. It held the promise of being better and different. So does Method. 

As Method sees it. Design is media. I love that and couldnt agree more. What best about it – people pay for your product and show if off in their homes! It a fashion accessory from something which used to be hidden away. What? Now that is a a real “media buy”.  Someone pays you  and gets you attention. 

The design angle probably also helped with their first distribution deal through Target. So the design focus had the additional benefit of enthusing their retail partners (particularly since not much was forthcoming in the form of media spend, for the startup company, but more on that in a bit). 

Advertising without advertising

From the beginning, Method has approached advertising, differently. Their first tiny budget went towards a booklet that told their story. They approached advertising like a media a publisher might. They became a publisher to sell a story- their story. And they chose a book, because there was a lot to tell. And as people learned about what they were doing, they would become “people against dirty”. In 2008 they published Squeaky Green, which they sell, which explains what they stand for and how to detox your home. Again redefining the “media buy”.

When they had the chance to buy outdoor, they decided on a “pop-up” store in places like New York and San Francisco, to better introduce the Method products and values. And they have worked with retailers to unify their product displays in retails stores in ways that others cannot (because the various soaps and cleaning products have little or nothing in common with one another), under the theme of Method Home. So in effect they create mini-stores within the retail environment. 

Perhaps most interestingly, in 2007 Eric Ryan stated that within 3 years Method planned to stop buying media. Their plan is to make use of the media they have. For example, they might spend $200k on a new design. $200k in media buying doesnt get the much, but a great design could get them much more. So their marketing budget includes design and media buying so the two compete for effectiveness. And design appears to be winning by their mesasures of effectiveness.  

And then of course, they have advocates to tell the story for them – the people against dirty. 

For the people (against dirty)

From the beginning, the response to Method’s products was somewhat unusual. It doesnt occur to most people to call or mail the cleaning product manufacturer and let them know how much they love them. But this is in fact what happened.

And today, Method is focused on their community against dirty. They look to them as the ultimate evangelists, unpaid but rewarded in various ways. They spread the word on everything from products themselves to educational ideas about making homes more healthy. They help bring Method Products to more homes. They think of their customer differently – they are Advocates. And they treat them that way. They share press releases with them and product samples. They treat them as an extension of the company. 

By the people behind the people against dirty

The organization reflects the company beliefs. Creative talent is drawn from a variety of disciplines including packaing and industrial design. And ideas are shared openly so that others in the company can comment and build on them, on large “wiki boards”. Even the elevator is designed to emphasize that you are going somewhere different. 

Much like some other innovative companies, they design for themselves. They hire their customers, literally. Prototypes are available in Methods’ office bathrooms with requests for feedback. And they dont succumb to Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome – when they saw a great idea for oncentrated soaps in Japan – they didnt hesistate to “borrow” the idea and make it their own.

The organization contrasts with their much larger competitors. Teams are led by product managers versus marketing managers. Teams sit as PODs working on a product, versus being grouped into functional specialties. And they company has built a number of other cultural elements including ways to ensure that they are hiring the right talent – you need to do a homework assignment and explain how you will keep the company wierd.

Posted in: Uncategorized | Tagged: advertising, design, DGPSA, marketing, method | 2 Comments