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Case_Study_on_adultshopcom
| Case Study on adultshop.com
Marketing Case Study
(Extracted from How Asia Advertises by Jim Aitchison) Applying A
New Discipline
The Problem:
Adultshop.com is an online retailer of adult products. Its
mission was to recognized as a global leader in adult product
distribution. The challenge was to launch a completely new brand
in a controversial category.
As the first publicly traded adult product company in Australia
, Adultshop.com required investment support for its business
model prior to international expansion. However, mainstream
consumer, investor and media groups did not openly accept the
category. The business was heavily biased towards males, the
competition intense and cluttered, products were sold on price
and promotion, and advertising was dominated by small space
print ads.
The Strategy:
The client's marketing strategy targeted current user groups,
hoping to build market share by focusing on promotional offers
in the key product area of videos. It was assumed that
advertising would run in adult magazines using sexually
provocative images typical of the category.
The agency recommended pursuing an untapped market opportunity.
While most people felt uncomfortable walking into a sex shop, it
argued, the anonymity of the Internet and a user-friendly site
would break down the barriers and encourage a broader audience
to purchase adult products. Women, in particularly, had never
been addressed by the category. In fact, Adultshop.com could
create a new category by becoming the first adult company to
directly target a mainstream audience and leverage the
non-threatening online environment to create a brand with
mainstream positioning. The Adultshop.com website would become a
totally acceptable place to shop, and appeal to both men and
women.
The question was, could an adult shop become a successful,
credible mainstream brand simply by acting like one? The
Adultshop.com proposition was developed to appeal to all adults
18 49 years of age. The company was restructured.
Adultshop.com became the company's umbrella brand,
user-friendly, non-pornographic website, able to command price
premiums, drive innovation and build investor support. An
unbranded subsidiary business serviced the heavy user group.
Brand identity began with a custom-designed signature font and a
3D animated logo. Humour replaced sexually explicit images.
Adultshop.com print ads splashed witty text messages on
distinctive purple backgrounds that intrigued rather than
intimidated. Media placements broke new ground, blanketing city
streets with supersites, transit shelter posters and bus ads.
The open, fun tonality dispelled the negatives surrounding adult
product marketing. Adultshop.com became the first brand in the
category to have its advertising accepted by mainstream media.
As a result of broad consumer acceptance, Adultshop.com
pioneered online shopping partnerships, site integration and
content sharing. And while mainstream consumers embraced the
campaign wit, a cult following carried the logo into tattoo
shops. Brand building continued with nightclub sponsorships,
event marketing, ambient media, radio, direct response ads and
even in recruitment advertising.
The Result
Despite no pornographic content, Adultshop.com has become the
number one adult site in Australia and one of the top 10
e-tailing sites in the country. 30% of all customers are
females, vis-ŕ-vis the 5% norm for the category. Female products
outsell male products 2 to 1.
Banner click-through rates of 12% are five times the industry
average.
The site has registered consistent sales revenue growth; a sale
campaign generated 120% sales increase.
Following its launch, Adultshop.com became the best performing
dot.com stock and is on target to turn a profit. International
expansion is underway with lives sites in the US and Germany .
http://www.edux.com.sg/newsletter/newsletter.html
About the author:
A web design,development,hosting and internet marketing firm
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