Introduction
The use of condoms has been steadily growing over the last few decades as a result of increased public awareness about the potential danger of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS. Many industrial players have tried to capitalize on this and the condom manufacturing industry has witnessed massive product innovations.
Durex is the number condom manufacturer in the world. The condom brand has a 29% share of the five billion condoms that are sold each year in the globe. The brand is actually the market leader in very many countries.
Since the use of typically begins from a young age, Durex has been using youth media, for example, MTV or the internet to target the young people. The brand has also been conducting and publishing annual surveys of sex and sexual patterns. In addition, the company has been trying to move from its label as masculine brand towards a more unisex brand.
The company has established a new media strategy for marketing in its bid to solidify its position as a global market leader. This strategy has mainly been oriented towards social marketing through social media networks like Facebook and Twitter and the internet in general .For example, a visit to the brand’s Facebook page will impart one with a lot of information about the Durex brand. This profile page is witty, dynamic and very informative. In the page, there are various images, innovative games and polls for the loyalists of the Durex brand.
In addition, the condom manufacturer has also erected various other internet fan pages where users can put up or upload pictures or other interesting information. These are however screened first by a moderator before they are displayed on the site. Articles about sexual violations and harassment are also displayed or posted. This is actually a symbol of the Durex brand association and support for the campaign towards fighting and eliminating sexual harassment and violations occurrences in the world.
The company has focused on the use of social media and internet marketing as its new media strategy. Therefore, the social media tools like Twitter and Facebook should be continuously updated and should also incorporate active customer participation. This will essentially bridge the gap between the manufacturer and the consumer since the social medial tool will enable one on one communication with the customer.
The brand should also place banner advertisements that are product specific on relevant sites. This will inadvertently capture the attention of the customer and make him think more about the brand. The company should then create a blog that explores the various misconceptions that people may have on the brand and the use of condoms in general. This will ensure that the customer has all the necessary information that is required before making a sound buying decision. The Durex brand may alternatively involve independent eminent bloggers in its new media strategy since this will increase the credibility of the third party towards the brand.
Another very important campaign tool that will be used in this campaign is Search Engine Optimization (SE0). This will ensure that important keywords like ‘condom’ and ‘sex’ will direct he searcher to the various Durex sites and blogs. The brand should also identify other legal advertisement and product placement sites like download sites and movie sites to further promote their new media marketing agenda.
In addition, it is very essential that the company creates generic initiatives that talk about the way in which one can receive education on topics related to sex.
References
Aasht, S. (2012, October 12). Durex Re Launch Strategy New Media. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/guest519daf2/durex-re-launch-strategy-new-media
Gudgion, A. (2013, March 5). Campaigning information for charities and nonprofit organisations - New media campaigning. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from http://knowhownonprofit.org/campaigns/campaigning/about-campaigning-and-lobbying/newmedia
Trailblazer - Why the web comes first for Durex. | Advertising news | Campaign. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2013, from http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/126362/Trailblazer---Why-web-comes-first-Durex/
