Citizen Brand Ambassadors – The New Norm?

Gillette’s “Razor Guys” are the latest in a series of brands turning to consumers to help market or launch a product.

This isn’t new – other brands have done similar campaigns, but it is a new strategic move for P&G, which often taps famous athletes or other celebs to align with its products. For this particular product, the Fusion razor, the desire was to reach a younger demographic. By tapping a couple of young, hip, “every dude” kind of guys for this once-in-a-lifetime experience, P&G shows some savvy when it comes to buzz building and understanding how younger consumers both consume – and generate media. For P&G, the Gillette campaign is an example of a significant social media initiative. The Razor Guys (selected by winning a contest), traveled the country, did a ton of blogging and microblogging, posting reactions on the company’s microsite along the way and even tossed in some celebrity interviews for good measure. They created a lot of buzz, gave away over 10,000 samples and got the Gillette Fusion brand out there, in front of their desired audience, in a big way.

Creating campaigns that allow consumers to be a part of the brand experience is rapidly becoming a tactic that just makes sense. I think this kind of consumer outreach is but one of many “new norms.” More importantly, positioning your business – no matter what it is, so that you are open to change, and regularly adopting and testing different strategies is a critical component of growth and success. Especially when it comes to new media and a consumer group that is technically savvy and as used to creating their own content as they are consuming it.