eric ryan, founder, method

eric used to be a planner until he got smart.



a webcast of eric's presentation is here.

my biggest fear is that i’m going to inspire everyone to get out of advertising.

to get rid of the client, become the client.

creating a revolution
competitors spend $2.7 billion.
method spends $3.1 million.

in 2006, competitors spent $15 million on toilet paper compared to our $3.1 million in advertising.

combine style and substance.

the best brands out there have tension.

we started as two friends with one idea. westarted looking at cleaning because it was so big, yet it was all the same.

white space

what is the white space? how could it be different?

rulee #1
cleaning is a price-driven, low-interest category

home is high interest.

the products were problem-solution commodities.

rule #2
the experience doesn’t matter.

cleaning is a connection to your home, your family.

nike: to most people, running is a chore.

products fulfill needs. experiences fulfill desires.

cleaning naked is more safe with method.

rule #3
deep clean is the battle ground.

problem-solution products
under the sink
only come out when there's a problem

where does your home end and you begin?
make a cleaner beautiful enough you can leave it on the counter. more emotional

why do we pollute when we clean?
why do we use poison to make our homes healthier?

the more successful we are, the more children we’re going to harm.

rule #4
eco-cleaners are a niche category.

we had to grow the category.

we needed to redefine “clean” + “environment”.

that headache probably means something.

planet to self

revolution and lifestyle

dirty little secret: fabric softener is animal fat

design for the environment u.s. epa

we’re dark green on the inside
We’re light green on the outside

method
detox your home

home as your space

rule #5
you have to segment by product and be all things to all people.

targeting the most valuable groups-—not the biggest
a smaller audience

method on flickr

“ have a method home”

p&g and unilever can’t bring their products together and create synergy.

we’re in our own little world.

inspire a happy, healthy home. combine style and substance.

design
fragrance
happy
healthy
sustainable

a few thoughts on how to build a “belief brand."

a belief brand stays ahead by being episodic.

why are we called a belief brand?

“for the record, i’m a huge fan of method and was engrossed in your products this past summer as i was interning at unilever in the laundry business—-i was actually part of the all small & mighty launch and of course, looked to method as a guilding light in the concentrate world.”
unilever intern

p&g is a marketing company. we are a product company.

two revolutions a year
we launch into two product categories a year.

omop
swiffer $12
omop $25

think about packaging as media.

convenience cleaners
floor love
porn to sell soap
easy to do

bloq
what was in it vs. what was not in it

it’s not selling too well

a belief (brand) treats design as media.

looking at how we engage

a huge opportunity to bake our message into products.

design and packaging is media.

flickr and look at method bottles

a belief brand owns a share of culture vs. share of voice.

from paid media to earned media
paid media > earned media

hired hollywood talent agency caa to help us to seed it into culture.

all of our competitors are dead. adam and i are still alive.

how dated the category is

ideas = share of voice
ideals = share of culture

create story value
book: detox your home
get people to spend $15 to buy our ads

a belief brand creates advocates, not consumers.

we mail our advocates pr kits with free samples.

1% household penetration

instead of trial
focusing on building loyalty

events with out

detox your city

blurring lines between what is marketing and what is media

a belief brand brands from the inside out.

there's a disconnect between the brand manager and who they’re creating for.

hiring people who are passionate

we sell a philosophy, not products. actually . . . we sell a culture.

10 rounds of interviews
do a homework assignment

people who are passionate. people against dirty.

we are people against dirty. we create for people against dirty.

get people to change the way they think.

be more visionary vs. asking a question

3 offices
all look and feel exactly the same

elevator

branding inside out

"this is exactly what i expected."
it changes the way you look at things

look at a product in the context of the office

pod is a business

sit as a business unit

packaging engineer

wiki wall
everything we’re working on goes up on the wall

industrial designers

yes but vs. yes and

yes, yes, yes

be inclusive. allow everyone to share.

we’re a fun brand, so we’ve got to be a fun company.

method studio

taking traditional people and helping them to think different

integrated communications require integrated cultures.

to chiat: we need you to be an extension of our team.

never tested on actual bunnies.

assume goodwill.

when you’re a belief brand and a challenger brand, you’ve got to make it work really hard

we hired an outside agency so we don’t breathe our own exhaust.

meetings with no structured agenda

a writer comes up once a month.

agencies start placing planner onsite. you can change so much more internally than you can being 200 or 1,000 miles away.

"you’re not building an ad campaign . . . you’re building a piece of the culture."
nate pence
method creative director

methodology
(aka the quote-unquote method operating principles)
is there sytle?
is there substance?
is there something to talk about?
does it create an advocate?
does it keep method weird?
you always need an “odd” number of questions for a successful list

resident advocate planner needed
eric@methodhome.com

really good balance of being entrepreneurial but grounding with a people perspective

build more of an internal planning department

taking planning to the next level