Have you heard of this little company called Dollar Shave Club. Yes, the one that was sold to Unilever on July 19 last year (2016) for $1 BILLION in cash.
DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION NOW?
Let me take you back a few years.
Dollar Shave Club was first launched in January 18, 2011. While they were growing steadily, for a year, DSC took-off almost overnight in 2012.
How did DSC convert a simple Video Ad into Billion Dollars?
Have you heard a quote that goes something like
“You can’t expect new things when you are only doing the same old thing every day”?
For DSC, it was an ad campaign that changed everything. With a minute and a half long ad, Dollar Shave Club raised questions, encouraged people to demand better and mocked the existing renowned brands. Dollar Shave Club guaranteed high quality in a cheaper price.
But this had been their business model and basic advertising content from the very first day. So, what changed?
One word – VIDEO.
They had right intentions, right product, and right set of mind behind the business. But, what mattered the most was Right Marketing.
In 2012, social media marketing was barely a thing and video marketing was almost non-existent. Youtube videos were slowly starting to gain reach, and videos were growing as the preferred form of content.
In March 6, 2012, Dollar Shave Club published a video on their youtube channel titled “Our Blades are F***ing Great”. It was a pretty simple video written, produced, and starred in by the founder of the company, Michael Dubin. It was a simple video with one man conversing with his audience. 5 years later, that video has accumulated over 24 million views. But that wasn’t the only thing accomplished by this video advertisement.
“A small company making only 2 or 3 sales per day received tens of thousands of orders within the next few hours of the video launch. Our servers crashed and everyone panicked. We weren’t ready for that.” said Michael Dubin in an interview.
Also in 2012, DSC received $1 million investment from various companies as Series A funding. Later on, they received $12 million in funding a year later.
We admit, their marketing campaign consisted not only of social media and video marketing but also some traditional marketing approaches such as billboard posters, word of mouth and various other techniques. But in this day and age, something that most noticeably stood out is their social media and video marketing.
Let’s look into their digital marketing strategies, cause clearly that’s what you’re here for.
What did they do Online?
The most interesting trend they set was #RazorBurn. People clearly frustrated of overpaying branded companies for razors and blades started sharing their frustrations via tweets using #Razorburn.
Some popular ones include,
“Your old razor’s so scummy it deflates footballs.”
“Your razor’s so old it eats dinner at 4:30.”
“Your razor’s so old it asks pregnant women to give up their seats.”
DSC printed these witty quotes onto Billboards, which further increased engagement in their campaign.
Source: shortyawards.com
However, their video commercials were what really gave them the much needed lift. The simple commercial spoke to the audience in a funny way, but everyone who needed to shave could agree upon it. The video merely conveyed an idea upon its viewers. It didn’t force anyone, nor was it full of spammy marketing gimmicks. The video simply provided its viewers with a better alternative and that was it.
Results
Dollar Shave Club received increase in social media mentions by 24%. Their overall social media followers increased by 6%, which was more than 320k followers. And after the campaign, DSC received 10% more traffic from organic search compared to three months before the campaign launched. Source
And with the increase in number of followers on social media platforms, they also received a massive boost in sales.
Fast forward to 2016, July 19, and the company was acquired by Unilever for $1 Billion in cash.
How did a simple Video Ad Campaign affected the company to such an extent?
It was more than just humor that made #razorburn and video ad campaign such a success.
- Their campaign provided a way for consumers to let out their frustration.
- At the same time, they educated consumers of a better alternative, driving new membership.
- Engagement of people let brand promotion take care of itself.
- They were rebellions that revolutionized the consumer behavior of buying and using razors.
- The timing was perfect as videos were rapidly making way into people’s phones.
Right product, right marketing and right timing, all these factors played into making DSC worth a billion dollar.
They have gone on to inspire plenty of other companies over the years. One obvious mention of course is Dollar Beard Club. DBC has come up with equally comic video ad and has almost similar business model to DSC.
Lesson to be learned
We would be lying if we told you a video could make you a billionaire too. While that is very well within the realm of possibilities, you might not be lucky enough to achieve overnight success. However, that’s no reason to be disheartened.
If there is one thing you take from the story of Dollar Shave Club, it’s to get into video marketing. The idea of video-marketing has spread far and wide to every nooks and corners of the world. And there is no better time to jump onto the Video-marketing ship than now. Your business will definitely get a massive boost in business, provided that you make the right kind of video and market it properly.
Obviously, you can’t just make a video with your CEO talking. Be innovative. It doesn’t matter if it’s simple, as long as you have a story to tell. Have you checked out SPONSORED slideshow video ads on Facebook and Instagram lately? They are short and simple but crisp and rich with information.
DSC didn’t use Picovico to create their video-ads, but YOU can. *winks*.
Why Picovico?
- You don’t need to be a video-making expert capable of using advanced softwares.
- You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to hire a videographer.
- It’s simple, easy to use and creates value.
- Cheapest online video-making platform on the web.
If you have any queries regarding Picovico or video-making ideas, do write to us at support@picovico.com.
