I went to two conferences in the past two weeks, and in the process I learned a lot about social marketing.
At the first one, they were using a Mac computer for the presentations, and the first speaker commented about how Mac’s are the best computers and how much they love them. Strangely, every single subsequent speaker, also mentioned their love of Mac products in their talk. At first I thought that they were getting paid for the plug, but then I realized that Mac has developed such consumer loyalty that its clients have become its greatest advertisers – free spokespeople if you will.
The point is that people spread the word about products that they like. Products like ipods or. .. . . divacups.
Ok, ok, I know I’ve already written about the Divacup way too many times, and it’s getting old, but the second conference, I met up with an old school buddy and ended up talking to him about this very product (yes, it was a him – guys need to be informed too).
My friend was saying how his wife liked the Divacup so much that she was promoting it to her friends. She bought one for a girlfriend and told her that if she liked it, she had to buy one for another friend. Kind of like a chain letter for feminine hygiene.
What a frikkin’ great idea. At $45 a pop, lots of people are probably intrigued about reusable feminine products, but wary of dropping so much money on a product they’ve never tried.
The thing is, that I have never seen an advertisement for a menstrual cup (click here for more info and a list of different brands and types out there). It seems like all their marketing is word of mouth: people raving on blogs, friends telling friends, etc.
Sure, it may be a little strange (tampons don’t elicit this type of dedicated consumer culture), but we are, after all, a society who thrives on the advice of our peers.
My only question is, which one of my friends is getting a Divacup for Christmas?
11 Comments
September 30, 2009 at 12:27 pm
What a FABULOUS idea – I love this. You’re right, a good product will sell itself through word of mouth: genius!
I hope your friend appreciates her special gift
September 30, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Oh gracious yes! I love my Diva Cup and rave about it constantly. I heard about it from a friend, too. The cash outlay is a little steep up front but I figured out that at $7/box, it paid for itself in less than a year. Never mind the garbage/landfill savings.
I think I may be taking your advice and buying some of my girlfriends Divas for Solstice!
September 30, 2009 at 4:41 pm
so true! I’ve never seen an ad for a diva cup yet everyone (guys too!) knows about them.
September 30, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I already have one =p
October 1, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Hmm…good idea! I was trying to tell a friend about them the other day and she got ‘creeped out’ as so many people do…but I bet if she TRIED one she’d love it. Gonna have to do that!
October 1, 2009 at 6:12 pm
I’ve bought two for friends and talked about it to MANY women
October 5, 2009 at 11:33 am
Great to hear so many people on board!
October 5, 2009 at 10:13 pm
and another one. I have also converted a few of my friends. They just make sense environmentally and economically!
October 13, 2009 at 9:21 am
Great idea!
I was wondering about buying one – or cloth pads – for my sis, she’s been so grossed out with the idea of either!
There’s also the question of sizes.. Some of these cups are bigger than others, and finding the right size can be important.. (There’s a Size Guide on Livejournal) So, hmm..
I’m glad they are available in Slovenia, some girls I know are enthusiastic about them!
November 27, 2009 at 8:26 pm
I’ve been using a cup for ~10 years. Yes, I did get another size at a certain point. But I’ve really appreciated using it when I happen to be on a 7 day paddling trip! No packing in supplies or carrying out used products. That in itself should sell it to outdoors campers, maybe?
December 1, 2009 at 8:11 am
That’s great to hear! I too love it when on a camping trip – sometimes you can’t get to a bathroom every 4-6 hours!