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?
The Clean Bin Project Blog 
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 🙂
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!
so true! I’ve never seen an ad for a diva cup yet everyone (guys too!) knows about them.
I already have one =p
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!
I’ve bought two for friends and talked about it to MANY women 🙂
Great to hear so many people on board!
and another one. I have also converted a few of my friends. They just make sense environmentally and economically!
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!
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?
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!
Jen and Grant: I am so glad to see this posting about reusable menstrual cups. You mention that there aren’t ads for these cups, which are sold mostly through word of mouth. You are right. This is because the companies that manufacture reusable menstrual cups are mostly smaller, women-owned companies. Ads, especially in major publications, are way outside their reach financially. So, online marketing and social networking (both online and real-world) are the main ways women learn about these products.
I just posted on your film’s Facebook page. In my post, I questioned why menstruation and menstrual products weren’t mentioned in the film. My guess is that the topic was “too hot” — i.e., that menstruation is sadly still a taboo subject.
In any case, I thought you’d enjoy these comparison photos showing the environmental waste caused by one month, one year, ten years and a lifetime of using tampons VERSUS using one Keeper menstrual cup. (The Keeper has been on the market for 25+ years and many women tell us that their cup has lasted TEN years, and even more.) A picture is worth a thousand words, so here it is! http://www.keeper.com/photographs.html
Thanks so much.
Julia Schopick
http://www.Keeper.com
I use a Lunette cup and for the majority of my period use just folded up rags which work great with a center of bamboo rayon. I think it’s a good way to go for they use a lot of chemicals to make the rayon for the pads that are disposable. i love having a bathroom that dosen’t smell rancid of blood every month. What’s more I don’t have the itching, burning, or discomfort from the disposables (I try to buy cotton when run out). I love the cloth ay and cup way for it is so simple, causing me less issues, and causing less to be in my local landfill. 🙂 The video was inspiring… now I’m a hoarder of bottles, plastic or glass. LOL