Durex Marketing Plan
Durex Marketing Plan
Market Summary
The Durex brand is well known and well trusted. So was the company’s marketing strategy. Condoms are most used by the 16 to 35 age group – a group most at risk in terms of sexual behaviour. For an older target group, the relevancy of Durex products wanes. This group is in a different life phase and has different sexual needs. Most people over 35 are married or in long-term relationships and therefore use other protection. While brand name recognition in this group is still very high, the product is no longer considered as relevant.
The traditional and ongoing challenge, according to Durex global marketing head Mark Critchley, is to constantly attract new customers to the company’s primary age group, 16 to 35, to compensate the natural drop on the upper side, 35 plus. “We call it youth recruitment, we have to keep attracting young consumers to the brand as older consumers use Durex less because the condom is less relevant to them.” Critchley said
Rather than just replenishing the existing consumer base, over the past few years Durex has taken the decision to expand its business concerns into other areas of sexual well-being. Durex wanted to expand its product base; to stretch the market by introducing products that would be relevant to the lives of its older consumers.
The company started by researching potential consumers. In the past five years Durex has polled more than a million of them, focusing on different themes: concept level, users’ research (every time a new product is launched the product is always tested with consumers before launching), online research and also a comprehensive worldwide sexual wellbeing survey, led by an independent research company. The results showed that there was an opportunity for Durex to expand into new product categories, by shifting its brand positioning from safer sex to better sex.
The goal for the company’s marketing team was therefore to expand Durex’s market and map out various
Market Summary
The Durex brand is well known and well trusted. So was the company’s marketing strategy. Condoms are most used by the 16 to 35 age group – a group most at risk in terms of sexual behaviour. For an older target group, the relevancy of Durex products wanes. This group is in a different life phase and has different sexual needs. Most people over 35 are married or in long-term relationships and therefore use other protection. While brand name recognition in this group is still very high, the product is no longer considered as relevant.
The traditional and ongoing challenge, according to Durex global marketing head Mark Critchley, is to constantly attract new customers to the company’s primary age group, 16 to 35, to compensate the natural drop on the upper side, 35 plus. “We call it youth recruitment, we have to keep attracting young consumers to the brand as older consumers use Durex less because the condom is less relevant to them.” Critchley said
Rather than just replenishing the existing consumer base, over the past few years Durex has taken the decision to expand its business concerns into other areas of sexual well-being. Durex wanted to expand its product base; to stretch the market by introducing products that would be relevant to the lives of its older consumers.
The company started by researching potential consumers. In the past five years Durex has polled more than a million of them, focusing on different themes: concept level, users’ research (every time a new product is launched the product is always tested with consumers before launching), online research and also a comprehensive worldwide sexual wellbeing survey, led by an independent research company. The results showed that there was an opportunity for Durex to expand into new product categories, by shifting its brand positioning from safer sex to better sex.
The goal for the company’s marketing team was therefore to expand Durex’s market and map out various