Marketing Case Study
The Whirlpool Duet: A Soap Opera for Kids?
What part of housework do Americans spend the most time doing but know the least about? Now, think about this for a minute—don't blow it off. When you live away from home, what "housework" takes the biggest chunk of your time?
The answer? Laundry. Americans spend more time each week washing and drying clothes than cleaning house, mowing lawns, or cooking. In fact, the average American "housewife" spends seven to nine hours doing laundry each week.
There are two good reasons. We own more clothes than people in other countries (clothes are cheaper here), and we have a tendency to wash them after only one use. Unfortunately, given that we don't get our clothes very clean when we do wash them (part of the "know the least about" problem), we may have to wash them more often.
We don't know much about washing clothes because we tend to do it like Mom did—we haven't just studied the problem very well. In addition, there's a bewildering array of fabric types that we have to take care of, from 100 percent pure cotton to washable silk and even washable, breathable polyester. Rather than learning how to wash each of these, we adopt a sort of middle-of-the-road approach—spray some stain remover on it before throwing it in; maybe pour in some fabric softener; wash it in warm water (Americans seem to be allergic to hot-water washing); rely on the detergent to have a lot of bleaches, color brighteners, and whiteners; give it a cold rinse; and hope for the best.
Unfortunately, that "best," compared to clothes washed in European machines, is noticeably inferior. Why? Whereas Americans use top-loading washing machines, Europeans use front-loading washing machines, and those front loaders do a better job of cleaning clothes. Unlike top loaders that use an agitator that beats clothes as they wash, front-loading machines tumble clothes. The result is that American clothes get old before their time—they wear out faster.
Why do
What part of housework do Americans spend the most time doing but know the least about? Now, think about this for a minute—don't blow it off. When you live away from home, what "housework" takes the biggest chunk of your time?
The answer? Laundry. Americans spend more time each week washing and drying clothes than cleaning house, mowing lawns, or cooking. In fact, the average American "housewife" spends seven to nine hours doing laundry each week.
There are two good reasons. We own more clothes than people in other countries (clothes are cheaper here), and we have a tendency to wash them after only one use. Unfortunately, given that we don't get our clothes very clean when we do wash them (part of the "know the least about" problem), we may have to wash them more often.
We don't know much about washing clothes because we tend to do it like Mom did—we haven't just studied the problem very well. In addition, there's a bewildering array of fabric types that we have to take care of, from 100 percent pure cotton to washable silk and even washable, breathable polyester. Rather than learning how to wash each of these, we adopt a sort of middle-of-the-road approach—spray some stain remover on it before throwing it in; maybe pour in some fabric softener; wash it in warm water (Americans seem to be allergic to hot-water washing); rely on the detergent to have a lot of bleaches, color brighteners, and whiteners; give it a cold rinse; and hope for the best.
Unfortunately, that "best," compared to clothes washed in European machines, is noticeably inferior. Why? Whereas Americans use top-loading washing machines, Europeans use front-loading washing machines, and those front loaders do a better job of cleaning clothes. Unlike top loaders that use an agitator that beats clothes as they wash, front-loading machines tumble clothes. The result is that American clothes get old before their time—they wear out faster.
Why do