We have people Marketing anything from billion dollar brands to SaaS startups to sidewalk power washing services (ik you’ve seen those satisfying videos on TikTok).
But today’s lesson highlights a brand flushing out the competition in an industry that’s, well, you’ll find out.
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/The-Marketing-Millennials-Professor-Murray-4.png)
Let’s throw it back to 2007 when embattled entrepreneur, Suzy Batiz, stumbled upon a gold mine.
Her husband at the time loved to cook, so much so that he would make 3 meals a day for the family and their house was the go-to for all gatherings.
But after a good meal, we all know what happens on the back end (
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/72.png)
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/72.png)
Suzy became incredibly annoyed by the pungent smells coming from her bathrooms, after her husband would cook.
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/poo-pourri.jpeg)
An essential oils fanatic, Suzy began playing around with different oils to see if she could somehow mask the smell.
And wah-lah she did.
That’s when she founded Poo-Pourri, the “before-you-go toilet spray” that could make any bathroom smell like a bed of roses.
Suzy did some initial consumer research and discovered that women were the ones typically buying fragrances for the home.
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/pourri.jpeg)
Being that the bathroom is part of the home, and Suzy was selling a fragrance, she put two and two together and leaned into the female demographic.
Suzy targeted boutiques and slowly grew through word of mouth from 2007-2013.
But the real reason you’re here is to learn from her VIRAL marketing campaign in 2013 that altered the entire industry.
A campaign so effective that the launch video was 2013’s 5th most viewed ad in the world.
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/1_3.jpeg)
Yes, a bootstrapped boutique-selling startup created an ad that made more noise than almost all billion dollar budgeted brands.
It’s not until 50 seconds into the ad that Poo-Pourri is mentioned – so how were they able to capture AND hold their audience’s attention?
Timely and relevant humor highlighting consumer pain points.
The ad starts off with a perceivably quaint lady on the toilet, who announces “You would not believe the motherload I just dropped.”
Not what you were expecting, yet incredibly effective.
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Poo-Pourri1.png)
Humor activates our sense of wonder, starting the learning process, and increasing the likelihood of retention. A golden recipe for Marketers.
Then Poo-Pourri gets rolling. For the next 50 seconds, they set the scene on ALL the horrible places that you could possibly stink up. The shared bathroom at work? Yup.
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/unnamed_83.png)
Poo-Pourri reignites the pain we’ve all felt at least once in our life with a plethora of scenarios that reach a stinking perfect climax.
And that climax is when the audience is shown the perfect solution, Poo-Pourri.
Poo-Pourri uses classic competitive advertising to showcase the difference between their product and the ones that everyone uses in their homes.
Poo-Pourri highlights their unique selling point and begins to carve out their niche in their audience’s minds.
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/unnamed-2_4.png)
Consumers are left realizing a need they thought they were fulfilling, but weren’t even close
And it just keeps getting better. After talking about poop for 2 minutes, you can’t have a regular ‘ol CTA.
You need something solid (lol), something that flushes away any doubt of consumers leaving without product in their hands.
![](https://themarketingmillennials.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/unnamed-3_4.png)
That’s when Poo-Pourri lets you know, “If your poop stinks, click here to get your Poo-Pourri today.”
A perfect culmination to a shockingly hilarious ad that has me wanting to buy some fragrances for my bathroom – LOL.