Welcome back. A major marketer has found a way to transform seemingly unremarkable packaged goods into chatty livestreams, Natasha Khan writes for The Wall Street Journal.
Lysol maker Reckitt has achieved 12 consecutive quarters of double-digit sales growth in China, not by relying on traditional e-commerce-which local executives convinced CEO Kris Licht was "a yesterday technology"-but by pivoting to social commerce on apps like Douyin.
From a five-story building on the outskirts of Shanghai, Reckitt sells everything from Veet hair removal cream to Lysol's international equivalent Dettol. Crews broadcast live for 12 hours a day while shoppers fire off comments and questions. In neighboring studios, teams record short dramas and skits.
"This is the way forward," Licht said. "Those that don't figure this out will be left behind."
I asked Natasha about the strategy behind Reckitt's social-commerce playbook.
Supermarket staples like cleaning spray aren't usually impulse buys. Why are low-involvement household products succeeding in social commerce?
Natasha: That's what I found so fascinating about this story. At first glance, it is surprising that sales of such household products are thriving on social shopping channels. But social media is a very effective channel for consumers to discover new products, and perhaps more importantly for brands, learn new ways to use products.
People might see cleaners and sprays on supermarket shelves and not look twice. When they're watching a short video, they might see someone use a product and think: I need that, too.
One example Reckitt shared was how sales of Dettol rose after one video showed a parent arguing with their teenager about smelly shoes. (Dettol comes to the rescue in that scenario.)
Reckitt originally ran these streams using customer-service reps out of a makeshift conference room. How did they expand that setup without losing control of the brand?
Natasha: As its social commerce division became more established, Reckitt built out its operation. In some of the studios, company staffers join guest actors and influencers making quick comedies and mini-dramas about domestic life featuring a Reckitt brand. The Reckitt hosts respond rapidly, a sort of interactive infomercial. A team monitoring the livestreams guides the hosts and adjusts the featured products they talk about in real time.
Refund Resources
Advertisers from (Macy's) to (Levi Strauss) are telling Wall Street that significant portions of their multimillion-dollar tariff refunds are going straight into marketing.
These announcements, though, may say more about investor-relations strategy than budget expansion, the WSJ Leadership Institute's Patrick Coffee reports.
Brands are framing the government cashback as fuel for major pushes:
-- Levi Strauss plans to spend a large portion of its $60 million redeployed refund toward holiday campaigns.
-- Warby Parker is tapping its $11.8 million payout to help promote upcoming AI glasses.
-- E.l.f. Beauty is putting a chunk of its roughly $50 million toward raising awareness in key markets such as the U.K., Canada and Germany.
"Our tariff refunds are being reinvested first to support our value proposition through lower prices on 10% of our portfolio, then to support marketing across our portfolio of brands, highlighting our holy grail innovations," Kory Marchisotto, president of e.l.f. Brands, said in a statement. "Marketing is one of our best-performing investments."
But some messages are likely aimed at reassuring investors about costs rather than describing net-new budget additions, said Brian Wieser, founder of consulting firm Madison & Wall.
"In an established business, you don't wake up in the morning and say, 'I can't wait to increase my budget,' " Wieser added. "You're a hero when you cut your budget."
The Magic Number
$27.5 million
North American ticket sales for "Other Mommy," the new horror movie from Universal Pictures, leading the domestic box office despite poor reviews by both theatergoers and critics. Sony Pictures' "The Social Reckoning" took in $5.5 million.
Quotable
"Pay the money and get somebody in to do the job." Lucy Wynne, daughter of late voice actor Paul Vaughan, on advertisers who use AI for voice-overs instead of humans. Wynne believes the AI-generated voice in a Royal Mail ad was modeled on her father, who narrated BBC programs and Paddington audiobooks. The postal service says the voice-over was "not designed to replicate any specific individual."
The WSJ CMO Council Summit
This Nov. 17 and 18, CMOs will gather in New York for the WSJ Leadership Institute's CMO Council Summit, featuring marketing leaders such as FUBU founder Daymond John, Visa's Frank Cooper III, Mars Inc.'s Gülen Bengi, IBM's Jonathan Adashek, United Airlines' Josh Earnest, PepsiCo's Mark Kirkham, e.l.f. Beauty's Oshiya Savur, and the National Women's Soccer League's Rachel Epstein.
Together, they'll explore the power of participation in cultural events, social platforms, professional communities and anywhere that passionate consumers gather.
Join the WSJ CMO Council and be part of the conversation shaping the future of marketing leadership.
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