A Case Study on Febreze

What is Febreze?
• Febreze is a brand of household odor eliminators
manufactured by Procter and Gamble. Was launched
in 1998.

• The name “Febreze” comes from the words “fabric”

and “breeze”.
 History
• Once a breathe of fresh air in the category,
but the competition caught up.
Similar product launch lead to P&G losing their
positioning. Brand shared equity with Glade and
Airwick.
• Air care brand became indistinguishable.
All brands advertised generic imagery, presenting
freshness fantasies in idealized world. People were
unable to tell the brands apart.
• Cynical consumers ceased to believe brand
claims and Febreze growth declined.
Many other brands making cheaper, less
advanced brands were making similar product but
weren’t living up to the expectation, making people
skeptical about all air care brands.
 Objectives
• Restore faith in Febreze’s odor eliminating
capabilities in a way consumer will remember.

• Generate buzz for the febreze brand and its

advertising.

• Restore the distinctiveness of the Febreze brand.

 The THREE insights
• People’s reaction to bad smells are stronger
than their reaction to nice ones.

• What we smell can be more important than what we

see.

• Smelling is believing.
 The BIG idea
• Involve real people in visceral experiences to prove
that Febreze makes even the filthiest places smell
nice, no matter what the look like.
 Questionnaire

• Apply the principles of perception to the

three insights listed in the case.

First insight- Consumers need and wants is their

home did not attacked by malodors when they reach
at home or when they have guest at their home.
Second insight - It relate with sensory input.
Sensation is the immediate and direct response of
the sensory organs to stimuli.

Third insight - observations of shoppers in stores

revealed that consumers werespraying the product in
the aisle after picking it off the shelf.
• Are the three objectives aimed at
repositioning Febreze? Explain your answer.

Objectives are:
• Restore faith in Febreze’s odor eliminating
capabilities in a way consumers will remember.
• Generate buzz for the febreze brand and its
advertising.
• Restore the distinctiveness of febreze brand.
• How would P&G determine whether the
campaign’s objectives have been achieved?

The campaign has been landed as a success.

Breathe happy ads have become easily recognizable.
The campaign’s objectives have been achieved due to
its realistic stance and engagement of the public.
• On You Tube, you can find several
commercials that “brought to life” the “big
idea”. Describe three of them and discuss
their persuasive effectiveness.

Advertisement 1

Advertisement 2

Advertisement 3
• Several versions of Febreze are now on the
market (febreze.com). Apply the concept of
benefit segmentation to three of them.

The new Febreze Fabric Refresher Allergen Reducer

eliminates odour and reduces up to 95% of
inanimate allergens from pollen, pet dander and dust
mite matter that can become airborne from fabric.
Any question?
Thank You