Bold moves open up Fleet’s portfolio to new audiences

Jennifer Cheslock, 21, never goes anywhere without her Summer’s Eve products. They are in her gym bag and in her apartment at college. And it isn’t something she learned from her mom — her friends suggested the brand.

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And that’s just what C.B. Fleet Company had in mind when the company decided to target millennials. “About three years ago, we decided to roll the dice and reposition a brand that was [already] doing pretty well,” said Bruce Montgomery, VP of North American and South American sales. Among the strategies were bold colors, an “off-the-wall” advertising campaign and stepped-up social media, which all helped boost sales of Summer’s Eve. “And if you wanted to sum it up, it is because of the younger women, say 20 to 35. It’s gone from Summer’s Eve — why to why not?”

Fleet hit upon a receptive audience of young women who love an abundance of toiletries and grooming aids. Studies conducted by Fleet revealed women in the target range had an average of eight different products in their showers. “So why couldn’t Summer’s Eve cloths just be something in the gym bag, or our powder or our wash or our sprays?”

Fleet began to break down barriers, and the payoff has been encouraging with sales that have doubled in four years in a brand with a long and strong heritage.

Other products in the portfolio also have benefitted from addressing the New General Market. An example is Boudreaux’s brand of baby products. The packaging is bright yellow, red and green — colors that attract young moms at the point of sale. “Reaching the Boudreaux’s mom today [is] all about online and ... what your friends say. When we were having our kids, the hospital gave you a big jug of Desitin and you didn’t even think that there was another brand you would use. So it has changed,” he said.

Having an interactive strategy is paramount with the New General Market as an avenue to provide feedback to consumer inquiries. In the old days, letters to companies often were ignored. That doesn’t work anymore, and it’s not an option.

Today’s consumers want interaction at all times — whether that is in a store or online. There’s also mounting demand for brands to stand for something, and altruistic efforts also are no longer just a nice extra.

The measure of success for Fleet stretches beyond the cash register. Other indicators include a positive buzz in the community with consumers giving feedback and the trade sharing positive vibes. It is important to listen to consumer attitudes, even any negatives, for full transparent communications. “I tell my group all the time, you can monitor your numbers, you can see where you are relative to goals, you can show up, you can write letters — but you’ve got to care. So if you really care about what you’re doing and you care about winning and you market to the consumer properly, I think that that’s huge for you,” Montgomery said.

There’s been more change in just the past few years than the last 10 years, illustrating that marketing plans can’t be static. “All of us as product marketers, we’re all on a continuum from brand awareness to brand preference to ultimately brand insistence. And when you get people seeking out, ‘Where can I get this?’ or ‘Where did you get that?’ that’s not success because you’ve got to be on the edge of your seat. Right now you’re having some success, but the minute you kind of sit back [and get] comfortable, someone’s going to pass you.”