Situation

Until Braun Syncro, users could not easily clean their electric shaver.

30% of men use an electric shaver because of convenience, but their one gripe is the mess it makes when cleaning it.  Tapping the shaver foil on the bathroom sink leaves whiskers everywhere.  There was no solution to this problem until Braun engineered the world’s first self-cleaning shaver, Braun Syncro.  Just put the shaver head-first into the cleaning stand, press a button and done!

Braun Syncro – the World’s First Self-Cleaning Shaver

However, the new, patented cleaning technology was not enough to guarantee that Braun would succeed in the market.  Braun was the #3 electric shaver brand in North America behind Norelco and Remington, and thus, was historically limited in the amount of retailer support it received; during the critical holiday gift-giving season when nearly two-thirds of electric shavers are sold, #1 Norelco would get the majority of displays, Remington would get a few and Braun would resort to fighting for sales with retailer trade ads.

How could Braun insure success behind the launch of Syncro?

Action

Recognizing the potential of this new product that solved an unmet consumer need, we recommended a marketing plan to launch Braun Syncro which would both maximize consumer appeal and convince retailers to provide significant support behind Braun for the first time.  The positioning of the world’s first self-cleaning shaver was targeted at women who would not only welcome a cleaner bathroom sink, but would also be the ones who would purchase an electric shaver as a gift.  In exchange for retailer support, we recommended investment spending behind advertising and in-store promotions to show Braun was launching Syncro with as much muscle as Norelco provided each holiday.  Finally, we wrote the sales deck and personally presented to buyers at all of the top retailers in the U.S. about this exciting new product, Braun’s commitment and what it would do for their category sales.

Just put Braun Syncro head-first into the Clean&Charge base and press a button to clean it.

Clean&Charge refills generated incremental revenue for both Braun and retailers – a plus in obtaining retailer support.

Braun Syncro Packaging

Result

We helped Braun achieve unprecedented levels of retailer support (i.e., pallet displays in Walmart; endcap displays in Target; PDQ shelf trays in CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid; prominent displays at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Macy’s; and listings at Costco, Sam’s and BJ’s warehouse clubs) that in turn maximized awareness of new Braun Syncro and drove category sales.  Braun not only increased market share, but blew past its sales and profit targets, proving that a great product with the right marketing plan can achieve great success.