2 Jun

Selling Toilet Cleaner: A Glamorous Life

Working at Clorox, I have had the opportunity to work on a wide range of cleaning products including our line of Clorox ToiletBowl Cleaners.Ā  Yes, toilet cleaners.Ā Ā  I know, I know, I live the glamorous lifeā€¦

Working on these products means Iā€™ve learned about how these cleaners are made, manufactured and Iā€™ve probably heard more about toilets than Iā€™ve ever wanted to know.

Have you ever wondered what itā€™s like to market toilets?Ā 

Well, picture this: you have about 8 professional people in a conference room at the Clorox headquarters talking about toilet cleaning with the seriousness of an economic summit.Ā  We talk about the appropriate tone of our potty humor and go back and forth, debating whether we can, in fact, say the word ā€œpeeā€ in our marketing materials (the answer is ā€˜we prefer not toā€™), the attitudes our customers have about toilet-cleaning (they range from ā€œgrossā€ to ā€œgotta do itā€) and complex graphs are drawn outlining these attitudesĀ versus our cleanerā€™s product features.Ā 

WeĀ have an internal e-newsletter called ā€œThe Toilet Paperā€ that Alice (the brand manager) sends out with the latest sales and production numbersĀ on our toilet cleanersā€¦and Iā€™ve witnessed internal competitions to come up with the strangest names for the toilet (recent crowd favorite: ā€œThunderbox.ā€)Ā  We evenĀ have our own facebook page for toilets and have created funny (we hope) videos about how we try to take the marketing of toilets seriously. Check out one of the videos here (www.facebook.com/odetothecommode)

Hey, when this is your job, youā€™ve got to take potty-talk seriously!Ā  But fortunately, we also laugh at ourselves because, I mean, cā€™mon, it’s toilets! Ā 

Throughout these discussions, Iā€™ve actually come across some pretty interesting toilet facts, including some statistics that surprised me that I wanted to share with you:

• Did you know that 56% of mobile phone users admit to using their phones ā€œwhile using the bathroom.ā€?Ā  A recent Ad Age article found this stat and discovered that the top 2 tasks were talking and texting.Ā  Ā Ā Ā (Iā€™m pretty sure the majority of that 56% was multi-tasking momsā€”Iā€™ve known moms whoā€™ve bought diapers online from the WC, texted and did their best thinking on the potty. Ā Hey, no judgment. Whatever it takes, right?) Ā Hmmmā€¦I wonder how many of you are reading this blog while sitting on the loo?
• Ā Did you know that typically, the very first stall in a public bathroom is the least used and the cleanest?Ā  Youā€™re welcome.
• Ā The average person spends three whole years of their life sitting on the toilet.Ā  (I suspect this statistic is probably double for new parents.Ā  After all, I know quite a few moms who admit to hanging out in the bathroom just a little longer than necessary. Ā After all, a few momentsā€™ peace is a few momentsā€™ peace, wherever it is. Am I right, ladies?)

Did you ever think potty-talk could be so fascinating?Ā Ā  Ok, come clean.Ā  Are you one of the 56%?Ā  Have you ever talked or texted on the potty before?