The product is made by L.P.I. Consumer Products under their ShaveMate line of products.
The fun part of this column (in the print edition only): the case study is complemented by opinions proffered by marketers and entrepreneurs i.e. the strategies implemented by the highlighted entrepreneur.
I'd actually purchase this product--and aside from the many peanut gallery recommendations submitted to the NYT, they all missed the most likely silo i.e. distribution channel.
To Pete & Louis Tomassetti (L.P.I. principals)--ping me if you'd like to know my thoughts!
Courtesy of the NY Times, here's the article:
(click on the title link to web page that includes a long list of comments submitted by readers).
THE CHALLENGE To crack the $2.6 billion United States razor and blade market, which is dominated by Gillette and Schick.
THE BACKGROUND Louis D. Tomassetti and Peter C. Tomassetti, known as “the inventor brothers” in Pompano Beach, Fla., created and sold a line of marine signaling devices under the Safety-Sport brand. More recently, they homed in on razors because they believed shaving was getting “complicated.” They concluded, Louis said, that “the common sense thing to do is to combine the shaving cream with the razor.”
After years of research and development, engineering and patent work, the brothers took their razors to the military in 2002 because they had heard that soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were dry shaving. That first product was rugged and featured two blades, with the shaving cream in the handle. The military became a repeat customer.
Still, the Tomassettis found American retailers reluctant to take shelf space from Gillette and Schick. Store managers encouraged the brothers to improve their product — add more blades, they suggested. So the Tomassettis did. With six blades, ShaveMate offers one more in-line blade than its competitors, and it is the only all-in-one razor on the market with shaving cream in the handle.
When Titan 6 and Diva 6 were in prototype, the brothers took the razors to trade shows. While retailers were intrigued, they said that ShaveMate lacked brand awareness. It became clear that the brothers needed to stimulate demand by building name recognition and educating consumers on the benefits of their razors.
THE OPTIONS The brothers thought they had three options:
They could go head-to-head with Gillette and Schick with a national print, television and radio advertising campaign, supplemented by store promotions and coupons. Because the cost could easily exceed $150 million, the brothers dismissed this idea out of hand.
They could market ShaveMate on their own through shavemate.com and specialty retailers like hotels, airport stores and cruise ships, using their tagline, “The future of shaving is here.” This was the most affordable option, costing an estimated $100,000 to produce razors for the initial stock, displays and promotions, but it would take a while to build the brand and increase sales.
Finally, they could initiate a two-pronged marketing attack for about $1 million, looking for a big splash with a low-cost specific public relations effort to put ShaveMate in front of print editors and TV producers. Then they could begin a national, as-seen-on-TV campaign on cable channels to educate consumers via two-minute commercials on how their product could simplify shaving. The goal would be to have a well-known spokesman promote the razors.
THE DECISION The Tomassettis picked the two-pronged attack. All new revenue would feed the marketing beast, and the brothers hoped to build recognition quickly.
The blitz to send out samples and promotional material paid immediate dividends: ShaveMate Diva 6 appeared in the Love That section of O, the Oprah Magazine. Local news stations tested ShaveMate razors on the air. “Live With Regis and Kelly” featured Diva.
Producers of the Discovery Channel program “PitchMen,” heard about ShaveMate, and in February 2009, they invited the brothers to California to try out for the show. Billy Mays, the face of OxiClean, and Anthony Sullivan, also a pitchman, were the hosts who would decide which inventors had a marketable product.
“When we auditioned, they literally went crazy,” Louis recalled. “They said this is monster hit.” The brothers would be included on the show and Mr. Mays and Mr. Sullivan were both going to be spokesmen. Mr. Mays said, according to the Tomassettis, that he loved the product so much he was going to shave his beard with a ShaveMate on national TV. He would be the face of ShaveMate.
But last June, Mr. Mays died. His death knocked the Tomassettis off Season One of “PitchMen,” and, Peter said, “took the wind out of our sails.”
Several months went by. Mr. Sullivan assumed that “the avenue to market had expired with Billy.” Then, last fall, Mr. Sullivan said, the brothers called him back and asked if he would be their pitchman. He agreed, and his company produced the infomercials.
THE RESULTS The media attention and product exposure caught the eye of retailers like Walgreens.com, Target.com and Meijer Stores. On Feb. 1, Walgreens decided to sell ShaveMate in its stores nationally.
The first Anthony Sullivan two-minute commercial, which cost about $40,000 to produce, is scheduled to be shown on cable TV in test markets starting Monday. The Tomassetti brothers were added to Season Two of “PitchMen,” which will appear in August.
Meanwhile, Gillette and Schick are introducing their latest products: the Gillette Fusion ProGlide and the Schick Hydro, in what some analysts are calling “the razor wars.” The Fusion ProGlide, which features five blades and seven “high-precision advancements” (but no shaving cream in the handle) will be introduced June 6 in a manual version ($10.99) and a power version ($12.99). The Schick Hydro 5 ($8.99), which offers a hydrating gel reservoir (but, again, no shaving cream in the handle), hit store shelves April 6. The Hydro also sells a three-blade version ($7.99).
The Tomassettis hope their product, which costs $9.99 for a three-pack of all-in-one razors (and shower hook), will help win over customers who are paying more than that for replacement cartridges alone.
The direct marketing approach allows the brothers to pay as they go. If the test in May is successful, they expect to spend up to $100,000 a week on air time. The goal is to sell a few million of the three-packs in one year (sales are currently at about 250,000), Mr. Sullivan said, adding, “In the grand scheme of razor blades, that’s probably a drop in the ocean.”
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