Management, Loose-Leaf Version
13th Edition
ISBN:9781305969308
Author:Richard L. Daft
Publisher:Richard L. Daft
Chapter7: Planning And Goal Setting
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 2DQ
Related questions
Question
![SOARING INTO REALITY
Integration
The Fabric Softener Story - Velvalene VS Comfort in Australia
This is the story of the introduction of account planning into a small Australian advertising agency which
resulted in the planning role being adopted with notable success over the ensuing years. David Brent, formerly
of Unilever and Reckitt & Colman and an early exponent of the planning role in Australia in 1965-6 says:
'Probably the first shock for a creative writer after I took over my accounts was my urgent view to the
manager of Velvalene Products that I suspected that the TVC (television commercial) for Velvasoft fabric
softener produced by the agency was virtually useless! The manager had asked the agency to schedule a burst
on television and after my experience in Unilever with the launch of Comfort fabric softener a few years earlier I
suspected that we had a real 'dog' on our hands. The client was understandably upset, but I stuck to my guns
and explained why I was worried and that a simple TVC test against the current Comfort TVC would clarify
matters. This was agreed and I phoned the brand manager for Comfort at Lever & Kitchen [Unilever] and
suggested that we agree on a swop of TVC dubs for testing at any time. He agreed and dispatched a dub of the
Comfort TVC to us. The ad test was rapidly mounted and the results clearly showed that the Comfort TVC beat
the Velvasoft TVC hands down and the qualitative reasons given by respondents clearly revealed how irrelevant
the content of the Velvasoft TVC was and why it was so ineffective! The ad showed a woman running along a
beach wearing a sweater, implicitly softened with Velvasoft. Consumers seemed confused about what the ad
was telling them.
The client was appalled by the clear evidence from consumer interviews and questionnaires and so were
the agency owners. None had ever before heard of research being used in the creative arena to check
advertising performance and with such a damning indictment of the agency's work! However, the immediate
problem was to replace the faulty TVC with an effective TVC and get it on air as soon as possible. A script,
casting and production based on visual cues of soft bath towels were quickly devised. The TVC featured a well-
known, female celebrity-entertainer and her young daughter who endorsed Velvasoft for its outstanding benefits.
In addition to the celebrity's appeal and authority, the mother-daughter combination had a soft female angle
which helped to further enhance the credibility of the story. This new Velvasoft TVC was then tested against the
same Comfort TVC and the results showed that the new Velvasoft TVC came close to equalling the Comfort
TVC on all essential scores and established a useful point of difference. The client was delighted, the agency
team was relieved and we got back on track with the business. And that client was thereafter forever an advocate
of the planner and his role in the agency'.
Case Exercise
1. The case refers to the account planner as an industry expert whose opinion was influential in his agency.
What problems do you feel might arise in the creative development process if the account planner does
not have the same authority?
() TECNO
OO AI CAMERA](/v2/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bartleby.com%2Fqna-images%2Fquestion%2F8553c81b-593b-47dc-99d4-f1b1da898a24%2F430d83c9-0f16-4df1-b344-920e440de1ff%2Farjhtop_processed.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Transcribed Image Text:SOARING INTO REALITY
Integration
The Fabric Softener Story - Velvalene VS Comfort in Australia
This is the story of the introduction of account planning into a small Australian advertising agency which
resulted in the planning role being adopted with notable success over the ensuing years. David Brent, formerly
of Unilever and Reckitt & Colman and an early exponent of the planning role in Australia in 1965-6 says:
'Probably the first shock for a creative writer after I took over my accounts was my urgent view to the
manager of Velvalene Products that I suspected that the TVC (television commercial) for Velvasoft fabric
softener produced by the agency was virtually useless! The manager had asked the agency to schedule a burst
on television and after my experience in Unilever with the launch of Comfort fabric softener a few years earlier I
suspected that we had a real 'dog' on our hands. The client was understandably upset, but I stuck to my guns
and explained why I was worried and that a simple TVC test against the current Comfort TVC would clarify
matters. This was agreed and I phoned the brand manager for Comfort at Lever & Kitchen [Unilever] and
suggested that we agree on a swop of TVC dubs for testing at any time. He agreed and dispatched a dub of the
Comfort TVC to us. The ad test was rapidly mounted and the results clearly showed that the Comfort TVC beat
the Velvasoft TVC hands down and the qualitative reasons given by respondents clearly revealed how irrelevant
the content of the Velvasoft TVC was and why it was so ineffective! The ad showed a woman running along a
beach wearing a sweater, implicitly softened with Velvasoft. Consumers seemed confused about what the ad
was telling them.
The client was appalled by the clear evidence from consumer interviews and questionnaires and so were
the agency owners. None had ever before heard of research being used in the creative arena to check
advertising performance and with such a damning indictment of the agency's work! However, the immediate
problem was to replace the faulty TVC with an effective TVC and get it on air as soon as possible. A script,
casting and production based on visual cues of soft bath towels were quickly devised. The TVC featured a well-
known, female celebrity-entertainer and her young daughter who endorsed Velvasoft for its outstanding benefits.
In addition to the celebrity's appeal and authority, the mother-daughter combination had a soft female angle
which helped to further enhance the credibility of the story. This new Velvasoft TVC was then tested against the
same Comfort TVC and the results showed that the new Velvasoft TVC came close to equalling the Comfort
TVC on all essential scores and established a useful point of difference. The client was delighted, the agency
team was relieved and we got back on track with the business. And that client was thereafter forever an advocate
of the planner and his role in the agency'.
Case Exercise
1. The case refers to the account planner as an industry expert whose opinion was influential in his agency.
What problems do you feel might arise in the creative development process if the account planner does
not have the same authority?
() TECNO
OO AI CAMERA
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