Company: 3M Canada Company
Contact: Brian Stephens, eMarketing for Consumer and Office Division
Location: London, Ontario, Canada
Industry: Office supply
Annual revenue: $25,000,000,000
Number of employees: 1800

Quick Read

When 3M Canada wanted to rejuvenate its Scotch Tape brand, it came up with a product that, at least for its mostly female target market, put Milton's red Swingline stapler to shame: The Scotch Shoe, a tape dispenser fashioned to resemble a heeled mary jane shoe and destined to turn heads in the drab office landscape.

Budget constraints, however, forced the company to get even more creative in promoting the new product, thereby leading to 3M's first product launch via the social network Facebook.

Although skeptics within the global 3M organization questioned this approach, 3M Canada viewed Facebook as a highly cost-effective means for directly reaching those who were most likely to become passionate about the product, and most likely to share that passion with family and friends.

Smart thinking. At a fraction of the cost of traditional media, this campaign has not only generated immediate sales and new excitement around the Scotch brand but also enabled the company to better understand its target market and forge relationships that will play to its favor well beyond this initial campaign.

Challenge

Since introducing the first marketable transparent tape in the early 1950s, 3M has enjoyed a boon that few brands experience: a brand name (i.e., Scotch Tape) that has become synonymous with the product category it represents.

Yet, Scotch Tape has become such a basic part of our everyday that it almost becomes as invisible as the effect it was invented to create. And for this reason, 3M Canada sought to revitalize the brand in 2008.

"We have the sales and market share, but with a product like 'tape' it is difficult to get your consumers passionate about your product," said Brian Stephens, who handles e-marketing for 3M Canada's consumer and office division. "It was really important for us to come out with a new product to grow our core business. We wanted a unique way to get tape back on the desk in the office and expand usage outside the gift-wrapping season."

Targeting its largely female market, the company came up with a new red tape dispenser dubbed the Scotch Shoe, which resembles a heeled mary jane (a women's style of footwear). And major retailers across Canada agreed to stock it.

But coming out with a new and exciting product was merely step one; next, 3M Canada had to generate awareness and buzz, and on a tight budget that put traditional media out of reach.

Campaign

Although a small amount of advertising was done in stores and on the company Web site, the bulk of 3M Canada's promotional efforts surrounding this new product launch went into a comprehensive Facebook campaign.

Facebook was identified for several reasons. First, it's low-cost. It is also considered Canada's top social-networking platform, with over 7.5 billion impressions per month and over 8.63 million active Canadian users, more than half of whom are female.

Furthermore, because the network offers access to detailed user demographic and interests data, the company considered it the best channel for directly targeting the people most likely to advocate or talk about its product.

The campaign, which launched in October 2008, included the following components:

1. A Facebook Page, which enabled the company to...

• Create a targeted destination: Though it didn't have the proper budget to overhaul its product Web page, 3M Canada was able to quickly launch a dedicated page—designed to appeal to "shoe-aholics"—on Facebook, for free.
• Deliver product information in a relevant manner: Product images and videos were used to generate interest, and a list of stores where the product was available gave users the information they needed to take that next step.
• Develop an interactive dialogue and relationship: Using surveys and discussion-board posts, 3M Canada was able to generate feedback from its target market and initiate conversations that it hopes will continue to foster consumer passion and loyalty toward its product and brand.