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| Wall Street Journal: Marketers Try Hanging Out at Dry Cleaners Marketers Try Hanging Out at Dry Cleaners Amid Media Clutter, A New Ad Wrinkle: Consumers' Closets By SUZANNE VRANICA March 12, 2007; Page B4 A little-known ad company is hanging marketers out to dry. Having found ways to plant ads in such places as table tops in food courts at shopping malls, luggage conveyor belts at airports and restaurant bathrooms, Madison Avenue is now moving into the clothes closet — with ads on cardboard shirt hangers. Leading the way is Hanger Network, a small, closely held New York firm that has hooked up with a laundry-supply firm to make and distribute hangers carrying ads to dry cleaners around the U.S. The firms give the hangers away as an inducement to the cleaners, who have to pay for the wire variety. Established about three years ago, Hanger Network is generating growing interest from advertisers looking for fresh ways to get attention. The latest is Revlon's Mitchum deodorant, which is using hangers, along with TV, print and digital media, as part of a $20 million ad push for its new Smart Solid product aimed at men. Mitchum's hanger ads will begin appearing next month in Northeastern cities with one of eight taglines, meant to underline Smart Solid's promise not to leave a white residue on clothing as other antiperspirants do. Among the ad lines: "You won't find white residue on a Mitchum Man's shirt. Chilidog stains are another story" and "A Mitchum Man doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve, or his deodorant." Mitchum hopes the placement of the hanger ads will be hard for men to miss. "The male consumer is very difficult to connect with," says Thomas Lauinger, vice president of marketing for Mitchum. "It's hard to reach them because there are so many messages out there and media for men is so fragmented." Concern about fragmentation of media is driving a range of advertisers to consider advertising in unusual spaces. Marketers worry that an overload of ads on television and other traditional media is diminishing the marketing effectiveness of mainstream outlets. "People are getting hit with so many messages ... they are zapping commercials and not looking at print ads, so marketers want what is going to make [consumers] stop and look," says Andy Von Kennel, a vice president and account director at PHD, a media-buying firm owned by Omnicom Group. Spending on alternative outdoor ads — which include ads on food trays in sports stadiums, theater ads and even digital ads that play in elevators — was up 8% last year to $1.2 billion, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, a faster growth rate than traditional media enjoyed. Don't expect a bargain on a hanger, though. The Hanger Network says that, while prices vary depending on the customer, it typically seeks prices of $45 for every thousand hangers carrying an ad. By comparison, high-profile sporting events on television, such as the Daytona 500 auto race, can cost advertisers about $30 for every 1,000 consumers reached, according to media buyers. Bob Kantor, chief executive of Hanger Network, says he can command such steep prices because his firm can target placement of its ads very precisely, using ZIP Codes to ensure it reaches the demographic sought by the marketer. "There is a premium associated with" the hanger ads, says Mr. Lauinger of Mitchum, although he declined to reveal what Mitchum was paying. "It's worth paying the premium for the quality of the impression you get. It's very targeted." Mitchum tested use of ads on hangers in two cities last year and saw double-digit percentage growth in its brand awareness and consumers' purchase intent by the completion of the program, Mr. Lauinger says. Another marketer testing the concept was Dunkin' Donuts, which bought ads last summer on 300,000 hangers distributed to 55 stores in Westchester County, New York. The cost of the two-month program was about $78,000. The campaign twist included having a coupon on the hanger. Robin Taylor, assistant manager of sales promotion at Dunkin' Donuts, says the redemption rate on the coupons was about average for coupons — 1.5%. Dunkin Donuts has posted information about Hanger Network on its Web site so store managers can use it for local marketing efforts. "It's a different way to reach people," says Ms. Taylor. Marketers, of course, are well acquainted with the cleaning business. Ads have been appearing on dry-cleaning bags for years. In 2005, Walt Disney's ABC TV network placed the slogan "New dirty laundry" on dry-cleaner bags as part of its promotional campaign for "Desperate Housewives. But cleaners have had a mixed reaction to Hanger Network's cardboard hangers. Early on, cleaners complained that the hangers fell apart. While the firm says it has resolved that issue, Gary R. Smithey, a sales representative for a cleaning-supplies firm in Dallas, complains that the hangers don't fit on cleaner conveyor belts or car hooks. "It's a great concept but not very feasible," Mr. Smithey says. "The idea needs some tweaking." So far, about 10,000 cleaners have used the hangers. Trade groups estimate there are more than 25,000 outlets in the U.S. "This is a good deal for [dry cleaners]. They can save on hangers and that money goes to their bottom line," says Jeff Schapiro, president of Cleaner's Supply, which is working with Hanger Network in the effort. Mr. Schapiro has joined Hanger Network's board. Wire hangers cost between $12 and $18 for a box of 500, according to one dry-cleaning supply company. The firms also emphasize the environmentally friendly nature of the hangers, which are made from recycled paper board and called EcoHangers. They're hoping the ecofriendly message is appealing to an industry that has been criticized over the years because of the chemicals used in its cleaning process. Some cleaners have responded. "For the right application, like shirts, they are fine," says Brian Leibovitz, a manager at Royal White Laundry in Somerville, Mass., which just ordered 12,000 more hangers after testing about 2,500 hangers in recent weeks. "It's earth-friendly." |
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