In order to get people to think about them right when they need them the most, Charmin, the toilet paper brand, is sponsoring “SitOrSquat,” a wiki that has turned into a user-generated inventory of 52,000 toilets in 10 countries. The site is available online, but also through applications on the iPhone and BlackBerry.
Other than for entertainment value, this sponsorship is interesting because it is the toilet paper company’s first foray into mobile applications, and yet it’s picking something in which it will have a relatively narrow reach. My initial takeaway is that clearly there is demand for mobile advertising when a huge consumer products company like Charmin is sponsoring a service that has only been downloaded 1,600 times and has recorded a total of 500,000 unique visitors since launching in October 2007.
Then again, perhaps it was cheap, and if big brands like Charmin are feeling the need to relocate their budgets in these tough economic times, maybe it’s just the lift its looking for? Still, I have to wonder if this iPhone-frenzy will continue, or if brands will move away from unique campaigns like this because they will not have a wide enough reach? Fragmentation will increasingly be a problem. At least the SitOrSquat app spans online, iPhone and BlackBerry. Either way you look at it, it was right up Charmin’s alley.
In 2000, it started “Charminizing” public restrooms at fairs, by creating the ‘mobile’ (and we aren’t talking phones) ‘Potty Palooza’ units. It operates 20 “The Charmin Restrooms” in New York City that offer “clean, free and family-friendly stalls.” In a release, Charmin’s Jacques Hagopian said: “SitOrSquat is a perfect partner for Charmin…Charmin understands how difficult it can be for families to find clean public restrooms when they’re out and about and this partnership allows us to continue to help consumers.” Release.
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