Dr. Bronner’s mad scientist marketing is way ahead of the branding game than you think
The sort of strategies that deserves more credit.
The days of peaceful showering is over. Now that I’m facing mid life crisis at 21, I hit the shower thinking I’ll be able to brainstorm some ideas for cool campaigns. Instead I read the label on a shampoo bottle and I’m compelled to change the world.
At first, this might seem like an insane start to marketing let alone writing. Not as crazy as the old spice TV commercial back in 2010 (still the best) But let me tell you a bit about Dr. Bronner’s — one of the largest soap companies in North America to rethink, remould and reinvent marketing in the most mind boggling way there is to branding.
Trust me when I say it’s one of the few brands that you’ll stumble across who actively advocates animal rights, a higher minimum wage, racial justice and CSR on a whole other level. Everything done while giving half of its profits away for charity purposes. Talk about walking the talk! It’s not just another company that nosedives into multitude of initiatives just because its a trend.
How it started
It all started with this guy right here. Dr. Bronner (the doctorate is self-given) was initially known as Emanuel Heilbronner, born in 1908 to a German Family who was in the soap making business.
As a teenager he always believed in promoting his moral and religious ideas, including goodness and unity of humanity. As Hitler rose to power he ditched “heil” from his last name and convinced his family to move to America with him. His parents however, were murdered in the holocaust.
The desperate times lead him to his brainchild — All-one! strategy. He stressed on the message — how unity and equality under one god across religious, racial, and ethnic divides. Well, he got thrown into an asylum like all other exceptional figures do until someone realizes they could have changed the world 2x faster if not for the society’s laid back thinking.
Dr. Bronner being himself, escaped from the asylum after experiencing shock treatments. He hiked to Las Vegas, gambled his last dollars which gave him enough money to start his own soap company.
On his soap labels, he referred to the Jewish Sage Hillel the Elder as “Rabbi Hillel” and these labels became famous for their idiosyncratic style. His business definitely took off. (All “heil” content)
For years, the unity manifesto and environmentally conscious approach to production made Dr. Bronner’s a cult favorite in the hippie community. (One packaging excerpt):
“In all we do, let us be generous, fair & loving to Spaceship Earth and all its inhabitants. For we’re ALL-ONE OR NONE! ALL-ONE!”
Decades later, it was still a tiny venture. After Bronner’s death in 1997, his grandsons Michael and David took the business over, with just 15 employees.
How its going
Michael and David played it smart, they didn’t rebrand, they didn’t change their direction nor cut the fat. Instead they bungee jumped into understanding their core business and just sticking to what they are good at doing — communicating their All-one!
Today Dr Bronner’s have over 200 employees and hundreds of millions in revenue. The company has grown well over 1,000 percent over the past two decades. Their success story speaks louder because they simply leaned into the brand’s philosophy and stood true to their vision.
Dr. Bronner’s started addressing specific policies and issues, which aligned like magic with their core business. They played a major role in the early 2000’s where it helped fund the fight against the DEA’s ban on hemp products, and instituted groundbreaking progressive business practices.
Dr. Bronner’s product packaging is one of a kind. You can stand in the shower and take a good hour to read it.
“The appeal of our packaging is a layered mix of intrigue, legacy, boldness, resonance, and authenticity,” — Michael Bronner
The brand also moved to source all materials from raw trade resources, helped lead the fight for GMO labeling, and committed to becoming a zero-waste organization. It even started tackling specific issues not only through its activism, but also through its labels.
“What focus group or marketing agency would ever come up with it? It stands out on the shelf and is eye-catching, and it’s precisely that that breaks with marketing convention that people are compelled to want to learn more and understand it.”
Dr. Bronner’s do not spend a dime on traditional marketing. Instead the above marketing efforts generate tons of favorable PR. The new generation doesn’t care about how good your product smells like, they care about climate change, equality and what not. And Dr. Bronner’s is cutting to the chase, getting ahead in the game and tapping on the right type of audience. Consumers know that they are a part of Bronner’s journey and wants to partake in achieving their vision — and that’s exactly what everyone wants isn’t it.
The level of authenticity at Dr. Bronner’s is key. All marketers have named themselves content creators and we are all perceptive to unplanned stunts that goes for an advertising spin. We know that a bank giving 1% off for charity won’t save the world. But when you dig in and read Dr. Bronner’s annual report, you can’t help but appreciate the transparency practised.
And right now, it’s exactly what people expect. Everyone’s tired of false promises.
