Squatty potty sales 2018

W18005

SQUATTY POTTY: ASSESSING DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN DATA

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Copyright © 2018, Ivey Business School Foundation Version: 2018-01-31

In October 2015, Squatty Potty’s chief executive officer Bobby Edwards launched the first viral video campaign in the company’s history. In terms of cost, it represented the largest single marketing promotion ever for the company’s home remedy for constipation—a foot stool that made going to the bathroom more ergonomic. Further raising the stakes of his decision, Edwards’s three business partners—his mother, his father, and Lori Greiner, a retail magnate and star of the television show Shark Tank—had reservations and objections about the campaign. The partners worried that an irreverent viral video could be expensive, ineffective, and even offensive to the target markets.

For the good of the business, the strength of the partnership, and the efficacy of future marketing efforts, it was critical that Edwards be able to provide credible proof of the campaign’s efficacy. In addition, his ability to critically assess the strengths, weaknesses, and outcomes of the campaign would provide precious insight to shape future promotion campaigns, both online and offline.

THE MARKET

It had been estimated that in the United States, constipation affected 19 per cent of all adults1 and 29 per cent of all children.2 And the risks posed from long-term, chronic constipation were severe, requiring significant medical interventions such as surgery. In 2011, over-the-counter remedies for constipation generated $1.3 billion3 in the United States alone.4 Although this was a significant figure, it did not include un-diagnosed or un-treated cases, prescription drugs for constipation, medical devices related to constipation, doctor visits, hospitalizations, surgeries, or treated conditions related to constipation such as hemorrhoids, incontinence, and fissures.

1 Karen Pallarito, “Constipation May Lead to Other Problems,” US News & World Report, June 28, 2009, accessed September 4, 2017, http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2009/06/28/constipation-may-lead- to-other-problems. 2 Shaman Rajindrajith, Niranga Manjuri Devanarayana, Bonaventure Jayasiri Crispus Perera, and Marc Alexander Benninga, “Childhood Constipation as an Emerging Public Health Problem, World Journal of Gastroenterology 22, 30 (August 14, 2016), doi:10.3748/wjg.v22.i30.6864. 3 All currency amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise specified. 4 “Laxatives OTC Revenue in the United States from 2011 to 2016 (in Million U.S. Dollars)”, Statista, accessed September 4, 2017, www.statista.com/statistics/506583/otc-revenue-of-laxatives-in-the-us.