Introduction
The modern market requires brands to pay great attention to their strategies and development plans, as the business environment is highly competitive. In this regard, companies should pay enough attention to their consumers, studying in detail their cultural characteristics, which can become an essential aspect of building a brand product promotion strategy. The Cultural Strategy System is an effective tool that allows organizations to shape a brand agenda geared toward their specific audience (Holt, 2003a). Creating a cultural story for Tampax aims to increase brand value and develop brand awareness to increase consumer interest.
Map the Category’s Cultural Orthodoxy
Determining cultural orthodoxy within the brand is an essential first step in developing a strategy. This concept includes the dominant values inherent in consumers who buy tampons. Menstrual hygiene may be one of the categories crucial to operating in this context. This concept refers to one of the main ones that form the values and beliefs of consumers of goods in this category (Durgee, 2015). Tampax needs to study the critical narratives in this area and the social norms and cultural aspects that can influence consumer perceptions.
The cultural orthodoxy of a company’s product categories can provide a wealth of knowledge about how people should perceive them and what they mean to them. In this aspect, it is essential to consider the cultural landscape that shapes the traditional attitudes of people toward menstruation (Holt, 2003b). It is vital to analyze how menstruation and related products are currently displayed in media and advertising campaigns of other brands.
This can help to give a general idea of how society perceives specific topics in a given category. The traditional nurturing of consumer attitudes towards menstruation is key to study and should therefore be the priority for the company. The study of narratives is essential because the positioning of menstruation should reflect the natural state of affairs without distorting societal factors.
Cultural orthodoxy for Tampax may be enough reason to start looking at specific options that are useful in an advertising campaign. The positioning strategy largely depends on how loyal people are to different narratives within a particular topic. In this regard, the company must consider the analysis and choose one specific direction (Holt, 2002). This will allow to concentrate and not disperse marketing efforts to different scenarios. Understanding fundamental prevailing societal norms can help break down restrictions or taboos in the advertising space to find a new and original approach.
Identify Disrupters
The cultural strategy contains several key elements, the second of which is the search for destructive factors that adversely affect the orthodoxy discussed earlier. Some brands may run promotional campaigns that have a detrimental effect on public perceptions of tampon-related factors. This, in turn, can cause people to have a negative association and discourage them from accepting the facts about menstruation (Røstvik, 2020). Such approaches are contrary to orthodoxy and the spread of the brand’s cultural influence. By studying these disruptive factors, a company can draw certain conclusions about which distribution strategies to avoid—for example, demonstrating menstruation in advertisements as an inconvenient and unpleasant event rather than a natural process can damage orthodoxy.
Tampax needs to highlight those advertising strategies and campaigns that have been most successful in addressing menstruation stereotypes. This way, considering these parameters can provide new perspectives on product promotion and create a more inclusive space. For example, in recent years, the trend of open discussion of menstruation has become more prevalent to stop the taboo and stigmatization of this topic. The Period Positive movement may be one example of a social factor that opposes the problems of marginalization of menstruation and seeks to disseminate truthful medical information (Period Positive, n. d.).
Fair representation can play an essential role for Tampax as it opens up new ways and means to promote products. At the same time, an important aspect is the possibility of partnership with various public organizations and movements. Thus, creating a better campaign that can attract more attention will be possible.
The narrative of menstruation as a shameful phenomenon should be shifted to something that would empower. In this way, people can express their opinions more freely and avoid public censure (Røstvik, 2020). In addition, such an advertising campaign will focus more on providing people with an entirely positive experience, not distorted by stigma. Traditional products for the menstrual cycle can be represented as helping women to normalize their lives. Therefore, the topic of menstruation should not be distorted when creating a cultural strategy.
Unearth the Ideological Opportunity
The third important aspect of creating a cultural strategy is the disclosure of ideological possibilities that can be directed to creating different categories in the strategy. In the field of menstrual hygiene, the company needs to identify the main cultural contradictions that may arise in this category. The values and aspirations present in Tampax’s target audience are the key factors an organization should be guided by (Røstvik, 2020). Considering its customers’ cultural values and motivations, Tampax can build a campaign to satisfy their key preferences. The brand story should evoke a more profound response from people so that the brand is firmly established in the associative range of people.
An essential task for Tampax is to explore the cultural tensions that may have arisen from societal misconceptions and controversies surrounding menstruation. Exploring the differences and drawing a dichotomy between menstruation as a natural process and a socially embarrassing topic should be done. This, in the future, may contribute to a better understanding of how exactly the strategy of cultural promotion should be built (Khamis, 2020). If Tampax can learn to discern social norms of behavior regarding menstruation, it will increase the effectiveness of targeted advertising to promote products. In this way, the organization will be able to justify an ideological basis that will direct the understanding of customers in the right direction.
Uncovering the ideological rationale behind a cultural advertising campaign is one of the primary goals, as it can provide an edge over competitors. Many cultural movements and ideologies can help improve the structure of product promotion by interacting with various factors specific to the target audience (Durgee, 2015). By noting the different groups of people who use tampons, Tampax can create an ideologically grounded connection with their products and achieve a more inclusive and diverse audience. This, in turn, will expand the group of people who use their products and sympathize with the company.
From an ideological perspective, the organization can also explore the intersection of menstruation with various other social factors and cultural issues. One of these may be a feminist movement that fights for an end to the taboo of menstruation and an active discussion of this topic. Therefore, it could become part of Tampax’s ideological strategy to allow them to target their advertising campaigns to a narrower audience (Røstvik, 2020). By supporting the initiatives of certain groups aimed at equality and the fight against oppression, the organization will be able to achieve a positive response among its audience.
Cull Appropriate Material
Once cultural orthodoxy, potential disruptors, and ideological possibilities have been identified, an important step is to select the appropriate material. Various cultural symbols and signs can significantly assist in compiling a cultural history, as they are its components (Holt, 2003a). This can be appropriately woven into a single narrative, which will help to make the cultural strategy more coherent and well-formed for further work in the chosen direction. Inspiration for creating appropriate cultural images can be drawn from the societal aspects of specific audiences. With careful selection of different cultural aspects, they can be used to create a better and more credible cultural brand narrative.
One example of leveraging a credible cultural orientation is collaborating with art professionals to create original art and promotional offerings. This may be aimed at combating social taboos around menstruation. In this way, the company will be able to popularize the topic of this issue through broader publicity.
This goal can be best achieved with the media’s involvement and the creation of community programs (Holt, 2003b). Through such social initiatives, the company can set people up to raise awareness among customers. The company can popularize these events through social networks by creating attractive aspects of the audience acquisition campaign.
Apply Cultural Tactics
Cultural tactics are essential to apply when creating a brand’s cultural strategy. This aspect can provide a better positioning of the company and the most effective strategy for promoting products to key audiences. To achieve the best results, the six available cultural tactics must be used to implement the desired cultural narrative (Holt & Cameron, 2010).
One of these is cultural transgression, which allows an organization to expand its boundaries to focus on more innovative and unusual ways of promoting itself. To do this, it is vital to be fully acquainted with the established social norms and traditions, which in some cases will have to be shaken. Thus, provocative messages and images can be essential tools to break the stigma and stereotyping around menstruation.
The next tactic is cultural juxtaposition, which creates different elements and ideas that, when combined, can create original connections for Tampax to promote. In this way, traditional agendas can be disrupted and countered by new trends developed by the company (Holt & Cameron, 2010). Menstrual hygiene can be linked to advocacy for women’s freedoms and rights to speak more freely about the topic.
The cultural capture tactic also aims to use specific trends to reinforce a brand’s message to its audience. Revealing Tampax as a company that is in dialogue with current trends can help broaden its perception among customers. Discussing critical social issues simultaneously can enhance the desired effect since the organization will be able to find out the mood of certain audience groups regarding their position.
The next tactic is cultural pragmatics, which provides the company with several interventions that can lead to the right marketing decisions. An example of such a tactic could be creating unique public events that aim to educate girls and familiarize them with menstruation and hygiene. This will create the audience’s correct perception of the company as an organization that cares about people’s health (Holt, 2003b). In addition, this decision may provide opportunities for the further development of the organization’s advertising campaign in the direction of environmental friendliness and integrated care for society.
Cultural Currency is another tactic that allows an organization to enjoy public approval directed toward public figures. Collaboration with them and the creation of standard advertising programs can increase the organization’s credibility at the expense of the image and credibility of the public face (Holt, 2002). This tactic can be effectively coupled with cultural amplification, which works through the use of social media to spread product information to a broader audience. The cultural impact of Tampax will thus be constantly enhanced and may lead to the creation of viral content that will begin to spread more actively among users. This method is suitable for expanding the reach and increasing the number of potential customers.
Craft the Cultural Strategy
The final step is to create a cultural strategy that will begin to improve the distribution of Tampax products. For this stage, it is necessary to synthesize the knowledge accumulated at all previous steps (Holt & Cameron, 2010). One specific desired outcome of the cultural strategy is the destigmatization and demarginalization of menstruation for public discussion. Thus, the company can build its strategy around the popularization of this topic and a more active discussion of it in the public information field. This can subsequently lead to people being more loyal to this topic, and, accordingly, hygiene products related to it can be promoted more actively.
The company’s overarching cultural narrative should be built around key events that will capture some aspects of its strategy. They may include events that will take place through collaboration with famous personalities to increase awareness of the company. Thus, the company’s strategy will be aimed primarily at creating a favorable atmosphere of perception that will allow people to become better acquainted with the current problem of menstruation stigmatization. The strategic implementation of the organization’s campaign will be possible through the creation of a roadmap that should provide a clear point-by-point following specific steps described in the work (Durgee, 2015). This will help create a cultural strategy that can better spread the word about the organization.
Conclusion
Building a cultural strategy is essential to Tampax in order to steer the advertising campaign in a direction that will help the organization better market to its potential customers. In addition, this approach can play a key role in competitiveness by improving Tampax’s ability to challenge societal stereotypes and the stigmatization of menstruation. This can bring public attention to the topic and thus improve people’s understanding of aspects of paramount importance to women. Tampax will be able to apply a cultural strategy to increase awareness of its products and provide meaningful assistance to a specific group of people.
References
Durgee, J. (Ed.). (2015). Proceedings of the 11th European academy of design conference. Paris Descartes University.
Holt, D. & Cameron, D. (2010). Cultural strategy: Using innovative ideologies to build breakthrough brands. Oxford University Press.
Holt, D. (2002). Why do brands cause trouble? A dialectical theory of consumer culture and branding. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(1), 70-90. Web.
Holt, D. (2003a). What becomes an icon most? Harvard Business Review.
Holt, D. (2003b). Brands and Branding. Harvard Business Review.
Khamis, S. (2020). Branding diversity: New advertising and cultural strategies. Routledge.
Period Positive. (n. d.). Welcome to the home of Period Positivity! Web.
Røstvik, C. M. (2020). Mother Nature as Brand Strategy: Gender and Creativity in Tampax Advertising 2007–2009. Enterprise & Society, 21(2), 413-452. Web.