Best of Marketing Genius: Duracell - Sellling the Benefit

Selling the Benefit: Duracell
[first published here May 2007]

I am very impressed with the new Duracell battery advertising campaign. Have you heard it or seen it? I've caught this campaign on TV and radio. The most impressive part to me is that Duracell understands that it is not selling batteries. No, the company is selling the benefits that its batteries provide.The advertisements are a series of 30-second case studies. In each, the Duracell battery is feature in a critical application. Here are a few examples:

The SignalOne Voice Alarm - studies show that when a fire happens in the middle of the night, the most reliable method of waking a sleeping child is to have the fire alarm loudly project the sound of his mother's voice (a pre-recorded message: "honey wake up; there's a fire in the house.) The SignalOne alarm is equipped with the Duracell battery. To whom would you entrust your child's life in the event of a fire? Duracell the battery that's trusted everywhere.

Heart Monitors - in hospitals the heart monitors that are used on patients following open heart surgery are equipped with Duracell batteries. When monitoring every heartbeat matters, which brand of battery do hospitals trust? Duracell, of course.

Glucose Meters - its more than just a finger stick. It's your health. Some things are too important to take chances with. Make sure your glucose meter is equipped with a Duracell battery, the brand that is trusted everywhere.

Zoll Defibrillator - a vignette ad that alternates between a proud mother snapping photos of her son at graduation ... and a sequence in which that same boy one year prior had a heart failure during a basketball game. The same battery that enables Mom and her camera to preserve the family's memories allowed the medical team to preserve her son's life with a Zoll Portable Defibrillator, powered by Duracell batteries.

What is Duracell selling? Far from promoting batteries, Duracell is selling peace of mind. Duracell is selling the benefits of avoiding worry, living longer and improving one's health. That's smart marketing and a great ad campaign. Kudos to the marketing geniuses behind the Duracell campaign!