December 28, 2014

MicroTouch Tough Blade

Description: A three-blade razor
Main Pitch: "Get a perfect shave for an entire year for under $20"
Main Offer: $19.99 for the razor
Bonus: MicroTouch trimmer, 12 replacement blades (free)
Starring: Brett Favre
Marketer: IdeaVillage
Producer: Blue Moon Studios
Watch it on iSpot.tv

Big brands Gillette and Schick have created a problem with their battle to have the most blades: They have stopped providing sufficient value to justify their prices. How else to explain the success of MicroTouch One, the predecessor to this project? If five blades mattered, one blade shouldn't have stood a chance.

Now IdeaVillage is getting into the multi-blade game. With Brett Favre and their 'year's worth of shaving' value proposition, they look credible and preferable to the competition. But how big of a bite can they take out of that business before the big boys notice and strike back? That's what I'm curious to know.

S7 Analysis: IdeaVillage is clearly in defiance of the guideline that DRTV companies should focus on uncrowded categories not already "dominated by big brands with big ad budgets and a few decades of consumer loyalty." But as noted above, this is a guideline they have successfully defied in the past.