Pampers – A peach, NOT a stork!

Pampers today is synonymous to babycare in most parts of the world. The brand has been a leader in baby diaper category in almost all countries. The credit goes to its extensive consumer research aimed at knowing the needs, fears and expectations of new mothers. The brand changed its fortunes only after it put consumer first.

But for all the good work that the brand has done, Pampers took a misstep when it launched in Japan. A misstep that turned out to be a big cross cultural marketing blunder.

Pampers started selling in Japan with the image of a stork on its packaging – that’s how it sold in the US. The brand did not do well and wasn’t taking off. The reason was the stork! When the management started talking to consumers, they were surprised that their consumers were confused at the stork image. A little more nudging revealed that in Japan the folklore of a stork delivering babies doesn’t exist, instead that’s the job of a giant peach floating down the river. So much for putting the consumers first!

P&G immediately corrected its mistake and crossed other hurdles to ultimately succeed in the Japan market.

The P&G misstep in Japan proves to be a good lesson on how important it is to talk talk and talk to the consumer even while venturing new geographies.