Axe Wants to Be Your Wingman in the Mating Game

“Axe is all about being a guy’s wingman and helping him as he navigates the mating game.” -Mark Dwyer, Unilever marketing director {New York Times}

As Gawker commenters point out, a true wingman would probably encourage less Axe, but the brand is finding success with the strategy. Once the 18-24 target crowd finds out that mating means babies, we’re not sure if that’s the game they’ll want to play, but trading off of the prospect of heightened romantic interest has made Axe products a category leader.

Shower gels and body sprays were once the exclusive domain of women, usually offered only in scents that smelled like candy, fruits and flowers. But since 1997, men’s grooming products have grown from a $2.3 billion dollar industry to one worth $4.8 billion in 2009. {New York Times} Of that $2 billion in growth, Axe is credited for a significant portion through the introduction of body sprays for men, and other products that were usually targeted only at women.

Old Spice, and their massively popular campaign with Isaiah Mustapha have upped the stakes in the shower gel category, now claiming 10% of the market, with Axe slipping from 7.7% last year to 5.9% this year.

That hasn’t phased the Axe wingman plan though: pop-up concerts with artists like T.I. and Mary J. Blige, branded club sponsorships in the Hamptons, and commercials with a ladies’ man enjoying them are all part of the Axe Music branding plan. The hope is that by providing the meet market, concert and club goers will continue to rely on the products throughout the dating game.

According to a Unilever spokesperson, “we hope they bring a girl, because this will be a place for the mating game to happen. The idea is that we want to inherently be part of a place where the mating game happens because we want to be a lifestyle brand.”






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