Marketing Strategy: OXO Kitchen Gadgets

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This is a sample essay that explores the marketing strategy of OXO Kitchen Gadgets, a popular brand of kitchen tools and utensils. This sample essay is about the marketing strategy of companies involved in a wide range of different fields is vital for marketers, marketing directors, and anyone involved in sales.

OXO Kitchen Gadgets

Many companies take full advantage of marketing possibilities. They are the perfect way to reach out to customers from where they live, so that they can comfortably look through products, make their choices and write reviews. However, mainstream marketing through television and print can be expensive and cost a company millions of dollars each year. For OXO kitchen gadgets, the most prevalent marketing strategy is to advertise through digital media.

The marketing mix

There are four parts of the marketing mix: price, place, promotion and product. According to OXO’s marketing website,

“newsletters and mail interaction is apparently the oldest method used in digital marketing and remains one of the most effective ones. Using email is the easiest and most affordable way to interact and transact with your existing and potential clientele” (“Internet”).

OXO wants their products to be accessed by and used by people young and old – as long as they are comfortable using these kitchen gadgets.

OXO's goal is the consumer

Sam Farber first started OXO in

“1990 after watching his wife, who had severe arthritis in her hands, struggle to peel a potato. OXO's reimagined peeler, with a wide, rubber handle, was just the start… the company now offers than 800 tools for use in the home and the garden, many bearing its "Good Grips"tag.”

According to Alex Lee, now owner of OXO, kitchen tools and gadgets run about a $50 million a year category in whole sale numbers. They also sell baby products, but their kitchen gadgets are the most popular.

OXO primarily uses push marketing strategies. Push marketing is an advertising technique that relies on promotion, where businesses take their products to the customers. The term ‘push’ stems from the idea that marketers are trying to push the products on consumers. Common practices include trying to sell merchandise directly to customers via company showrooms and negotiating with retailers to set up displays. Print and television advertising aren’t an option for OXO because they are simply too expensive, results take too long to see which method works. But as Alex Lee mentions:

“At the end of the day, the goal is to raise awareness.”

As far as price and consumer review, OXO is doing well and did well in the most recent economic recession. According to the Business Week article

“No Recession at OXO,” “OXO's kitchen and household products are winners with consumers, from its rubber-gripped potato peelers to its no-leak travel cups. The eye-catching designs have been featured in museum exhibitions and, despite premium prices, have continued selling well during the recession. OXO's parent company, Helen of Troy (HELE), reported an 11% bump in revenue from housewares in its spring quarter.”

Sales at OXO have not slowed down, and they are pushing even more products through word-of-mouth among their customers. 

Senior brand managers at OXO say that most of their marketing is through digital media because it is least expensive and easier to spread the word about their products. Data has found that social media and that sort of communication helped with information about the products and customer service. As well, food related websites are a very good way for OXO to advertise. Digital media makes it easy for the company to market to the exact audience that they want to see buying their products – everyone.

Use of social media to sell kitchen gadgets

OXO runs a very powerful internet and digital media base of advertising for their main marketing position. The founder, Alex Lee, says that it’s not possible to turn a good profit if all of the money is being sunk into expensive advertising, so digital media and word-of-mouth are their two most prominent modes of advertising. They use email marketing as well as social media promotion. The company runs an active Facebook page with over 300,000 likes; it includes product reviews, recipes, and kitchen tips of all kinds. This shows the consumer that OXO really cares about their customers and their personal needs. 

“Our social media marketing services will give you the opportunity to maintain a strong web presence and help you build your good reputation on both current and future customers. Using various social media tools, such as content posting and bookmarking, Oxo Web will assure a remarkable and attractive social presence.”

OXO does have an active presence in digital and social media: they run interactive Facebook and Twitter accounts. Consumers are able to contact someone at the company easily, or to easily be pointed in the right direction because of this type of marketing.

Conclusion

OXO is doing well within the media of marketing and profits because they have found common ground: digital and social media. It is a nearly free way to advertise a company’s products and the perfect way to hit consumers where they live. 

Works Cited

“Internet Marketing Services.” OXO. 2012. Web. 4 Dec 2013. <http://oxo-web.com/en/internet_services/internet_marketing/>.

Jana, Reena and Helen Walters. “No Recession at OXO.” Business Week. 21 Sep. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. <http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/sep2009/id20090921_444139.htm>.

Robertson, Tanya. “Difference Between Push & Pull Marketing.” The Houston Chronicle. 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. < http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-push-pull-marketing-31806.html>. 

“OXO: Advertising and Public Relations.” Pearson Education, Inc. Video, 2013.