With #NoShaveNovember creeping up on us within just a few months, we decided to dive into the shaving industry. After noticing how much traction Gillette received on social media after their new advertisement: #TheBestAManCanBe, we wanted to look at their two most significant competitors. Knowing the importance of audience analysis, we used our tool, Profiler, to explore three of the largest brands in the razor industry, Gillette, Dollar Shave Club, and Harry’s. How did they compare to each other? Who is the best of the best? What is being said about the field and the different brands?
The Best or Worst a Man can be?
“Is this the best a man can get?” said Gillette’s recent controversial commercial, racking up over 32 million views since January 2019. The new featured ad campaign also cost their mother company, Procter & Gamble (P&G) an $8 billion loss in their last quarterly earnings report. Fortunately for P&G, having other companies under their belt helped increase their earnings for that quarter. For Gillette’s CEO, Gary Coombe, this new advert was a necessity. Coombe explained,“I am absolutely of the view now that for the majority of people to fall more deeply in love with today’s brands you have to risk upsetting a small minority and that’s what we’ve done.”Although Coombe admitted having lost the support of millenials, he believes Gillette’s more extensive consumer base to come from Gen X-ers. But our data illustrates a different story, so we wanted to explore how it affected their competitors and fan base.
Who is the biggest fan of the big three?
We understand the importance of audience analysis, which is why we built a profile around the individuals who like and love Gillette, Dollar Shave Club, and Harry’s.
We noticed that the majority of people interested in Gillette were between 18-34 years old. Most are also high school graduates, and the majority are single. This meant that the truth is somewhat contrary to what Coombe believes to have been Gilllete’s fan base.
On the other hand, Gillette’s competitors, Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club have a different demographic.
Harry’s, for instance, has an 85% male following and fall within an older range of 35-44 years old compared to Gillette. Most are also married or have completed higher education.
Lastly, the Dollar Shave Club had the most diverse fan base. Many were high school graduates and the majority is single. They work in the transportation, moving, or production industries.
Thanks to Profiler, we now know the fan base of each razor brand. But, we couldn’t help but explore what else the different brand’s biggest fans also like.
The Importance of Audience Analysis: Revealing Gillette’s Fan Base
Most of Gillette’s consumer base had similar interests as Harry’s or Dollar Shave Club, whether it was culture, religion, or politics. However, fans of Gillette had the lowest interest in spirituality compared to the other brands. They also did not care as much about animal welfare and sustainability as others. In our data, we also noticed they had less of an interest in political and social issues than other hobbies and activities.
But, if Gillette wanted to appeal to their consumer base more, our audience analysis tool, Profiler also provided some of Gillette consumers’ favorite brands and interests. Gillette’s marketing team should aim to feature themselves on ESPN and Fox Sports 1 as much as possible. Our data indicated more than 30% of Gillette’s audience enjoys ESPN, and almost 10% enjoys Fox Sports 1.
Perhaps, the brand should even consider a partnership with Best Buy, Bleacher Report, or AT&T, since Gillette fans like these brands twice as much than the average consumer.
Dolla Dolla Shave Club
With over 4.1 million people interested in this brand, Dollar Shave Club is taking the media by storm. Their audience also has triple the regular amount of interest in air pollution and double the average interest rate in veterans and voluntary associations. It seems that the Dollar Shave Club should aim for economically friendly options. It might even consider involving veterans or voluntary associations that aim for zero emission, like Green For All in their campaigns and promotions.
Similar to Gillette’s consumer base, Dollar Shave Club’s audience also enjoys the Xbox One and Call of Duty. Dollar Shave Club may want to consider partnering up with racing games on the Xbox One to cater to their consumer’s interest.
What’s the importance of audience analysis? Is it time for Harry’s to catch up?
Harry’s consumer base has the highest interest in spirituality out of the three. They also enjoy culture, politics, social sciences, and voluntary associations a great deal more than others.
Shockingly, more than 90% of their fan base has an interest in Time magazine. And similar to Gillette, more than 20% of Harry’s audiences have an interest in AT&T.
The Razor Industry’s Love Triangle
Audience analysis revealed that all three consumer bases also indulge in each other’s favorite brands. For Dollar Shave Club, almost three-fourths of their consumer base is interested in the Gillette razor. 
Therefore, Dollar Shave Club should focus on keeping it’s consumer bases and making sure that the consumers do not switch to Gillette. Dollar Shave Club may also want to consider partnering up with Axe to have a special promotion or collab. Out of all three brands,their consumers are the only ones who like Axe more than the average American.
For Gillette, Dollar Shave Club is also the only shaving brand they are interested in. So, rather than the brand of razors, Gillette’s consumers are more focused on Old Spice and Pfizer that offer shaving creams.
Gillette should also appeal to their current consumer base of millenials and perhaps even partner up with Old Spice, as their consumers like Old Spice six times more than the average person!
Finally, Harry’s had the most diverse data. Their consumer base loves both Dollar Shave Club and Gillette while having a significant interest in environmental issues such as electric cars and air pollution.
However, Harry’s consumer base also had the most significant interest (20%) in the Dollar Shave Club. The consumer base also has an interest in Gillette that’s three times greater than the average person. That means Harry’s consumers may likely switch over to Dollar Shave Club or Gillette if they are unhappy.
The Importance of Audience Analysis… and Following Up with Aftercare
Taking care of your consumers can be similar to the art of shaving. One would ideally follow up after shaving to have the greatest effect. And the three razor giants may want to do the same to keep their consumer bases happy. The data provided by our audience analysis, Profiler, was able to map out all of the necessary data on the three giant’s consumer base and provide valuable information to create the most effective campaign. The importance of audience analysis is evident with this simple look into the shaving industry. A company can tap into its consumer base within seconds, and elevate their campaigns and brand image. Find out more here.
