Agency Visit- Dollar Shave Club

This past week, we got to listen in on how Dollar Shave Club makes their revolutionary product line. While we didn't get to actually visit the Agency during this particular "Agency Visit" I have a feeling it looks a little something like this:

Thanks to the magic of the internet, it's like we're all there right now! Back to our visit with DSC, if I had to describe this session in three words they would be Snazzy, Sincere and Smart.

We were lucky enough to have Nick Virginio, Dollar Shave Club's Brand Development Manager, come visit our class. Nick taught us all about how the brand development process works over at DSC. He walked us through the Inspiration, Strategy, and Development steps of creating their products. But, what sets DSC apart from a lot of other agencies I've seen is their 4th step, Adaptation. This was my first big takeaway from the session, your branding campaign isn't over just because you've launched it. You need to continually be checking in on how your consumers are reacting to your campaign and your products. This way, if something isn't working, you're the first ones to know and can correct your mistake, before others do.

Dollar Shave Club has a real knack for getting direct feedback from their consumers, because of the way their platform works. They fortunately don't have to go through a retailer, and can communicate with their club members directly. This brings us to takeaway #2, you have to really understand all your target consumer. While in the Inspiration and Strategy phases of their development process Dollar Shave Club relies heavily on customer feedback. The entire concept of their latest brand of toiletries came from understanding their consumer's shower habits. They asked not only practical questions, like "Do you use body wash or a bar of soap" but more exploratory questions like "How does taking a shower make you feel?". This led them to a deeper understanding of what taking a shower is representative of for their consumers, rather than just a necessary act

Lastly and most basically, I really liked Nick's actual power point presentation itself. Which leads me to my final insight, use graphics and tools to your advantage. His graphics on his slides were so intuitive, everything felt easier to understand. All processes were simple to comprehend because of this.

All in all, a great presentation from a great company. Glad to have been a part of it.