Turning Your Bathroom into a Classroom: Check out this app's simple yet phenomenal campaign! [Thursday: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing]
| From the desk of Miles Everson: Happy Thursday! One of the reasons I love this day is I get to talk about interesting marketing strategies, a.k.a. “Guerrilla Marketing.” If you aren’t familiar with this yet, guerrilla marketing is an unconventional strategy that is simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and sometimes, inexpensive. I am fond of this strategy because it reminds me that we can never run out of creative ways to get our target audience’s attention. That’s why today, we’ll talk about a simple yet phenomenal guerrilla marketing tactic. Continue reading the article below to learn how this language-learning app gave people a fun thing to do while sitting on their bathroom throne. |
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Turning Your Bathroom into a Classroom: Check out this app's simple yet phenomenal campaign! Do you sometimes wonder where all those minutes you spend in the bathroom go? You might be astonished by just how much time slips away during those moments in the toilet! According to Green Gobbler, a cleaning provider company, the average person spends at least 12 minutes a day sitting on the toilet. Woah… This could equate to more than enough time to do things like scrolling through your phone, singing, or listening to music. Do you think you could utilize these 12 minutes to learn something also? The answer is a resounding YES. In fact, in 2021, a popular learning app saw this hidden opportunity and decided to make its users learn a new language. How? Right where you least expect it: By printing its language-learning lessons on toilet paper ! A “Throne” of Knowledge
In 2021, Duolingo, a language-learning platform, discovered that there were hundreds of Duolingo learners on X(formerly Twitter) talking about how they wanted to get daily lessons while visiting the comfort room. With the average person spending at least 12 minutes daily in the toilet, there’s ample opportunity to sneak in a few language lessons. As a response to this interesting behavior, Duolingo, together with global creative company Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, decided to create the Duolingo Roll, the world’s 1st toilet paper-based language-learning tool.
The reason behind this campaign was that Duolingo wanted to generate brand awareness on a global scale without spending a significant amount of money on paid media. Another reason? The brand wanted to acquire new users and press hits in its key markets in the U.S., U.K., Mexico, Brazil, Japan, and China. So, how did Duolingo’s team execute this campaign? First, Duolingo and Wieden+Kennedy created 100% screen-free tissue rolls made with 3-ply softness (because why not? Language learning is already hard enough!). These tissue rolls have various phrases printed on each sheet, featuring five languages:
The goal was that instead of doing nothing while in the bathroom, learners could read and learn new language phrases printed on toilet paper, all translated into English and vice versa. The tissue rolls were then sent to influencers from the U.S., Brazil, England, Mexico, and Japan.
Besides this, Duolingo partnered with WeWork, a co-working space provider, to install the toilet paper in 18 of their restrooms in China. Duolingo also gave away “Spanish for English Speakers” Duolingo Roll via X to 50 lucky winners in the U.S. and the U.K. To have a chance to win the giveaway , participants filled out a Google Form with their contact information. Then, winners were chosen randomly using a randomizer. At present, Duolingo is no longer promoting its Duolingo rolls, but it still has a website where you can buy your own specialized Duolingo tissue rolls. Was Duolingo’s “Duolingo Rolls” campaign effective? Duolingo’s campaign took everyone by storm and changed its users’ bathroom routine by making them conquer a language, one sheet at a time! In fact:
Congratulations, Duolingo and Wieden+Kennedy! These results show that despite the simplicity, the Duolingo rolls were still received positively by your target audience. *Applause* — So, what can you (as a marketer, business owner, leader, manager, or copywriter) learn from Duolingo’s campaign?
After all, there are a myriad of strategies and social media tools you can use to showcase your brand and generate profit. You just have to find what works best in engaging your audience. Are you ready now to learn the “language” of your target market? Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing! Do you want to know how this brand brought the issue of food wastage to the public in a compelling and engaging way? Find out in next week’s article! |
Miles Everson
CEO of MBO Partners and former Global Advisory and Consulting CEO at PwC, Everson has worked with many of the world's largest and most prominent organizations, specializing in executive management. He helps companies balance growth, reduce risk, maximize return, and excel in strategic business priorities.
He is a sought-after public speaker and contributor and has been a case study for success from Harvard Business School.
Everson is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. He graduated from St. Cloud State University with a B.S. in Accounting.
