MAQ is more than just a washing powder

Media Update’s Darren Gilbert caught up with MAQ Washing Powder’s sales and marketing director, Jacqueline Jacobs, to find out more about the brand and what makes it so different.

Firstly, washing powder - how do you market such an everyday product?

Since launching in South Africa 10 years ago, one of the things we came up with is that we are more than just a washing powder. We want to be your friend. We want to always brighten your face.

We also wanted to be about engagement. And to make it fun. You look at washing powder ads today and it’s all about ‘my washing powder gets the stain out quicker than yours’. We had to come from a different angle because when you are trying to match big multinationals with big budgets, you have to be able to stand out.

And that is the whole thing with MAQ. Our Facebook page is where we mostly communicate with our consumers. We have realised that we are managing to achieve this. We are actually bringing fun into their lives.

You can see this fun and engagement in MAQ’s many initiatives. Are there any that you are particularly proud of?

I am pretty proud of all of them because they are about consumer involvement, like MAQapella, where we got our customers to showcase their [singing] talent.

And then MAQaMovie was about acting. When we did the MAQ Washathon, while that wasn’t so much about talent, it was a way for people to give back. Everyone could bring their own clothes and we washed them before giving it away.

They are some great ideas. How do you come up with them?

You may be surprised to hear but we don’t work with an ad agency.

We do work with freelancers from a creative side with all the visuals and the actual ads. But we pretty much put everything together ourselves. We all get involved and have these big brainstorming sessions on how we are going to do things.

Our own in-house team of roadshow people also get involved.

So no agency. But you do have set plans on how you’re going to market MAQ?

Yes. Obviously, the core message needs to be there. But we are flexible.

The one thing that we are very sure of, is we need to involve our consumers. So, for example, we are open to people getting hold of us and bouncing their ideas [off us] because you never know what is going to come up.

We started this whole thing with MAQapella and singing. And then MAQaMovie came along in the middle of that. That evolved from a product placement in a movie to a competition about winning a role. But it seemed like a natural thing to follow on with. And then of course, the pressure is on for our next one, which we are starting in July.

Your initiatives has seen some great success. What do you believe are the reasons for this?

The success of MAQapella and MAQaMovie [come from the fact] that our consumers are getting an opportunity to showcase themselves. Yes, not all are going to be the next star singer [or actor]. But it’s their opportunity to stand up, sing and have fun. It’s that engagement.

We empower our consumers, give them something to look forward to, and offer light relieve and happiness.

Also, it’s a fun day out on the weekend. The crowds that we get watching the auditions are 10 times the amount of entries that we get.

MAQapella recently visited Botswana. How did that opportunity arise?

When we did MAQapella in South Africa, I was quite nervous about the logistics. Again, doing everything ourselves. So we limited it to certain areas because we wanted to get a feel to see if we were capable of doing this without too many hiccups.

And then we were approached by Pick n Pay Botswana who asked us to bring it to their country. And it did so well too. What is interesting is that when it comes to the population size, Botswana is relatively small. But the amount of entries and enthusiasm was unbelievable.

Considering we had lost considerable market share in that country, to see MAQ coming to the fore again was exciting.

What’s next for MAQ Washing Powder?

We have another campaign starting in July. I can’t say much but while MAQapella and MAQaMovie were about [singling out] talent, this campaign is open to all our consumers. Watch this space.

For more information on MAQ Washing Powder, visit www.blissbrands.com. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook.