Tongue cleaner company Orabrush maintains that 90% of bad breath comes from bacteria on human tongues, and the brand’s viral videos have garnered over 40 million video views. Not surprisingly, Orabrush fans (“Orabuddies”) quickly began requesting a similar device to help cure their dogs’ stinky breath. Orabrush took on the challenge, performing extensive research to create the best product, then testing the idea through crowd-funding site Indiegogo.com and a viral video campaign. According to AdAge, “Orapup is the latest in a mini-trend toward adapting products for humans to potentially bigger markets for pets.” CEO Jeff Davis tried the idea out on Indiegogo.com, and Orapup “raised more than $60,000 by selling doggie tongue-cleaners, getting feedback and buzz in the process.” This success led to the creation of a viral video campaign, which features dogs getting into stinky, gross items (baby diapers, trash) and then eagerly lapping up the “secret sauce” on Orapup’s patented brush to help cure their bad breath. The bristles help clear bacteria off doggie tongues, and the “sauce” (beef or bacon-flavored) contains enzymes and plaque-fighting ingredients. The Orapup video – published on Sept 1st, 2012 – now has over 4 million views, and led to over $750,000 in pre-orders via Amazon. The Orapup YouTube channel (created in-house by Orabrush) – with over 4.5 million video views – already has more views than well-known pet food brands like Purina or Iams (AdAge). But how did Orabrush manage to create yet another viral video (this time featuring canine – not human – tongues)? While some may attribute it to luck, CEO Jeff Davis says “”There’s nothing lucky about going viral in the Orabrush model. We’re advertising. We’re using that advertising to do the modeling and predict behavior on everything from pricing to messaging and packaging. It’s all done behind the scenes. We know from our relationship with Google that we get the highest amount of views for the lowest cost-per-view based on our advertising model.” Orabrush (the people version) has also found success in offline sales, particularly by using geo-targeted YouTube advertising to increase sales near stores that carry the product. But Davis isn’t starting offline distribution for Orapup yet – he prefers to work the “reverse marketing model,” creating online awareness and demand (using YouTube, Facebook and search ads) before moving to offline channels of distribution. So far, it seems to be working. By listening to customer feedback and sticking with an advertising, social media and online video strategy that works, Orabrush has created and successfully marketed a new product. AdAge reports that early orders for Orapup include more than 60,000 transactions averaging more than $24. And who can resist sharing videos – like the one below – on Orapup’s YouTube channel?
