December 2005 Pairing Principles Chattem looks to the stars for successful branding of its products By Louis Sohn
Photo Courtesy of Chattem
Shaquille O’Neal & Mia Hamm
When CEO Zan Guerry and his executive brain trust at Chattanooga-based Chattem Inc. began pondering what celebrities might best represent the company’s new Icy Hot Pro-Therapy product that targets knee and back pain, it’s easy to understand why pro basketball star Shaquille O’Neal sprang to mind. After all, who better than a seven-foot tall, 330-pound, aging athlete who has played 882 games anchoring the paint in the National Basketball Association to serve as spokesman for a joint-pain relief product?
Ditto for Chattem’s newest female spokesperson, women’s soccer star Mia Hamm. The two sports stars join past Chattem product endorsers Joe Nameth, “Mean” Joe Greene and Joe Montana in strategically linking Chattem’s over-the-counter health care product line to performance and effectiveness in the mind of the consumer.
Chattem spokesman Blair Ramey says the company’s approach is simple. If the consumer concludes the product is good enough to stand up to the rigors of the celebrity athlete, which he refers to as the “torture test,” consumers will trust that it’s good enough to weather the trials of everyday living.
Few companies advertise as aggressively as Chattem. A 125-year-old, family-founded manufacturing and marketing company, the former Chattanooga Medicine Co. helped pioneer the use of painted barns and direct mailings as advertising strategies around the turn of the 20th Century. Chattem’s steadfast philosophy is that its products respond better to advertising than to promotions like coupons, price reductions or display samples, which it shuns. As a percentage of sales, Chattem’s annual advertising spending ranges between 27% and 30%. Its latest campaign will be the most expensive in company history. But the spots are predicted to generate sales of between $40 and $50 million in fiscal year 2006.
Much smaller operationally than its competition—powerhouses Johnson & Johnson and Proctor & Gamble—Chattem nevertheless brings proportionally a large amount of in-house expertise to its advertising campaigns. Guerry himself is a key cog. From the selection of celebrity endorsers through the execution of commercial production shoots, Guerry is rooted in the process. Contacted in mid-October, Guerry was busy working in the studio with Hamm.
Chattem recently launched a series of new products, including Garlique CardioAssist and BullFrog Mosquito Coast. Not that the company needs any help—but here’s a few suggestions: Are chef Emeril Lagasse and crocodile hunter Steve Irwin available for hire?
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