#Everydaycare by Whirlpool was chosen as the winner in the category “social media tool” in the 8th annual shorty awards, (Shorty, n.d.). I had not heard of this campaign; so when the assignment was given, I thought it would be an interesting one to accept.
To successfully meet the wants and needs of the audience, Whirlpool wanted to focus on the positive of owning a normal everyday appliance over the negatives of those appliances breaking down. Whirlpool wanted to take it a step further and show that these seemingly meaningless, “thankless, repetitive and unfulfilling chores” (Shorty, n.d.) were actually important examples of offering everyday care to their families. To encourage this concept, Whirlpool created a story that touched hearts using life matters moments. Beginning with the graduation ceremony, but breaking down those little life moments with the before frames, Whirlpool was able to showcase bringing home baby, middle of the night tears, clapping for the accomplishments, teenage breakdowns and end with the grand accomplishment of senior graduation.
To address consumer experiences, Whirlpool asked for real life stories. “Is “Happy” National Laundry Day the right way to say it?” (Douglas, 2018). Showing hashtag real life stories directly from Twitter on the company website. The company also partnered with other companies to have a social impact on others. For instance, Whirlpool partnered with Give to Get. “In 2017, we worked with a school that had been gifted washers and dryers from @whirlpoolusa.. We saw first hand the impact this program makes – improved attendance, which leads to better grades, and improved confidence, which leads to better behavior,” (Give to Get, 2019). I believe that Whirlpool succeeded in helping others, and more importantly, gave consumers a positive way to look at the everyday chores and chaos of life.
Consumers visiting the Whirlpool website are given COVID-19 updates, along with product tips and inspirations, a choose the best appliance for you section and an owner center. Viewing their social media sites, shows a rapid turn-around response to consumer problems and questions. The company’s Facebook page, with one million plus followers, interacts with Disney Pixar, helping kids matter program by offering their appliances, and introducing new products and technology.
Considering the amount of women who use Pinterest and the amount of users on Instagram, Whirlpool could have reached more users by using the #everydaycare on more social media accounts. On Pinterest, whirlpool has over 10 million followers, yet very few posts. With a “unit growth (+6%) and sales growth (+4.9%), respectively,” (Shorty, n.d.), imagine what they could achieve when reaching more of the buying audience using Pinterest. Instagram shows over 10,000 followers, yet very few posts. I think to be more effective and efficient, the #everydaycare campaign would have reached a broader audience had Whirlpool used social media to a bigger advantage.
Douglas, Andie. (2018, April 16). “Laundry Day via Twitter.” Retrieved from https://twitter.com/i/web/status/985872281376313344.
Give to Get. (2019, September 4). Retrieved from https://twitter.com/gv2gt/status/1169286029309644800.
Shorty.com. (n.d.). “#EVERYDAYCARE – Whirlpool, Digitaslbi AND Crowdtap.” Retrieved from https://shortyawards.com/8th/everydaycare-whirlpool-digitaslbi-and-crowdtap-2.
Whirlpool. https://www.whirlpool.com.
Whirlpool Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/whirlpoolusa.
Whirlpool Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/whirlpoolusa.
Whirlpool Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/whirlpoolusa.
Premium Lifestyle with Lori 