Product Endorsements?
When you purchase a new appliance, say washer or dishwasher, do you read and follow the advice for specific associated product use? I recently got a new dishwasher and a sticker on the front, a sticker on the inside of the tub, samples in the unit, and a mention in the users guide, all recommend that I use a specific brand of detergent. Having paid a small ransom for the dishwasher I certainly want it to work as well as possible, but this is a brand of detergent I have never used before.
My washing machine also came with recommendations (not just for HE detergent but a specific brand) as did the tile in my shower.
Do you read and follow the advice, is it all just a marketing ploy, is it a reciprocal marketing windfall?
Your thoughts?
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7 Answers
Yeah no. I highly believe it’s a marketing ploy. The only thing I need their help with is how the dishwasher functions, not what to put into it. I have never followed their instructions and have perfect dishes and laundry, so I think it’s bullshit. I think it’s definitely a result of the two companies striking a deal.
It is just a marketing technique. Competitors spend big dollars advertising trying to distinguish their product from all the others. By forming a connection with an associated product they are trying to distinguish their product as being a perfect match for the associated product in the hope that their product will become your buying choice when the sample runs out. So I don’t buy it when they recommend a certain product, unless they can truly identify a distinguishing characteristic and convince me that use of competitors products could cause harm. Now. I’ll pay attention to a warning on a new tub to not use powdered type abrasive cleansers which can harm a finish but I discount their recommendation of a specific brand of liquid cleanser.
One quick caveat. If you have a front loader, use an HE detergent. There really is a difference. I’m guessing some surfactant. If you use regular the tub fills with bubbles and makes a mess (and your spouse gets mad).
Not that I’ve ever tried it, of course. Hmmm I wonder what would happen if I put in 1/8…
Marketing. We bought a new house a couple of years ago and all the appliances had instuctions to use particular products. AFter research, I determined that the only thing I really had to watch for was using the HE soap in my washer. ANy brand will do, just so it is HE.
Let me add my voice to the chorus: marketing.
It is the same as Microsoft putting trial copies on computer, a practice called OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture).
It is product placement big time.
The front loaders here at my apartment note to use only 1/4 of detergent, but they do not at all tell you to use only HE detergent. I use Tide Free as I dislike smells in my clothes, and I’ve never had a problem. That said, I’m not sure if my front loader is like all, in that we put our soap into a dispenser at the top instead of right in with the laundry.
I will read what consumer reports has to say about a product and generally trust their endorsements. But only because they are like the Cook’s Illustrated of other products—they are ridiculous about their testing.
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