A tidal wave of Tide: extending a brand into service
By Fiona van Iersel
Minerva Empowerment
E-Services Marketing
19 May 2025

Tide’s move into dry cleaning makes strategic sense to me as an extension from a familiar product into a related service. The opportunity was to address an everyday errand through a recognisable brand and a more convenient experience. That does not mean every independent cleaner offered poor service; it means there was room to compete on how the whole job felt to the customer.

Brand extension puts an existing reputation to work in a new setting (Kotler et al., 2019). Ansoff’s growth framework helps ask how far the business is moving from its existing products and customers. Blue Ocean Strategy offers another lens: which elements of a familiar service could be redesigned to create distinctive value (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015)? Neither framework makes success automatic.

The customer promise reaches beyond clean clothes. It is about confidence, convenience and being ready for the day. I see particular appeal for busy people who value dependable care and are willing to pay for time and reassurance. Calling customers “guests” expresses the hospitality ambition behind that promise (Gobé, 2010).

The service features described in the case—after-hours access, digital updates, convenient collection and friendly staff—make the promise practical. A clear, welcoming store and visible information about the cleaning process can reduce uncertainty. Availability and execution matter: a feature in a strategy is only valuable when the customer can actually use it.

This is where Pine and Gilmore’s (1999) experience perspective becomes useful. Dry cleaning can remain a functional transaction, or the surrounding journey can make it feel cared for. The brand, environment, communication and handling of small problems all contribute to that difference.

I see five useful areas of differentiation: familiar brand trust, convenient access, transparency, attentive garment care and a service team that responds well. Environmental claims need evidence rather than a reassuring adjective. Customers should be able to understand what the process does and what any stated benefit means.

Through the 7Ps, the proposition becomes easier to examine (Booms & Bitner, 1981). The product is garment care; price should be clear and connected to value; place concerns access and collection; promotion draws on Tide’s existing recognition. People deliver the welcome and resolve problems. Process links drop-off, cleaning, updates and return. Physical evidence makes the promise visible in the store, packaging and condition of the garments.

For me, Tide also has a signature smell associated with cleanliness, comfort and feeling taken care of. It is part of my childhood psyche that has followed me into adult life. That emotional familiarity helps explain why the service caught my attention. Familiarity can open the door, but the service still has to justify the trust.

Since moving to the UK, I have had to adapt to what is available. I have not found Tide as easily, so convenience affects what I buy. If it were beside another detergent, though, I would be inclined to pay a little more because I know what I expect from it. I am getting the job done.

That is the opportunity and the obligation of a service extension. A brand can carry meaning into a new category, but every encounter must earn the association again. A tidal wave of recognition is a good start. Reliable delivery is what gives it somewhere to go.

References

Aaker, D.A. (1996) Building Strong Brands. New York: Free Press.

Bitner, M.J. (1992) ‘Servicescapes: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and Employees’, Journal of Marketing, 56(2), pp. 57–71.

Booms, B.H. and Bitner, M.J. (1981) ‘Marketing Strategies and Organization Structures for Service Firms’, in Donnelly, J.H. and George, W.R. (eds) Marketing of Services. Chicago: AMA, pp. 47–51.

Gobé, M. (2010) Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People. New York: Allworth Press.

Kim, W.C. and Mauborgne, R. (2015) Blue Ocean Strategy. 2nd edn. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.

Kotler, P., Keller, K.L., Goodman, M. and Hansen, T. (2019) Marketing Management. 4th edn. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Pine, B.J. and Gilmore, J.H. (1999) The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre and Every Business a Stage. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Zeithaml, V.A., Bitner, M.J. and Gremler, D.D. (2021) Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm. 8th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.