Alternative Product Use

Should manufacturers accept the alternative uses of their products? When I joined my consumer product goods company a while ago I was told that although we may not mind the additional sales, we never supported them. Fear of lawsuits. Also that it may be a distraction from our marketing message. Things have changed. AdWeek reports in Apply Liberally ... ', includes lengthy quotes about Procter & Gamble repositioning:

" ... Consumers have always used -- or misused -- products however they see fit. And they've always shared their discoveries (that Hellmann's mayonnaise, say, works as a hair conditioner), albeit in limited ways. But when it comes to products these days, the ubiquity of blogs and online inquiries means people are increasingly going public with alternative uses.

"A big part of these social networks is people asking open-ended questions and sharing insights, and it's uncovering these nuggets of off-label uses," says Rohit Bhargava, svp at Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence.

The question for marketers, then, is whether or not to promote these uses -- and if you do promote them, how not to undermine the products' established strengths ... "