Procter to Roll Out Laundry

Apparently profitable, have never used the service though several are nearby.  Nice leverage of the Brand Name equity.  .

Tide to roll out laundry cleaning service nationwide in Retailwire  by Tom Ryan plus expert discussion.

Procter & Gamble announced a commitment to double the size of its current out-of-home laundry footprint by the end of 2020, making Tide Cleaners’ services available in more than 2,000 locations nationwide.

The expansion builds on Tide’s entry nearly a decade ago into dry cleaning that has since included several acquisitions in wash and fold services to meet the needs of the 26 million American households currently using shared facilities or outsourcing laundry. ... " 

Google Assistant Providing How-tos

Visual how-to videos, to be delivered by a number of small screen devices.   Similar and competing with the Amazon Show.  Have been testing the Show, Google Home and Echos for how to's for time. 
Google already has this content,  a huge number of 'how to's on YouTube.   Amazon Show has no where near the content.    I also note the point being made by the statement 'How to cook pasta, brought to you by Barilla'.  The ads can easily overwhelm the content value of the knowledge provided.  I see that already in many YouTubes.   Especially when the link between knowledge and message is weak.   So beware of the Ads fouling the advice.

Long ago we did a similar thing when we created a Tide sponsored assistant, then delivered on a CDRom.  (See tags below)  We lobbied for less mention of Tide, but the brands and their own ideas.  Similarly with Mr. Clean.

Google reportedly planning sponsored how-to videos for Assistant
How to cook pasta, brought to you by Barilla  ... 

By Chris Welch  @chriswelch in TheVerge ...

Rain and Echo for Voice Driven Marketing

Interesting view of how skills are being built for voice channels.  I note that it repositioned some of the expertise for Tide stain detective, which is now available as an Echo Skill

How This Agency Built Its Own App Using Amazon Echo Voice skills have become big business for Rain By Lauren Johnson

Rain has picked up a few new clients with its voice expertise. Amazon
Last October, New York-based digital agency Rain worked with Campbell's to find a new way to push out the CPG giant's library of recipes, creating one of the first branded "skills" for Amazon's voice-controlled Echo device, which helped consumers find dinner recipes on demand.

While the agency expected a bit of a PR boost from the Campbell's work, voice and the so-called Internet of Things has actually become a big growth area for Rain over the past year, as more agencies look for ways to tap into emerging devices for brands. Shortly after creating the Campbell's skill, Rain became one of a handful of Amazon's go-to developers tasked with building "skills"—voice apps that let consumers ask questions to Amazon's AI platform named Alexa.   .... 

In the past year, Rain has signed 1-800-Flowers, P&G's Tide, Yahoo Fantasy Football and Liberty Mutual-owned Safeco as clients, helping to build branded skills that dole out information and entertainment to consumers. For Safeco, the agency built a glossary of insurance terms so that consumers can ask Alexa questions like, "What is umbrella insurance?" or "What does liability mean?" For 1-800-Flowers, users can automatically place flower orders to their friends or family members.  .. "