What Helped Harry's To Win Over Gillette?

For decades, buying razors was frustrating. You would walk into a store, find a locked display case, and wait for an employee to unlock it.

Then, you would realize a four-pack of blades costs as much as a meal.

But there wasn’t much choice. Gillette owned over 70% of the market and could charge a premium because there was no real competition.

And that was until Harry’s entered the game.

Two entrepreneurs, Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider, saw an opportunity:

• Razors were overpriced.

• The buying experience was annoying.

• There was no direct connection between brands and customers.

Instead of selling in stores, Harry’s launched a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model, selling razors online at half the price of Gillette.

Within a year, they had over 100,000 customers.

But what's so interesting is that they didn’t only rely on perfect products.

They built a smart customer acquisition funnel and used paid ads in a way that made them stand out.

Let’s break it down.

The Big Idea:

How Harry’s Challenged Gillette’s Monopoly

Gillette dominated the razor market as a single brand.

For decades, Gillette used a simple but powerful model:

1. Sell razors at a low price.

2. Charge premium prices for replacement blades.

3. Lock customers in because blades weren’t interchangeable.

It was called the razor-and-blades model (similar to printers and ink cartridges). And since there was no serious competition, they got away with it.

But Harry’s saw three problems with this industry:

• Gillette kept raising prices, and customers had no alternative.

• Razors were locked behind cases, making every purchase a hassle.

• Gillette was a corporate giant with no relationship with its users.

Harry’s used these weaknesses to position itself differently.

Instead of following the traditional retail model, they went direct-to-consumer (DTC) with a subscription-based approach:

• Sell razors online at a fair price (half the cost of Gillette).

• Deliver straight to customers’ doors (no more locked cases).

• Build a brand people could connect with.

This approach worked. Within three years, they hit $200M in revenue, forcing even Gillette to launch its own DTC subscription.

So, how did Harry’s pull this off?

Behind the Magic:

Paid Ads and a Customer Acquisition Funnel

Gillette had a monopoly, deep pockets, and massive brand recognition.

On the other hand, Harry’s was a new DTC brand with no audience.

So, how did they break through and get millions of customers?

They used a three-phase customer acquisition funnel that combined:

Let’s break down each step in detail.

1. The Pre-Launch Referral System:
100,000 Emails Before Day 1

Before launching, Harry’s focused on something most brands overlook: demand generation before spending on ads.

Instead of launching with cold ads, they built a massive pre-launch waitlist using a gamified referral system.

That created a built-in audience before they even sold a single razor.

• A user signed up with their email.

• They got a unique referral link to invite friends.

• The more friends they referred, the better rewards they unlocked (free razors, shaving cream, etc.).

They engineered the campaign for exponential growth.

This strategy worked because

• Social proof drove organic referrals. 
  People trust friends more than ads, and it felt like a personal recommendation rather than marketing when someone referred a friend.

• It incentivized sharing in a structured way. 
  Instead of just asking for emails, Harry’s offered a tangible reason to share the brand. The more someone referred, the more they gained.

• It built a warm audience before launch. 
  Most brands launch and start from zero. Harry’s launched with 100,000 engaged potential customers, which gave them an instant advantage.

By the time they officially launched, they weren’t scrambling for customers because they had a ready-made audience eager to buy.

2. Facebook & Instagram Ad Strategy:
Mastering Customer Acquisition

Once they had an audience, Harry’s scaled their reach using paid advertising, but they didn’t just throw money at ads.

They took a data-driven, narrative-led approach that did two key things:

1. They positioned Harry’s as the anti-Gillette.

2. They ran a structured retargeting funnel to move people toward buying.

For example, look at the ad copies of these ads the brand currently running:

1. Positioning: Challenging the Big Players

Harry’s knew that price and convenience were their USP, but instead of only showing their razor as a cheaper alternative, they used curiosity-driven messaging in their ads. One of their best-performing ad angles:

Why Are Razors So Expensive?

This ad didn’t just promote a product but called out an industry problem.

They positioned themselves as the brand that fixed the problem, and that made people feel switching to Harry’s was a smarter choice.

It worked because:

• It immediately hooked potential customers because they already felt razor prices were too high.

• It framed Harry’s as a challenger brand and made it easy for customers to root for them.

• It didn’t feel like a traditional aa but an honest question that made people want to learn more.

2. Retargeting Strategy: Owning the Customer Journey

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