The Brief

Hair conditioners are a new category in India. Sunsilk, a known shampoo brand, was introducing an eight-variant conditioner. The target audience was college going females (18 to 24) accustomed to Multi-variant Sunsilk shampoos, so they would expect the same from a conditioner. The marketing objective : was to educate the TA about the use of hair conditioners and how the product was relevant to them, and to increase trials without human intervention.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

Our unique insight: was that the TA prefer to discover brands and products on their own, in conjunction with their friends, and through social media. Because four variants of Sunsilk conditioner were to be distributed, education and interaction leading to customised trials was imperative. Our creative idea : was to prompt the TA to discover the product through interaction and education. Using her mobile smart phone, she could create a customised sample, which would be delivered to her instantaneously.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Results and Effectiveness: Sampling was done using a customized pull technique instead of Pushing samples. The method allowed one minute of active involvement with each sample and encouraged about five minutes of discussions with friends regarding their hair types. In 6 days, 1700 girls discovered customized conditioner samples, creating a database of as many phone numbers that can be used for personalized messages from Sunsilk Experts. For the client, this experiment answered the question of mass customization.After a successful pilot in 2012,this opened a new channel for sampling and inducing trials.Currently,the client is extending this activity to more department stores and brands in key cities across India.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

The Mobile Savvy Vending Machine allowed three levels of interaction,provoked conversations about hair type and promoted a higher degree of involvement with the sample, in-turn resulting in mass customization,using only the vending machine & her mobile phone. Simple steps to customised Sample: The machine was placed in a Mumbai college campus,ensuring greater reach among the TA. 1)Girls SMSed Sunsilk to Mobile Number mentioned on the machine,short-code was generated 2)Selected hair type from the display (soft / dull / rough) 3)Entered short-code into the vending machine received via. SMS 4)Got customized conditioner tube from the machine within a minute, along with a Sunsilk Hair Expert Tip received via. SMS