Brief Explanation

Colgate spent years developing a new way to prevent cavities, by neutralizing sugar acids before they even get the chance to attack teeth. It’s the biggest advance in cavity-fighting since fluoride 50 years ago. But there is a common misconception that only sweets and junk foods cause cavities. Our insight was that most people do not realize that the biggest sources of sugar in our diets come from everyday foods like breads, fruits, sauces, and juice. Our objective was to educate shoppers on this hidden threat of cavities from the sugars that are hidden in their everyday foods.

Results and Effectiveness

We do not yet have full results, but early data indicates the activation is very effective at communicating the intended messages, and successfully shifts the perception of sugar from something only in sweets to a threat hidden in everyday foods. Importantly the campaign has helped to establish a clear, differentiated proposition versus other toothpastes. We have also seen strong trade-up from regular toothpaste brands, and even conversion of a healthy percentage of shoppers to immediate impulse purchases. As another sign of success, Colgate is now evaluating the campaign for national roll out in India, as well as for Malaysia.

Creative Execution

In partnership with retail, creative, digital and media agency teams, Colgate India initiated a partnership with a local retailer, in select locations, to modify their receipt design using software that combined their POS scanning technology with a database of sugar content in popular foods. The sugar content was printed next to items on the receipt, along with an immediately redeemable discount coupon whose value was linked to the total level of sugar content per shopping basket. Using the receipt as a medium allowed us to create a customized interaction with a message that encouraged immediate purchase.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Colgate is a well-known and trusted brand in India, and we are targeting primary grocery shoppers (both men and women) who have purchased Colgate in the past. While they know Colgate, as the toothpaste category has matured, they tend to think all toothpastes prevent cavities equally well, a category cost of entry. Our strategy was to target shoppers in-store, at the moment of purchase, when their food choices were most top of mind. We generated an immediate response by surprising them with the sugar content in their shopping baskets, and incentivized immediate trial of our product with a tiered discount.