Why is this work relevant for PR?

Deviating from conventional celebrity-oriented campaigns, Dove has always believed in the power of real women. Dove knows that consumers tend to research online for reviews before purchasing — proving the potential of real testimonials to drive consideration and trial. And so, Dove launched the first 1 Minute Serum Conditioner through the voices of everyday girls - cutting through the clutter, building awareness and driving consideration. From beauty bloggers to micro-influencers, the brand carefully selected real women admired for their authenticity; women who love Dove and make it known to their friends and followers.

Background

Dove was challenged for its top spot as the number 1 in damage care given the emergence of new players in the market with similar selling propositions. In an effort to reassert its superiority in this category and reinforce the target market’s preference for Dove, the brand launched its new 1 Minute Serum Conditioner -- a next generation product which aimed to stomp competition with its superior conditioning and damage repair potency. The launch objective was simple: to establish the new 1 Minute Serum Conditioner as the top, must-have hair product in the market. And because it was the Philippines’ first-ever Serum Conditioner, Dove wanted to use a non-conventional launch approach to differentiate it amongst the clutter.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

The concept behind unveiling Dove 1 Minute was inspired by real girls, made for real girls. What set the campaign apart from other brands’ is that it leveraged on the idea that real women empathise with fellow real women - seeing that their testimonials are more trustworthy and authentic than the average television commercial, proving that word-of-mouth continues to be one of the most effective ways to spark interest and drive consideration for a product. In effect, this became the cornerstone into planning the launch. Dove wanted to engage its audience by encouraging real women to share their product experience on social media: Instagram was a primary platform for bite-sized reviews, and Youtube for longer, in-depth discussions. The concept was to communicate their personal experience from using Dove--highlighting the transformative power of the serum capsules and the ability to undo the damage in just one minute.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

Dove launched the new 1 Minute Serum Conditioner through a strategy that harnessed the authenticity of its target market to connect within their own circles and communicate the brand in a real and authentic manner. The launch was supported by three pillars: credibility, hype, and desirability. Credibility was sourced from tapping vloggers on Youtube to review the product for their loyal followers. Hype for the launch was centered around the selection of its key social media channel: Instagram among other social media platforms like Facebook and Youtube. Through this channel, Dove collected and utilized a wide-range of content, both brands ads and real content from Dove girls. Lastly, driving trial for the new innovation entailed experience-building for both influencers and the general mass through seeded product kits or online pre-orders.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The Dove campaign was built on authentic experiences from different tiers for awareness and trial to online communities in 3 phases: Intrigue, reveal, and experience. Intrigue: create curiosity around the product before it was available by tapping beauty credible vloggers for embargoed content, teasers from influencers, and an event for guests to learn about the product and share content. Reveal: The official launch of the product. Influencers were asked to review the product for three days on their Instagram Stories, and cap it off the fourth day by posting a full, more in-depth review on their Instagram feed. Experience: Dove gave everyday real girls a kit of the new 1 Minute Serum Conditioner so that they too could try the product, and post for four days straight of their experience. Dove also seeded press releases to online and print media for added reach and to further drive credibility.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

By harnessing the power of social media, Dove was able to generate authentic conversations about the Dove 1 Minute Serum Conditioner. The brand garnered 1,049 collective posts in two months on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and personal blogs that stemmed from the 400 seeding kits released to influencers. The performance of the influencers alone amounted to 3,975,808 impressions, reaching a total of 3,247,801 every day Filipinos, enticing the everyday girl to try the new Dove 1 Minute Serum Conditioner. To add, the power of print media and online blogs amounted to PHP2,000,555.00 in ad value from 19 organic media pick-ups -- making the total PR value of the campaign at PHP4,274,555. To support the activity from the influencers, Dove as a brand, was also present on Facebook and Instagram. The posts on these social media sites were a combination of brand assets as well as boosted Instagram posts from our everyday girls. In total, it gained almost 30 million social media reach during the launch campaign, wherein the launch reveal video alone contributed to almost 12.8 million viewership. This paved the way for a great growth momentum for the product--it sold out its online pre-orders in just 2 days, overachieved its overall 2018 sales target by 30%, and grew to 1.2% market share after just 2 months; now 2% share in less than 1 year since launch. It is also 5x bigger than Dove’s previous treatment conditioner.