Why is this work relevant for Media?

While the pandemic has created an opportunity to focus on proper cleanliness in the home, it has also posed new challenges in keeping audiences interested. In the face of the pandemic, in-store activation and branded on-the-ground experiences cannot be mounted. The challenge for the brand is to engage audiences in digital spaces they have a high affinity for. Breeze found itself the ideal opportunity to boost awareness and drive sales in a platform where urban-dwelling audiences enjoy themselves while staying safely at home: mobile gaming.

Background

In a country with established premium and mass detergent brands, one of the biggest challenges of Breeze Philippines from the very start is gaining shares in an incredibly competitive laundry category that is dominated by well-known brands. Despite this, more than a decade since its Philippine relaunch, Breeze Philippines has been able to achieve competitive shares in the category as the brand further penetrates the premium space. However, the detergent market in the country continues to be dominated by powders and bars, with more than 95% of Filipinos preferring these over liquid formats.   Tapping a key partner, Breeze created the Virtual Laundry Room and aims to: • Grow penetration of liquid detergents, familiarizing consumers used to the traditional powder detergents with the new format, • Engage audiences in their preferred digital space: mobile gaming

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

THE MAIN BARRIER TO BUYING LIQUID DETERGENTS: NOT ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE ON PROPER USAGE  The brand sees an increased penetration of machines (where 8 out of 10 urban moms use them). However, consumers still stick to using powder detergents when using their washing machines, unaware that liquids usually perform better when machine washed. MOBILE GAMING USAGE AT AN INCREASE DUE TO LOCKDOWNS  Mobile gaming grew by 47% in the past year. It’s essential to ensure that interactivity was weaved within ads served via mobile games. This didn’t only increase the awareness of Breeze Liquids, it also allowed a virtual trial and product demonstration —providing space to use the product virtually before buying was the best way to encourage purchase and education on the format’s proper usage.       By mimicking the time-based and visually engaging quality of mobile casual games, Breeze was able to create unique interactivity that suited its target.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

INTERACTIVITY AND ENGAGEMENT ARE KEY ELEMENTS FOR PROPER USAGE EDUCATION The Philippines has a 71% internet and 89% mobile penetration. Mobile is the primary screen for connected mom consumers, as they stream videos, play games, access news, and avail banking services on the go. Mobile video advertising, with a 150% higher engagement rate than other formats, is the preferred mode of engagement with brands. Breeze tapped a programmatic partner to devise an experience that would clearly educate users that liquids are the best format when using their washing machines. After being served with a Breeze brand video, users were introduced to a quick branded game. A successful wash was rewarded by a custom e-commerce discount coupon and a link to the e-retailer page.  The Breeze Virtual Laundry Room was served in casual games, the preferred mobile games of 72% of Filipino audiences.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The maximization of usage of the mobile gaming environment, together with innovative gamified experiences, enabled Breeze to successfully educate audiences about the ease of using the Liquids format.     The complex gamified ad leveraged urban Filipino adults’ preference for casual games; serving video ads in-game led to the custom Virtual Laundry Room: 1. Consumers had 15 seconds to complete a load of laundry by tapping and swiping on a load of laundry, the detergent, and the washing machine. 2. A successfully washed load is rewarded with a custom E-Commerce Shopee coupon. 3. Users may immediately click out of the page to buy the detergent on the e-commerce page with a convenient Shop Now CTA (Call-to-Action) button!    Utilizing mobile gaming technology ensured that the brand capitalized on consumer interest within a highly engaging space, making it easy for them to ‘try’ using the liquid detergent before buying the bottle. 

List the results (30% of vote)

By creating a custom Virtual Laundry Room experience for every kind of mom in the Philippines, the Breeze campaign was a great success!   • The campaign reached out to 3.3M users, with more than 600,000 users engaging with the ad, resulting in an incredible engagement rate of 18% far above the 1% industry benchmark.   • Video completion rate was phenomenal at 92% (vs. 50% benchmark). Consumers were clearly enjoying it as they spent an average of 8 seconds exploring the ad (the industry benchmark is only 5 seconds). • The campaign resulted in a 24% (vs. previous period) increase in sales, driving Breeze to the top 5 in (e-commerce platform) for Homecare in H1 of 2021.    The campaign is proof that the mobile gaming space can deliver both audience engagement and drive product sales.