Oral-b: SMILE INDIA MOVEMENT

Credits & Description:

Category: Healthcare and Services

Advertiser: ORAL-B

Product/Service: ORAL HEALTH AWARENESS

Head of External Relations: Shweta Shukla (P&G India)

Marketing Manager: Sharat Verma (P&G India)

Assistant Brand Manager: Ritu Mittal (Oral-B, P&G India)

Associate Manager: Sonam Aron (P&G India)

Professional Marketing Manager: Neha Ahuja (P&G India)

Professional and Scientific Relations Manager: Sapna Shetty (Oral-B, P&G India)

Media Manager: Aparna Bhawal (P&G India)

Senior Account Manager: Rhea D'Souza (Corporate Voice I Weber Shandwick)

Account Supervisor: Amanda Mendonza (Corporate Voice I Weber Shandwick)

Associate Vice President: Rakesh Hinduja (Publicis Ambience India)

Business Director: Gaurav Virkar (Mediacom)

Media Purchases Director: Natasha Kapoor (Mediacom)

General Manager Operations: Domnic Fernandes (Grips Proevents)

Account Director, Client Servicing: Kiran Dodiya (Encompass Events)

Manager, Sales & Marketing: Dean Gomes (Globosport)

Business Development Manager, Asia Pacific: Tim Gingrich (Weber Shandwick)

Marketing Services Executive, Asia Pacific: Amanda Mohar (Weber Shandwick)

Marketing Services Assistant, Asia Pacific: Sarah Hou (Weber Shandwick)

Media placement: Press Release: Survey revealed: Indians neglect Oral care - Inc. DNA, Deccan Chronicale, Pioneer, Sokalbela, Bartaman, Bengal Post - 23 November 2010

Media placement: Press Release: Dentists In Association With Oral-B Launch ‘Smile India’ - Inc. Eenadu, Sakshi, Andhra Jyothy, Punjabi Tribune, Daily Salar, Dakshin Bharat - 23 November 2010

Media placement: Press Release: Oral-B Launches Smile India Movement - Inc. Rajasthan Patrika, Prabhat, Divya Bhaskar, Sandesh, Gujarat Samachar, Liber - 27 November 2010

Media placement: Press Release: Unique Smile India Campaign Launched To Improve Oral Health Of Th - Inc. Desh Pyar, Aaj - 30 November 2010

Media placement: Press Release: Prachi Desai And Juhi Chawla Join Oral-B And Dentists To Pledge C - Inc. Hindustan Times Cafe, Rashtra Sahara, Asian Age, Slasat, Nav Bharat, Shah T - 12 December 2010

Media placement: Press Release: Oral-B And Dentists Create Guinness World Record With Smile India - Inc. Eenadu, Mumbai Lakshadweep, New Age, Veekshanam, Rashtra Deepika, Trinity M - 15 December 2010

Media placement: Press Release: Awakening Movement For Prevention Of Illness - Rajasthan Patrika - 24 December 2010

Media placement: Press Release: Delhities Are Careless About Their Oral Hygiene - Nai Dunia - 24 December 2010

Media placement: Press Release: Oral-B Smile India Achieves Success With Support From 10,000 Dent - Inc. Madhyam Daily, Dainik Avantika, Indore Samachar, Daily News, Badri Vishal, - 25 December 2010

Media placement: Press Release: Movement For Oral Health - Inc. Hindustan Times - 28 December 2010



Summary of the Campaign

Worldwide, Oral-B is known as the toothbrush more dentists use, but in India, the brand did not maintain this level of visibility and was determined to close the gap on competitors. Additionally, Nielsen India’s research, commissioned by Oral-B, revealed alarming oral health standards across the country. Turning a misinformed audience of millions into educated consumers would be difficult, especially without any product launches in the immediate future. The team answered this challenge with the Smile India Movement, partnering with dentists to improve oral health nationwide and build Oral-B’s credibility in India.



At the heart of the movement was the Smile India Pledge, calling on consumers to commit to brush properly and see dentists regularly. Educational activities were held in public spaces, schools and malls, and free dental exams were made available in multiple cities.



In three months, the Smile India Movement changed the face of India. Ten million people took the Smile India Pledge, 10,000 dentists registered their support for Smile India through the Indian Dental Association, and a Guinness World Record was set. The movement not only improved oral health standards, it also raised Oral-B’s visibility and immediately increased sales by 20%, while to date, sales have increased 75%.



The Situation

Even as the world’s leading toothbrush brand and despite recent advertisements featuring dentists, Oral-B faced disproportionately low share of voice amongst Indian consumers and professionals. Competitors who focused their product lines around toothpaste rather than brushes, dominated the market’s oral healthcare sector. With no new product launches to leverage, the team decided instead to shift the topic of conversation back to the brush – reconnecting with Oral-B’s global, brush-based messages: "Trusted and used by more dentists worldwide" and "Delivers 'Healthy Confident Smiles' through 99% plaque removal."



This led to one of Oral-B’s first major PR-driven consumer engagement campaigns in India.



The Goal

The objective was to educate the audience of the importance of brushing as a key to oral health in a bid to boost Oral-B sales, raise market visibility and earn endorsements of dentists nationwide.



An Oral-B commissioned Nielsen survey revealed that 53% of Indians suffered from oral health problems. Even more alarming was the lack of awareness, with 82% believing they only needed to visit a dentist after developing a problem. The audience of urban adults and family decision makers was not simply uninformed but significantly misinformed. Raising oral health awareness would be an important step toward improving standards.



The Strategy

Recognizing that smiles are the most visible manifestation of good oral health (and the underlying basis for Oral-B's plaque-removal positioning), the team conceived the Smile India Movement. By soliciting five million Smile India Pledges – to brush properly and see dentists regularly – in three months, it would jumpstart a national brushing movement that would engage media and connect directly with consumers.



First, influential endorsements from celebrities and renowned dentists, rather than company spokespersons, would give the movement visibility and credibility while reinforcing the message that Oral-B is "trusted and used by more dentists worldwide." Second, massive public events would seek to break the existing world record of 3,300 free dental exams in a single location to amplify public outreach and newsworthiness, ensuring the movement reached Indians nationwide. Finally, high-profile media engagements would emphasize the urgent need for improving India’s oral health standards and reinforce the brand’s brush-based messages.



Execution

The campaign ran from October through December 2010, beginning with press conferences in Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai, where dentists and celebrities unveiled research findings and kicked off the Smile India Movement.



Throughout the campaign, Oral-B toothbrushes came packaged with Smile India Pledges and vouchers for free dental exams. Mall kiosks, road shows, mobile tours and radio promotions (celebrity and dentist sound bites) encouraged visitors to take the pledge and try Oral-B products, and a mobile message service helped consumers find nearby dentists.



Additionally, the team arranged for free dental exams to be conducted through support from the Indian Dental Association, and events at over 22 schools in Mumbai and Delhi reinforced that good habits begin in childhood.



The campaign culminated in a celebration announcing the total number of consumer pledges and participating dentists, and invited media interviewed celebrities who underwent check-ups on camera and extolled values of good oral health.



Documented Results

The Smile India Movement achieved nationwide success, improving oral health standards and increasing Oral-B’s market impact by positioning the company as an ally for this change.



- 10 million people took the Smile India Pledge – double expectations.



- 10,000+ dentists from the Indian Dental Association supported the campaign, conducting free exams and promoting the movement to both patients and colleagues.



- 19,904 free dental exams within 24 hours set a Guinness World Record in Coimbatore city, over six times the previous record of 3,300. This demonstrated that the campaign had truly become a movement of its own, gaining momentum beyond larger targeted cities.



- 348 media exposures – more than half in high-impact national print, digital and broadcast outlets – exceeded expectations by one-and-a-half times.



Most impressively for a PR-driven campaign, Oral-B sales have since increased by 75%, with an immediate 20% increase during the campaign, compared to the previous quarter.