GSK: ISO3D

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Live Events, Stunts and or Celebrity Endorsement

Advertiser: GSK CANADA

Product/Service: SENSODYNE ISO ACTIVE

Executive Creative Director: Carl Jones (Grey Canada)

Copywriter: Neal Khosla (Grey Canada)

Art Director: Liz Donnelly (Grey Canada)

Agency Producer: Ryan Bourret (Grey Canada)

Projection: (The Media Merchants)

Audio: (Silent Joe)

Animation house: (Tantrum)

Public Relations: Alice (Keith)

Media placement: Facebook Event - Facebook - September 15, 2010

Media placement: 6 Page Newspaper Spread - Metro Newspaper (Toronto) - September 24th, 2010

Media placement: 3D Projection - Union Station Toronto - Nuit Blanche - October 1st, 2010



Summary of the Campaign

When Sensodyne iso-active launched the key challenge was to connect and engage with a younger target market who thought of Sensodyne as an ‘old’ brand that didn’t clean as well as regular toothpastes. The campaign objective was to communicate the cleaning ability of Sensodyne iso-active while modernizing the brand, making it relevant to a younger audience. The strategy was to create an energetic visual mnemonic representing 'clean' that interacted with the target in new and innovative ways while PR fostered and facilitated the discussion necessary to build relevance and excitement around the brand. We started with an energetic weaving foam visual that cleaned everything in sight that moved through a variety of media. The campaign ended with the hijacking of an outdoor art event to showcase the weaving foam mnemonic with an innovative wall mapping projection. PR for the event was not only responsible for drawing the large crowds that night, but also for the explosion of press and coverage it received after. Sensodyne sales soared in the months after and impression numbers kept climbing proving that Sensodyne had broken free of their stodgy image and that a younger audience was indeed turning to Sensodyne iso-active for its cleaning ability.



The Situation

The campaign was run for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Canada, a global pharmaceutical and consumer brand company. Limited growth potential within an older target market required moving towards attracting a younger target market. PR was invaluable due to the fact that young, media savvy target was highly skeptical and attuned to branding efforts and was more likely to respond to a more ‘grassroots’ approach using social media and innovative forms of communication. Hijacking the all night art event also meant that efforts to promote it would have to be taken ‘underground’ to avoid giving away the surprise.



The Goal

The campaign goal was to modernize the brand and drive trial and awareness of Sensodyne iso-active. The target audience was 25-35 year old male and female sensitivity sufferers who switch between Sensodyne for sensitivity relief and then a regular toothpaste for their general cleaning needs. Criteria for success was the percentage increase in product sales and the amount of buzz generated surrounding the brand measured by total impressions. This market currently feels Sensodyne is more their parents brand (old fashioned) and that its cleaning ability is inferior to that of a regular toothpaste.



The Strategy

The communication strategy for iso3D was two-fold. Pre-event, the aim was to build up excitement, driving as much attendance as possible. This was accomplished by creating event pages on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare where people could invite friends, post comments and get information. The second phase, post-event, involved spreading the word about iso3D by seeding advertising and influential blogs with video of the event and issuing a press release.



Execution

Two weeks before Nuit Blanche we created a Facebook event invitation serving as an online information hub. One week prior to the event we reached out to bloggers, radio contacts, digital and newspaper media and pitched iso3D as the big Nuit Blanche event no one knows about. We then reached out to influential Twitter users (5,000+ followers) promoting the #iso3D Hashtag. Next, we seeded Foursquare with a tip about the event location and created a check-in for “iso3D” (to promote iso3D during Nuit Blanche). During Nuit Blanche, we tweeted about the event in conjunction with the #snbTO hashtag to get broadcasted on Twitter projections throughout the city on building walls.



Documented Results

Leading up to the event iso3D was voted third most popular tip on Foursquare. Over 80% of the people who RSVP’d on Facebook engaged with other content on the page, dramatically beating the Facebook average. In addition, a targeted Toronto area Facebook ad campaign resulted in 3.2 million impressions.



People who watched iso3D live and through digital media in the days immediately following the event totaled 6.3 million impressions. In the months following the projection Sensodyne iso-active experienced a 58% jump in sales to consumer. As evidence of changing consumer awareness and attitudes, Sensodyne iso-active was also named ‘Best New Product’ by Canadian Living and received a ‘Most Trusted Brand’ honour in a Reader’s Digest consumer survey.



The joint creative and PR campaign were responsible for a substantial increase in both sales and awareness for Sensodyne iso-active.