2015 Asia-Pacific Gold Winner - MSLGROUP China
Company: MSLGROUP China, Shanghai, China
Category: Communications/PR - Campaign: Marketing - Consumer Products
Entry Title: Launch of P&G Whisper's Infinity in China
GENESIS
P&G Whisper had developed Infinity, the world’s first sanitary pad made with revolutionary FlexFoam technology, and wanted to launch it in China. Yet, Chinese women do not like discussing publicly which sanitary pads they use: it is a very private and personal matter. Furthermore, Infinity is significantly more expensive than regular pads on the market.
MSLGROUP was tasked to:
- Launch Infinity in China
- Increase product awareness among target audiences
- Drives sales
DEVELOPMENT
Our target audience are 1+ women living in Tier 1 Chinese cities. They are well-educated, independent, exercise enthusiasts, and willing to pay more for a better quality of life. They are also some of the most wired in the world: in an agency global study, over 70 percent turn to social media to stay informed about current events. Social media plays a strong role in building relationships and staying connected for Chinese women.
Based on the insight that our women are high-achievers and are willing to spend more for superior products, we leveraged running – one of the most popular sports in China – as a torture test to establish product superiority. In this way, we could appeal to their success-oriented mindset and position Infinity as a lifestyle choice that women with higher aspirations would make.
The strategies:
- Position Infinity as a lifestyle choice for women with higher aspirations and appeal to active women who pursue a life with infinite possibilities
- Give women the reason to believe by creating social content around influencers whom Chinese women aspire to and professional and popular opinions from authoritative doctors and experts, and high ratings and positive reviews on e-commerce sites
- Strong tie-ins with ecommerce platforms throughout the campaign to direct consumers to purchase
PERFORMANCE
As the lead agency, MSLGROUP collaborated with Social Touch to execute the key elements in the one-month integrated consumer campaign:
a. Create social media buzz through engaging viral content
Social listening researched revealed that our target women are brand-conscience and follow fashion-related topics. Created a series of viral content to position Infinity as the most luxurious pad in the market. As Infinity is imported from Canada, we strengthened credibility by introducing the high ratings and positive reviews of Infinity on Amazon US to Chinese consumers.
b. Build credibility through various KOL endorsement and demonstrate product superiority
Enlisted the following influencers for endorsement:
- Wang Xiao, Founder of a nationwide women club, Chenzao and Chief Editor of Cosmopolitan;
- Zhang Yu, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Peking Union Medical College Hospital;
- Whisper R&D/innovation experts
Created a WeChat HTML5 mini-site where consumers could experience product features via augmented reality.
PR event to raise Infinity’s awareness and thoroughly demonstrate product superiority with attendance from over 150+ journalists, KOLs, and true consumers.
c. Partner with leading online shopping site, Yihaodian.com, to push sales
d. Kicked off the consumer activation campaign Whisper Running Sisters in Shanghai. Close to 100 female runners ran across town on the day of the event, led by well-known woman entrepreneur and Chief Editor of Cosmopolitan Wang Xiao. For two weeks, more than 60 running clubs across China ran for Infinity.
RESULTS
Engaged consumers:
• More than 60 running events held in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen
Social media buzz:
• 4 million visitors went to the H5 mini-site, where 30,000+ packs were sold on WeChat in just 2 days
• Extensive exposure in 2 weeks’ time: Weibo: 12,924,053 viewers + 17,135 engagement; WeChat: 1,846,310 viewers + 366,375 engagement;
• 5,974,000 views on Weibo with campaign hashtag
Media results:
• Outstanding media coverage: 5.217 million+ exposure
• Ad value: 424,823 USD
This campaign was recognized by leading business publication CBN Weekly for its creativity and effectiveness, garnering Jasmine Xu, GM of P&G Fem Care a spot among China’s 50 top marketing innovators.