2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

OMO was behind on a key brand attribute in the Middle East: stain removal. On the other hand, consumers were immune to the sea of ‘stain-removal-effectiveness’ claims by laundry detergents, skeptical about before-and-after demos, and unwelcoming to samples in the supermarket . We needed a solution to prove OMO’s stain-removal-effectiveness. The OMO Tag allowed consumers to witness, first-hand, the stain-removal-effectiveness of OMO through a surprising and immersive experience. We secretly made it to their washer and put them in charge of the sampling. The new-to-category sampling technique won the hearts of consumers and translated into real business results.

Background

OMO claim “dirt is good”, that advocates for kids’ active lives, won the hearts of consumers. But couldn’t translate into business. OMO was behind on a key brand attribute in the Middle East: stain removal.(1) Lagging behind on ‘stain removal’ despite it being at the heart of OMO claim was puzzling. But understandable. Consumers were bombarded by a sea of “annoying” supermarket sampling(2). Same with clichéd before-and-after demos - where worn-out rags go into a soap bucket and come out blindingly white. Hence, consumers grew skeptical and immune to claims of effective-stain-removal. We were no different. Worse, the media pockets of competition bullied us out. We needed to catch the attention of consumers, with another ‘effective-stain-removal’ message. But our hands were tied. Neither a claim, nor a demo, nor a sampling would do. (1) Nielsen “The dirt on cleaning,” 2018 (2) Business Know-how-research “7 Things customers dislike about salespeople,” 2016

Describe the creative idea.

We discreetly surprised consumers with an unexpected personal live demo, on their own garments, in their own machine. We moved away from supermarkets, and took our product to people’s clothes, before they go out and get dirty. We disrupted sampling and created a new medium: the OMO tag. Like the tag you’ll find on all new clothes, but made entirely out of OMO detergent and 100% water-soluble. To reassert our cause of advocating for an active lifestyle, we partnered with Lebanon’s biggest sports’ shop. Placed the tags on the types of clothes that get dirtiest. Consumers had to simply remove the tag and put it inside their washing machines. Enough detergent to wash up to three garments – knowing moms normally wash the very dirty sports garments separately. This enabled moms to personally test the detergent and witness the superiority of OMO stain-removing power.

Describe the strategy.

Young mothers are more empowered than ever. But while they are a strong workforce, they still keep their traditional gender roles(1). Hence, have more responsibilities and less time for experimentation. They stick to their preferred choices(2). No claim can change their mind. Skeptical, they want actions that speak louder than words. 78% want to try a product before purchasing(3). But how do we get them to try a product despite them turning a deaf ear? Sampling? of course. But no. Turned out consumers hate being interrupted by “annoying” salespeople (especially for detergent), while trying to get out of the busy store with their sanity intact(4). And who can blame them? The strategy boiled down to one question: how can we discreetly make it to their washer? (1) Reuters, 2016 (2) Marketing Week, 2018 (3) EMI Event Track survey, 2015 (4) Business Know-how-research “7 Things customers dislike about salespeople,” 2016

Describe the execution

We didn't want to ‘annoy’ moms in the supermarket, we wanted to be part of something they love. We looked for a place that helps our advocacy for active lives, where mums enjoy shopping, and where we could demonstrate OMO effective-stain-removal on clothes that get super-dirty. Partnering with Sports 4ever, we placed 5000 OMO tags on Jerseys of popular players, meant for kids and teenagers. Extending our idea of active life to not just kids, but young people too. Each tag displayed OMO tagline ‘Dirt is good.’ And just like that, we got samples into consumers’ hands, before they knew. To show how the tag works, we created a demonstration video shared on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. We then turned in-store mums’ reaction to the tag into a genuine entertaining online film. Ending with that an era of boring sampling and starting a new authentic and amusing one.

List the results.

In two weeks: Brand Engagement: 5000 consumers experienced, first-hand, OMO effective-stain-removal. And it got people talking, OMO’s online mentions grew 71%.(1) Brand Love: Fans grew 50% on Instagram, 20% on Facebook, and 18% on twitter. OMO’s positive online-sentiment grew 45%, and the negative cut to half.(1) “This is really cool” and “I will never forget OMO” were verbatims shared in-store.(2) Business: 93% of consumers exposed to the tag, mentioned a positive intention to buy OMO next.(2) Campaign Popularity: OMO Tag broke Lebanon’s walls and got international talk-ability. Esteemed media like Adage, Ads-of-the-world, Executive, Marketeer, Adforum, commended the work and rose OMO’s effective-stain-removal reputation. Industry: Unilever is taking OMO Tag innovation to 4 other markets in the coming year. More tags are being printed as you read. 3 other outlets asked to have the sampling in their stores, to boost their own awareness. (1) Crimson Hexagon, February 2019 (2) In-store survey