Summary
Happy Dent - Dikha Bateesi Karr Baat Achi si Gen Z wants to make the world better place and expects their brands to do so as well. Research shows that being socially responsible is a driver of loyalty. But how do you do so without abandoning who you are and why they loved you in the first place? And how do you do so when you're "just" a chewing-gum brand.
Challenge
Selling to GenZ is not as simple as building a brand on desire and aspiration alone. GenZ-ers have been at the forefront of almost all protest-movements on major issues and events. While young people leading movement is not a new phenomenon, what is different in the case of GenZ is that not only do they want to make the world around them better, they expect their brands to do so as well. India has seen great purpose driven communication like Share the Load and Jaago Re. But these were categories where linking up the product with an elevated purpose wasn't a stretch. But how could a chewing-gum do so?? And specifically, how could it do so when it is renowned for an over-the-top surreal creative device that made people laugh? That was the question that Happy Dent had to answer
Objective
An additional challenge was that by 2019, market-share had started to show some signs of stagnation and a slight dip to 14%. While not a full-blown crisis, it was a reminder that the brand was not growing as fast as it would have liked. What was a major cause of concern was that the high top-of-mind awareness. Happy Dent had once enjoyed was no longer there. It was around 22% down from the high from earlier years where it enjoyed massive saliency and near cult-like status. The objectives were •To return to growth in value and market-share •Create a campaign that was a worthy successor to the great work of the past •Improve key brand-metrics with the 15-24 years cohort
Strategy
Our insight - Our over-the-top shiny teeth creative device wasn't a liability. In fact, it was our biggest advantage for being socially responsible in the eyes of GenZ. A bright beam doesn't work in the light, it works best in the dark. The bright shiny-teeth beam was inextricably linked with the Happy Dent identity. We couldn't let it go. And now we didn't have to. We could use it as a powerful metaphor and continue to talk in a very Happy Dent way. Illuminating issues that mattered, currently dwelling in the dark. Our big strategic idea was to repurpose the beloved Happy Dent shiny-teeth beam of light. To light up issues important to GenZ-but which they themselves were ignoring.
Data
An Ipsos/Isobar survey revealed that 68% of GenZ in India wanted to be associated with brands that were socially responsible.
Solution
CAMPAIGN IDEA – Dikha Bateesi Karr Baat Achi si (flash your smile and make it right) Step 1 – Identify the right issues – Opening GenZ's eyes-by shining a powerful light in them. We wanted to cover a whole host of issues, but do it in a Happy Dent way. We covered all issues from those all around us which are so common that people don't even notice them let alone do anything about them-Garbage on the street, wasting water. We then covered issues that had higher social stakes in them. Step 2 – Propagate the new shift – We kicked it off with an issue that no one can disagree with-issues concerning women. To begin with we chose one that was seemingly ‘small'-men refusing to get up from the ladies' seat in buses, a common occurrence that everyone typically ignores. A new TV spot was built around that. Step 3 Discuss the issues – Like Gen Z, we used the teen vocabulary of gifs and emojis to spread awareness. Shareable digital posts were made in which Happy Dent teeth were literally shining a light on issues. A WhatsApp integration created a new Happy Dent teeth emoji. Like this-:D, but with light shining through.
Results
1) Saw a 15.2% market share growth compared to 14.1% pre campaign. This represented the sharpest increase in market share in a given fiscal year following a single campaign since 2008. This is significant because this gain of market share took place in a pandemic year and because a single campaign has never led to such a sharp increase in well over a decade. 2) Saw a 7 percent growth in the top of the mind score from January 2020 to December 2020. The campaign managed to take the already high score of 81 on this attribute to 86. This proved that adding purpose to a brand doesn't necessarily distract consumers from the core attribute. In fact, it can strengthen it. Key cohort perception of "how stylish and cool" Happy Dent is went up sharply from 60 to 81 between January and December 2020. Proving that purpose can be cool. 3) 2020 value growth represented a 30% increase 2019. This is significant because 2019 was the pre covid year when all was well. To grow 30% over it in a lockdown year is significant. Moreover, the growth was significantly higher than the category itself. 4) Between April 2020 (start of lockdown) to the end of the year, Happy Dent kept adding new dealers. The figure went up from 935 in April 2020 to 1044 in December 2020. This is significant because small retailers are a good barometer of demand. Since they have limited shelf space, they prefer to stock brands that move quickly. Most significantly, Happy Dent reached its highest ever number of dealers during the pandemic.
