Page 72 - Open Soource Technologies 304.indd

Unit 5: PHP

Notes
Not surprisingly, Colgate turned to social media to help it launch a multi-pronged campaign.
But who wants to “friend” or follow a disposable toothbrush on Facebook? Colgate and
Big Fuel tackled the challenge by conducting a lot of research. Big Fuel worked up several
creative strategies and testing the concepts. “We wanted to know, what does this product
represent or mean to the audience?” Savar said.
Typically, Colgate talks to moms, but with Wisp, the marketer knew it needed unique social
media components to introduce the product and seed interest. Big Fuel worked closely with
Y&R and VML, Colgate’s creative and digital agencies respectively on the TV campaign,
microsite, online banners and social media elements.

Strategy

Big Fuel came up with a “Be More Kissable” creative platform that positioned Colgate
Wisp as a kind of technology advancement that it believed would connect with the target
audience. The idea centered around self-confidence: “Everyone wants to be more kissable
not just within the context of a physical kiss, but all the time. Feeling kissable is about
feeling confident. From a social media standpoint, we thought it was a good platform,”
Savar explained. Colgate thought so too.

The concept, one of four that Big Fuel developed, was tested in four different markets. The
linchpin involved creating irreverent online video content and syndicating it on YouTube
and other video-sharing hubs. Along with a strategy focus on online video, Colgate Wisp
developed a Facebook application and a Be the Face of Wisp photo contest.

At the heart of the strategy—online video. Big Fuel developed a series of viral videos, partnering
with eight different publishers including CollegeHumor and YourTango and Web celebrities
like Kip Kay, known for his how-to and prank videos, to syndicate the content. It released
eight wacky videos targeting niche interests among the target audience, contextually integrating
Colgate Wisp into how-to, comedy and talkshow-genre video content. The goal was to achieve
a seamless content integration with no heavy brand sell. Online video syndication offered
Colgate the potential to scale its vast consumer target.

The photo contest sought to identify the most kissable person in America: Participants who
entered the contest uploaded a photo to colgatewisp.com and received a widget that enabled
friends to vote for them. The widget was shared via the Facebook and MySpace networks
and via the microsite. “It was like a syndicated version of ‘Are you hot or not?’, Savar said.

Big Fuel turned the contest into a social experience by enabling the widget to syndicate the
photo content. Participants uploaded their photo, chose a specific Wisp color and placed it
in the photo as an overlay. The contest enabled segmentation by geographic area as well.
For example, when a man entered the contest, he could choose to look only at women in
Chicago who entered the contest and decide whether they were kissable or not. On average,
Big Fuel reports that there were 11 votes cast per person or one individual voting on
11 different people.

To drive brand engagement further, Big Fuel created a Facebook app called Spin the Wisp.
Once the app was installed, it had the names of the consumer’s Facebook friends. Consumers
could have the app randomly pick Facebook friends for the game or they could handpick
Contd...

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 67