Shampoos must be the most fast moving consumer goods in the hair care category. In the plethora of shampoos displayed at the stores, these products are always vying for your attention, lest you pick up something else. Which one can get my hair straighter, stronger or silkier? Can it do more than just wash my hair? Which is my perfect fit? These questions and the inherent nature of humans to experience the new, has led to an adventurous marketing technique for shampoos and other hair care products.
Given the two-way communication mode of social media, the medium lends itself beautifully to co-creating stories with target consumers. And social media marketers have been harnessing this to promote shampoos, by weaving a unique story around each on social media.
Here we share some creatively carved social media promotions for shampoos that promised to heal your damaged hair, straighten it with a wash or just prevent it from falling or ending in split ends, however, these qualities are just a part of the bigger story.
1. Sunsilk creates a virtual interactive hair studio on YouTube
Sunsilk was out with its latest range of products under Keratinology that promised salon-style treatment for hair, while sitting in the comforts of your home. For this, Sunsilk created a complete salon on YouTube which was equipped with the best salon style treatment videos and also recommended products for your hair.
Actress Malaika Arora Khan introduces you to the Keratinology range and takes you around the virtual studio. You can enter your name and upload a picture and choose from the various treatments available to get a virtual makeover!
Additionally, there are two more sections: ‘Sunsilk style diaries’ that is an interesting take with the story of Tanu and Jia and the hairstyles they come up with for various occasions, and ’24×7 Expert advice’ that has the brand’s hair experts mete out expert advice.
The trio of interactive design, useful videos and hair care advice formed an innovative story by Sunsilk.
2. Sunsilk sources experimental ideas for straight hair
For the new Sunsilk Perfect Straight, the brand ran a two-phased campaign involving bloggers and the Facebook community with the idea of sourcing crazy hair straightening ideas, before introducing the new product. A few months earlier to the product launch, Sunsilk launched a blogging contest inviting bloggers to share their craziest, wackiest and wildest experimental idea to get perfect straight hair. Simultaneously, a Facebook contest also invited crazy ideas for straight hair, without revealing the new product.
The product was introduced much later as the right solution to all their crazy experiments to maintain straight hair.
Sunsilk ran a blogging contest again where one could avail free samples, try the product and then blog their experiences. Additionally, the YouTube brand channel that featured Tanu and Jia’s stories with hair took a whole new turn. One could interact with them while they both challenged each other at whose hair stayed perfectly straight despite various physical activities like doing the hula-hoop a 100 times to camping and playing football.
The interactive storytelling on YouTube coupled with co-creating straight hair stories with bloggers has helped promote Sunsilk Perfect Straight on social media.
3. The Dove hair fall rescue diary written by real women
Dove, known for its promotional campaigns around every day women, had launched its new hair fall treatment product by having real women sharing their experiences with the product through videos and blog posts, in the Dove Hair Fall Rescue Diary.
The brand created an extensive campaign with real women sharing their hair fall stories and how the new product rescued them. A YouTube channel designed like a diary featured real women from varied backgrounds like fashion bloggers, travel bloggers, make-up artists, among others, sharing their hair fall rescue stories with Dove. It also featured a link to buy the product online.
The channel also led to a Facebook app, again designed like a diary. The Secret Diaries app featured more information about hairfall and the product, apart from being similar to the YouTube channel.
Creating a secret diary to reveal the product as a solution and featuring real women sharing their hair fall rescue secrets are the two pillars supporting this campaign.
4. Beautiful braids’ stories for Dove Split End rescue shampoo
For the new ‘Dove split end rescue shampoo’, the beauty brand launched an exciting blogging contest that asked bloggers to share a story about the beautiful braids they had once upon a time and how they got beautiful ends to their braids once again. The platform also provided samples to try, prior to the contest.
The blogging contest required bloggers to provide a linkback to the Dove Facebook page that had more in store involving ‘split ends’. A Facebook application ‘Never split ever’ was created where one could send friendship postcards to her friends!
All in all, the idea of promoting the shampoo around beautiful braids and friendship forever is what stands out in this campaign.
5. TRESemmé creates a virtual hair salon on YouTube
TRESemmé wanted to emphasize its products through a ‘ramp ready experience’ for its consumers. Like Sunsilk, the brand also launched an interactive salon through its YouTube channel hosted by actress and brand ambassador Diana Penty. The virtual salon features DIY videos that take a step-by-step approach for the featured ramp ready hairstyles.
You can get an access card and an exclusive backstage entry. You can then create your own ramp show by selecting at least 3 hairstyles, learn about the shampoos by selecting your hair type and then actually go through the DIY videos for each of the hairstyles you have chosen.
The YouTube channel was also promoted through a blogging contest, where bloggers could try out the ramp ready hairstyles and blog about their experiences.
The interactive salon, sharing DIY hairstyle tutorials and the blogging contest ensured TRESemmé to associate with ‘ramp ready hair’.
6. Garnier Fructis asks fans to apologise to their hair
For the ‘Goodbye Damage’ range that claims to repair a year of damage in 3 washes, Garnier Fructis embarked on a creative approach on social media. The brand asked fans to ‘apologize’ to their hair for all the damage caused due to the sun, dust and pollution, before eventually introducing them to the new range.
The Facebook page shared ‘I am sorry’ updates much to the curiosity of the fans, who were also asked what colour represented ‘making it up’. A few updates later, the new product range was unveiled as a solution. The engagement was extended by asking fans to upload anything that is orange in colour, so as to keep up with the colour of the new range.
Conversations were extended onto the 140 character social network Twitter too. With hahstags like #SayGoodbyeTo and #GoodbyeDamage, the brand connected with Twitter users, emphasizing upon saying good bye to the things they did not like and connecting with the repair aspect of the product.
Creative message pushing by getting fans to apologise to their hair and an emphasis on goodbye to damaged hair serves for a good brand recall.
7. L’Oreal Paris India lets you connect with your roots
Based on the philosophy that real strength of people comes from their ‘roots’, L’Oreal Paris India launched the ‘Stay Rooted’ campaign for its new hair fall repair shampoo that works to get you stronger roots. As part of this initiative, consumers were encouraged to connect with their roots by taking the time out to thank and appreciate the people, things and places that have influenced them in their past.
The brand created a film ‘Go back in time’ with people from different walks of life thanking someone special in their lives.
On Facebook, fans were asked to thank that special someone in their lives and also share a picture with them, giving reasons as to why they want to thank that person who helps them stay rooted. Besides, Twitter users were asked to watch the film and tweet with #MadeMeWhoIAm.
The emphasis on staying rooted and connecting with the roots that have made you, is an innovative way to promote a hair fall repair shampoo.
The above approaches indicate a promotion strategy that does not talk about the product benefits directly, but cleverly emphasizes on the main aspect of the shampoo or the hair care product, by weaving in stories around them. Brands are not only getting creative but they are also letting their fans be creative in the process of co-creation. Blogger contests, DIY video tutorials, interactive YouTube channels and storytelling have become the norm for social media marketing.
Slider image courtesy: Ecohustler.co.uk
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