News: Young people ‘get the smile’ with Colgate

Colgate-Palmolive is running an integrated campaign across a range of media, including experiential, digital and door-drop, to launch a variant in its Colgate Max toothpaste range.

Agency Billington Cartmell has created activity around the theme “Get the smile” to promote the new product which contains white micro-crystals that improve whiteness.

It is launched this month (July) as a sister brand to Colgate Max Fresh which Colgate-Palmolive launched last year, proving popular with younger people.

The new integrated campaign is aimed primarily at people aged 18 to 25 and is “rooted in the strategic insight that using Colgate Max White has both a functional and emotional benefit, helping with self-expression and building confidence”.

Billington Cartmell has planned a campaign that “taps into relevant touchpoints linked to key occasions where self-expression is paramount”.

The campaign started with a roadshow that toured 20 of the UK’s biggest student unions last month. The Colgate Max White Zone aimed to capture the attention of students who were just finishing exams and enjoying their last few weeks before heading home for the summer.

The six-metre-wide inflatable structure also made an appearance at seven university summer balls. The interior featured glittery inflatable chairs, a chill-out area, Nintendo Wii games, a photo wall where students could vote for the best Colgate Max White Smile, with style and fashion consultants on hand to offer advice to male and female students.

The live marketing drive continues throughout July and August with six “Max White Nights” across the country organised in conjunction with the Ministry of Sound’s music label Hed Kandi. With Ked Kandi headlining, each night will feature special white and glittery attractions, with one trip for two to the Ibiza closing weekend party as a prize at each of the six evenings.

The above-the-line advertising, involving six-sheet posters in cinemas, shopping centres and bars, is being planned and bought through Mediaedge:CIA. It will run throughout the summer featuring the “Get The Smile” line and images of a young couple with their smiles reflected in each other’s sunglasses.

At the same time, there will be heavy online advertising, including a specially-created microsite, www.getthesmile.co.uk, and product placement on the social networking site Bebo, where Colgate Max White has established a partnership with the series, The Gap Year, which started in May.

There will also be point-of-sale shopper activity in key retail outlets, with additional tailor-made, text-to-win competitions in Boots and Superdrug, involving prizes such as the new Apple MacBook Air and Samsung i8 camera and media player, which are used by young people to network with each other.

In September, Billington Cartmell will follow the initial launch campaign with a national door-drop campaign aimed at mothers with children aged over 16 still living at home. The drive will reassure mothers that Colgate Max White safely restores the natural whiteness of teeth, while communicating the essential “cool and engaging” brand values that are important to the core target.

Billington Cartmell account director Mark Sinfield said: “In planning any campaign aimed at a younger target market, it is vital to get the language, imagery and choice of media exactly right. That is why we invested enormous effort in ensuring that we understood the way this target audience expresses themselves and could tap into those touchpoints to communicate our ‘Get The Smile’ message.”