Head & Shoulders (H&S) is the world’s best selling anti-dandruff shampoo and market leader in Taiwan. In February, CLEAR, a major competitor, introduced a competing product followed by an island-wide promotion that quickly captured the public and media’s attention
P&G’s research revealed that CLEAR seized market share from H&S, especially the key men’s segment. To regain market share and reinforce its prominence, a PR campaign was introduced, entitled “To be MVP. To be Shi-li-Pai”, (Definition: MVP = Most Valuable Player; Genuine Strength = Shi-li-Pai), which can be interpreted as “To be an MVP requires genuine strength”, thus echoing H&S’s campaign slogan
Planning & Execution
Proposed collaboration with the Taiwan Super Basketball League (SBL) to capture the interest of male customers
– Professional basketball imparts athleticism, masculinity and healthy competition. The meteoric rise of NBA star, Jeremy Lin has raised awareness of basketball, allowing the target audience to quickly draw associations between SBL, “Shi-li-Pai” and H&S
– H&S is the first and only product of its kind to be co-branded with SBL
– Leverage the popularity of SBL MVP players, Sean Chen and Garnett Tien, to further highlight “Shi-li-Pai” among the target audience
Implemented communications campaign to convey H&S’s “To Win MVP. To be Shi-li-Pai” message
– Print and digital media members were invited to the photoshoot and video production of Chen and Tien
– Through social media, specifically the Facebook accounts of Chen, Tien and their teams, frequent updates about the campaign were posted
– Introduced celebrities and charitable organisation partners during PR activities with the two MVPs, thereby broaden coverage from sports to entertainment and charity sections
Organised PR and marketing activities to enhance brand recognition and encourage H&S use
– A media conference held at the most popular shopping district in Taipei attracted significant public involvement
– SWAP Campaign – Consumer were encouraged to exchange empty shampoo bottles for a 400ml bottle of H&S. Also, free enrolments in the Basketball Challenge Game were arranged where participants could challenge the two SBL MVPs, who epitomised “Shi-li-Pai”
– SBL ticket redemption scheme offered through the purchase of H&S at local hypermarkets
– Chen and Tien coached and played basketball with children from “Taiwan Fund for Children and Families”
– Encouraged interaction during the half time of SBL games by incorporating the theme, “To Win MVP. To be Shi-li-Pai” with games played with audiences
– Distributed free samples and offered H&S redemptions for participants of H&S PR and consumer activities
Effectiveness / Results
– Over 20,000 Google search results were generated in less than two months, with many people typing “H&S SBL”, thus implying that the association between H&S and SBL was made
– Generated 522 media reports in Taiwan and China, and the campaign theme “H&S To Win MVP. To be Shi-li-Pai” was mentioned in 352 news clippings within two months
– More than 4,500 participants attended H&S “To Win MVP. To be Shi-li-Pai” consumer activities
– Reached 1,200,000 followers through social media; subsequently, 62,680 “Like” and 1,228 “Share” were registered on Facebook within two months
– PR value of approximately US$1 million or ROI of 26 folds achieved
– Over 100,000 samples were distributed during the campaign