Comfort fabric softener has been the market leader in Vietnam for the last decade, but its main competitor Downy had started encroach on Comfort's territoriy with the introduction of a new product variant. Comfort was also losing market share to Downy at the supermarket, a key distribution point. In order to combat the threat from Downy, in April 2010 Comfort introduced a revitalised product.
A new product innovation considerably enhanced the freshness properties of fabrics. In the new formulation, more than 20 million perfume capsules were deposited on fabric during the wash. These capsules burst when the fabric moved, releasing a continual fresh scent. Comfort needed to communicate this long lasting freshness to consumers as the primary brand benefit. This message had been a key component in softener TVCs and product demos for many years, but Comfort had yet to strongly own this key benefit. Its objective was to engage the target audience (housewives, the primary purchase decision-makers) and give them an appealing way to interact with the brand at supermarkets.
In recent years, supermarkets in Vietnam have begun to attract large numbers of shoppers because of the high quality of goods and frequent sales promotions on offer. In Ho Chi Mehn City, supermarkets are particularly busy at weekends, attracting many upper to middle-income consumers. The main consumer insight that influenced Comfort's strategy was that Vietnamese housewives pride themselves on being modern and open to new technology. They are also discriminating shoppers. They prefer to rely on brands they feel comfortable with, and brands that they know their families like. They are often reluctant to try a new product.
Comfort's strategy was designed to excite this shrewd consumer so that she would be receptive to learning about Comfort's product innovation at the point-of-purchase. Comfort decided that augmented reality technology (AR) would be used to demonstrate the key product benefit: the burst of freshness, as customers passed our display. They would see themselves interacting with the product and with Andy, the brand mascot. Bringing AR into the key distribution point provided a platform to bring vividly demonstrate the burst of long lasting freshness, thus giving the TA the motivation to try the revitalized product.
For two weeks, at the five largest supermarkets (Lotte District 7, Lotte Phu Tho, Coopmart Ly Thuong Kiet, Big C An Lac, Big C Phu Thanh) in HCMC, shoppers were intrigued and engaged by an Augmented Reality (AR) execution. AR allowed them to experience the key benefit of the product. Shoppers passing the Comfort display zone acted as the trigger for the software, which then combined the person into the 3D image on the 100-inch output display. Their images appeared on the screen with illustrated flowers and fragrance bubbles blooming from their clothing as they moved. Andy, Comfort's mascot, would randomly walk into the screen, interact and take photos of consumers. The AR screen was equipped with a face-detector that automatically took photos. Promotional girls collected the information of the participants, and photos were emailed to them. The AR activation immediately grabbed the attention of consumers passing by. This gave the promotional girls the opportunity to demonstrate the product and speak to the consumer about its benefits. This was the first time that Augmented Reality was applied in large scale for a homecare product in Vietnam.
Results
All key objectives of the one-month campaign were achieved, and surpassed. The results include a 33% growth in volume sales of Comfort from the previous month in all stores that participated in the AR activation.
In Big C (one of the leading supermarkets), Comfort's market share improved from 36% to 41% versus the previous month.
Comfort's score on the key attribute "Gives a long lasting freshness" increased from 76% to 82% following the campaign (Source: TNS Market survey).
93,700 people actively interacted with the screen, based on data generated from the face-detection program, above the average Unilever Vietnam supermarket activation participation of 20,000 people in the past.