Insight
It is a fact that chewing gum in Lebanon is highly associated with eat state. Some pursue it for the fun of it and others for ensuring fresh breath before a meeting or close interaction with someone. Clorets has always anchored the fresh breath state and has become the chewing gum that provides confidence from the slogan “Fresh Breath every day, everywhere." It has grown to become the second biggest gum brand in the Lebanese market and the optimal breath freshener after tapping on its functional benefits through all communications. However, this growth started to slow down, especially after the gum category faced a hit in its general growth in the market.
The problem was that Clorets was very much a functional brand, and was perceived as customary, not bringing anything new or innovative.
The solution was to revitalize the brand and make it young and hip again. People wanted something new, so Starcom MediaVest introduced a new variant that wasn’t mint or the more common cinnamon flavoured - they gave them Cinnamint.
Strategy
One sure thing that builds affinity with a brand is when consumers are able to relate their own life experiences to the brand’s story, and more so when a consumer is able to personify the brand.
Cinnamint is the marriage between Cinnamon and Mint. They say all couples should learn the art of battle before they learn the art of love - couples relate to this in their daily lives. Men and women speak different languages. Women are usually more drawn to the romance of a relationship while men more to the practical side of it.
Starcom MediaVest brought this insight to life. They personalized the brand by making the new Cinnamint flavor characters that symbolized a male and a female: Orfa and Na3na3. The agency portrayed the differences in a humorous and light manner; men are always more attracted to football and gaming rather than romance and shopping - something that every couple could relate to.
And they didn’t stop there: what if people could really be Orfa and Na3na3?
Execution
Starcom MediaVest wanted to use media to depict this marriage of flavors and especially the relationship between them.
The agency wanted everyone to embrace cinnamon and mint’s story with their own life experiences, and so the “create a dialogue between Orfa and Na3na3” campaign began.
Two insights about their target’s media consumption was critical in executing the big idea. One is that young couples are always online, and second is that they have no problem expressing themselves on social media.
It all started with a Facebook application giving consumers a chance to create and demonstrate their own conversations between the two characters, and the different amusing glitches they might encounter based on their real life experiences.
To expand the reach and build more relevance, Starcom MediaVest launched a TV campaign with three different copies showing three different scenarios of the couple. They also stepped out of the screens and spoke to their targets via a simultaneous Out of Home campaign. Using billboards, the agency showed them the new product merge, and through LED screens reminded them with the scenarios. The Cinnamint branding was everywhere. The agency even took it to modern trade to remind people when shopping about the amazing experience. From offline and online to on ground, Starcom MediaVest spread the word and reached their audience to make them feel part of the campaign and build a strong affiliation with Clorets Cinnamint.
Results
In less than 6 month post the launch, Clorets new launch was able to exceed set KPIs on both levels:
- Sales Volume and Value: more than 40,000 DC packs were sold by June and a total value of $900,000 was achieved. More than 156% of the target was achieved on sales level with a specific value share of 3.3% of Cinamint driving the total Value share of Clorets from 19% to 20.9% in less than 6 months
- Numeric Distribution: Although ND was set to reach 35%, before the end of August 2014, it reached 52.4% exceeding KPIs by 17.2%
- The digital application that was launched acquired 330 submissions with a total of 2,900 unique app visitors and 2,930 cumulative votes
- The launch of Cinamint did not have any negative effect on the original Clorets or the Original Mint. On the contrary, the introduction of the new SKU drove the whole brand up by around 3% in value share to reach 20.2% in JJ2014