Universal McCann’s landmark branded content project for Johnson & Johnson Philippines, “Botelya”, brought home a bronze for Best Use of Branded Content at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards 2009, held Tuesday night in Hong Kong.
The AME is the region’s most prestigious prize rewarding marketing effectiveness.
It is the second citation for “Botelya”, the lone entry from the Philippines to win an AME this year. The film was also shortlisted in the Festival of Media Awards in Spain.
< width="200" height="227" align="right" src="http://www.adobomagazine.com botelya-poster. " alt="" />Case Study
“Botelya” was primarily designed to educate mothers on the advocacy of infant massage or Touch Therapy. Previous experience shows that standard health education campaigns do not get great engagement with Filipino mothers. The challenge then was how teach the benefits of touch therapy, and build an emotional bond in a way that allowed mothers a sense of celebration and community.
Research indicated that Moms live week to week, or day to day. Life is hard and they also look forward to TV dramas as an escape for an hour or two each day. They live in an environment that is very community based: sharing food, entertainment and money with other Moms in the communities. The community is their family and their lifeline.
Delving into this profile, we integrated infant massage into the context of a feature film. This allowed us to communicate a health measure (which typically tests low on reach and engagement) with drama and festivals which always score high.
An involving plot (with minimal product integration)
The intricate, emotional plot involves two families across generations, a tale set in motion when a young man finds an antique green bottle of Johnson’s Baby Oil at a yard sale. Touch therapy and baby oil are key visuals, expressing the bond between mother and child. Leading Filipino actresses played the various mothers, creating interest, affinity and a sense of ‘bigness’ for the audience.
Tapping Mothers’ Awareness
‘Botelya’ was not shown commercially, but taken directly to community screenings. Banners and streamers were distributed, organizers knocked on doors to invite mothers to watch, and branded jeepneys did ‘recoridas” (recorded public announcements). On the day itself, free transport for moms and children was provided from key pick-up points. Moms were registered and care provided for children. A community official would officially open the program, followed by a talk and demonstration by a certified health worker. Only then was the movie shown.
Stroke of Success
A TNS study showed that the campaign successfully connected with Mothers to communicate the importance of Touch Therapy. A key visual from the movie is the J&J baby oil massage. Purchase intent top box score (“definitely will buy”) is almost 100%, and actual pantry check recorded all-time high.
Looking at pre-campaign versus post campaign results, there was marked improvement in frequency of daily multiple usages. Johnson’s Baby Oil’s already high brand health metrics further improved: market share increased dramatically, strengthening its hold on market leadership.
Venus Navalta, Universal McCann’s Managing Director says, “Botelya is a breakthrough campaign which mirrors the tool that Universal McCann now benefits from- Curiosity. We were curious about the behavior of our target market- the mothers. Once we learned what they want, we were curious on creating novel ways to capture their interest. With recognitions like AME, we get to relive the triumph all over again.”
