DOMESTOS UNILEVER

CASE STUDY SUMMARY:

Context:

The brief was to launch Domestos - named Vim in Vietnam - a germ-kill toilet bleach in Vietnam, where the toilet cleaning category was nonexistent. Most households didn’t see the need to use a toilet cleaner. The only thing that people were looking for was a clean-looking toilet, a job for which plain water was good enough.  

Problem:

Domestos/Vim is a toilet cleaner built to kill invisible germs. Since people didn’t believe in the need to kill something they couldn’t see - toilet germs - and which was the brand’s only strength - we had to create something else that would make people stop and realize that they needed proper toilet hygiene habits. 

Strategy:

We discovered that one issue united all Vietnamese people: their children’s education and future. Yet across the country, appalling public-school toilets were putting that future at risk — undermining dignity and academic success. So we decided to act. We shone a spotlight on the sanitation crisis and launched a bold mission: build 100 new school toilets in just 4 weeks. But we didn’t stop there — we asked parents and communities to donate, because when people pay for education, they pay attention. ‘Commitment bias’: a behavioral principle showing that commitment boosts attention and motivation.

Creative work:

We installed a live digital billboard in one of Ho Chi Minh City's busiest areas, displaying real-time donations, and launched a nationwide digital and PR campaign urging Vietnamese families to contribute to better school sanitation.

Results:

• With one billboard in Ho Chi Minh City, we reached 80% of the nation. 

• We raised enough money to build 350 toilets instead of our target of 100.

• Thousands of students organized a march in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City in the name of clean toilets in school for all. 

• VTV - Vietnam’s largest TV channel - broadcast a 6-minute segment covering our campaign. And every leading media publication followed the march and the issue of clean toilets in school in Vietnam. 

• We generated US$225k worth of free media against US$50k of paid media.   

Awards:

• This digital CSR campaign won two Gold at the 2010 Asian Marketing Effectiveness (AME) Award for Best Small Budget Campaign and Best Idea.

Note: I was the lead Strategic Planner on the project at Mullen Lowe Vietnam, reporting to the Head of Planning and working together with Account Management, Creative and Production specialists.