Gillette and Schick operate in one of the most competitive brand categories around the world, with Gillette consistently outspending Schick five-to-one.
The battle has always centered on blade count, from three to four to five blades with extra blades on the back for precision trimming. But research showed consumers were increasingly weary and wary of this approach; no matter how many blades, they still found shaving an uncomfortable daily routine.
In 2010, Schick decided to change the conversation, introducing a new kind of men's razor that focused on skin comfort and care instead of blade count. The Schick Hydro was the biggest launch in the company's history, introducing a new razor focused on skin hydration.
Schick targeted 18- to 24-year-old males who consider themselves an 'everyday guy'. They are most likely to try something new -- especially in the brand loyal category of razors -- and who the company's research showed would be most open to the skin care message.
With music is an integral part of the lives of 18- to 24-year-old men, Schick decided to create an integrated music discovery platform. It joined forces with VEVO.com - a partnership between several major record labels and YouTube - to create 'The Next Wave'.
This allowed Schick access to the full catalogue of VEVO music video content to build an experience that would engage the target in their passion for music, while simultaneously driving awareness and education of the new Schick Hydro.
The newest, most splashworthy music videos became the centerpiece of The Next Wave homepage, that was created exclusively for Schick Hydro. VEVO music editors curated the custom, branded and owned destination that was regularly updated within VEVO.com. VEVO also created custom Next Wave playlists where consumers could link to and discover similar artists/videos based on what they were watching.
Schick Hydro also secured exclusive advertising rights to all emerging artist videos across VEVO.com and YouTube. A series of co-branded media units propelled consumers through the experience bringing them from their first point of entry (VEVO.com or YouTube) to The Next Wave Channel where they would discover and view emerging artists and videos.
Promotional 'Hydromercials' featuring Mike Posner and Passion Pit were designed to drive awareness and traffic to the program. To deliver scale and relevancy, Hydromercials were activated cross-network as pre-rolls in a media mix of both popular/heavily-viewed videos and emerging artist videos.
The Next Wave program introduced a number of firsts to VEVO, including the first emerging artist category and channel, first video recommendation engine and first Music Download program, offering consumers the opportunity to hydrate their playlist with a free download from Schick Hydro.
Results
Dynamic Logic studies were conducted across a variety of metrics to measure overall Hydro online advertising results as well as the specific VEVO program.
Hydro Aided Brand Awareness (exposed to Hydro ads): 43%
Hydro Aided Brand Awareness (exposed to Hydro VEVO): 61%
Agreement to the key skin care benefits also showed significant movement:
Best Shave for Your Skin (exposed to Hydro ads): 6%
Best Shave for your Skin (exposed to Vevo ads) : 16%
The Dynamic Logic study also indicates that the program spoke to the target's passions:
Positive Image of Schick Hydro: 52%
Usage and interaction:
285m impressions vs. the 75m projection/guarantee
2.8% CTR on the Hydro pre-roll message
72% Hydro video completion rate
74% Download unit completions
This campaign was shortlisted in the Festival of Media Awards 2011 in the "Best Communication/Entertainment Platform" category.