Since the brand launched in 2010, Dove Men+Care has been a frontrunner in the men's grooming industry – #1 dermatologist recommended with products designed specifically for men's skin and hair needs, and most award-winning men's grooming brand of 2016 and 2017.
To launch of the brand's first ever cross-category line of new nature-inspired products – a trend that had yet to permeate the men's grooming industry at large, aside from niche and premium brands – while also striving to uphold the brand's leading industry position in an increasingly competitive market, we were tasked to look beyond a typical new product innovation launch and make Dove Men+Care "Elements" the brand's biggest product launch to date.
Our objective was to find an out-of-the-box way to drive mass consumer awareness, trial and sales for the new Elements line that viscerally evoked the power of nature's elements, addressing relevant passion points for our target consumer (U.S. men ages 25-49) and employed exciting, To do so, we created a campaign that induced the power of nature's elements in an immersive way for consumers to experience, while employing relevant hooks to reach media and spark product trial in a new, social media driven way: The Dove Men+Care Elements Treehouse.
We launched by announcing the new product range and plans to build the Dove Men+Care Elements Treehouse at the foot of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We partnered with renowned treehouse builder, author and TV host, Pete Nelson, to design the space, inspired by the ingredient combinations found in the Elements range. To give consumers the chance to experience the products first-hand, we developed a dedicated microsite on Dove.com where they could enter to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Chattanooga with their family, by submitting an essay about why they wanted to discover the power of nature's elements. On launch day, we hosted a media day with Pete, where he conducted interviews with top men's lifestyle, design and grooming outlets.
On social and digital channels, Dove Men+Care documented the Treehouse construction process through brand and influencer content to showcase the ingredient-inspired techniques and building materials utilized. The content culminated in a room by room tour and surrounding environment, bringing the Elements space to life.
When the treehouse opened, it included unique design features to evoke the nature-inspired product ingredients featured in Elements. These included a charred wood interior and exterior paneling to evoke charcoal, sandalwood railings and window accents, and a living sage plant wall. Most prominently, the treehouse featured a standout bathroom that brought the outside-in with a glass-enclosed tree intersecting the shower, creating a sanctuary in the sky for men to use the new Elements products.
We partnered with viral fatherhood social influencer James Breakwell (@XplodingUnicorn) to kickstart the Treehouse campaign as one of the first to stay there by live-tweeting with his daughters. We also invited a host of national and local media and social influencers to stay at the Treehouse to spread awareness among their followers. Interior designer Will Taylor (@BrightBazaar) decorated the space using Elements-inspired décor, adventure traveller Sam Ciurdar (@SamCiurdar) curated an itinerary for guests of what to do/eat/see in Chattanooga, and lifestyle influencer Tim Melideo (@TimMelideo) brought the product ingredient story to life in his daily grooming routine. Given the brand's deep-rooted commitment to the fatherhood community, we also partnered with City Dads Group to have real dads stay in the Treehouse and share the new product line among their community.
CRM shared the new product news and behind the scenes content with Dove Men+Care email opt-ins. Initial messages focused on broad reach and consumer awareness of the Treehouse, while follow-up messages were tailored based on past engagement. We extended the reach of the campaign message through tailored emails to over 2 MM female Dove purchasers with men in their households. In-store, product visuals ensured the new line would stand out to both male and female shoppers, drive purchase intent, and help shoppers see the brand in a new way – an important distinction for this new nature-inspired range. Knowing our target is more likely to buy products when he tries them first, we also sampled 200k products to men in lifestyle and fitness locations across the country.
Dove Men+Care sparked culturally relevant conversations around the new Elements product range and Elements Treehouse campaign through high-quality media coverage, thumb-stopping creative and influencer partnerships across social media. The Elements Treehouse was featured in top outlets with headlines and stories that encouraged consumers to discover the power of Elements for themselves, including: "Glamping: 10 Spots to Camp Luxuriously in the USA" (USA Today); "21 Unreal Treehouses You Only Thought Existed In Your Fantasies" (PopSugar); and "Dove built a treehouse that is also a spa in the Tennessee woods, and you have to see it" (Hello Giggles). The campaign ultimately garnered over 2 billion earned PR and social impressions.
The social conversation around the campaign via brand and influencer content resonated with our audience, sparking positive engagements that celebrated discovering a new possibility of freshness within our target guy's grooming routine. This included 2,400+ social mentions of #DiscoverElements, our campaign hashtag.
From a business perspective, the launch of this new product line exceeded expectations and benchmarks:
