A P&G-sponsored study conducted by Yale University professor Marianne LaFrance found that bad hair "negatively influences self-esteem, brings out social insecurities and causes people to concentrate on the negative aspects of themselves," and great hair has the power to give women a positive outlook for the day - even more so than more than dressing well, having clear skin or wearing good makeup.
Through a social media analysis, we also found that the Pantene target – women 25 to 30 – is not shy about bemoaning her #BadHairDay on social. In fact, #BadHairDay was mentioned 1.2 million times on Instagram -- 17 times more than #GreatHairDay! Since the Pantene brand promise is all about giving women more great hair days, we felt uniquely positioned to change that conversation.
Our mission: Turn every #BadHairDay into a #GreatHairDay, thanks to Pantene, and dramatically increase the number of #GreatHairDay posts on social media.
To change the conversation, the brand set out to intercept all consumers posting about bad hair days on social using real-time responses with relevant content and tailored Pantene product regimens guaranteed to turn their #BadHairDay into a #GreatHairDay.
The Pantene #GreatHairDay Studio – a real-time response hub powered by an army of social responders representing a diverse range of hair types and styles – launched on October 1 and ran 14 days, the ideal amount of time for people to transform from a #BadHairDay to a #GreatHairDay.
The Instagram-friendly, dynamic studio was stocked with inviting common areas, a kitchen, computers, a real-time dashboard and production studio. The collaborative environment was ideal for encouraging brainstorms about how to respond with relatable content specific to each person's unique hair dilemma.
To ensure we'd be able to spot every post about bad hair, we conducted a social media analysis in advance to identify conversations and key words related to #BadHairDay, including terms like "frizzy hair," "bed-head," "post-gym hair," and "beach hair." Using this information, we then created 30+ pre-packaged video responses, gifs and stills that took on the most common #BadHairDay themes.
During the 14 days, the army lived together in the Pantene space where they personally connected 1:1 with every person, humorously empathizing with those complaining of a #BadHairDay. The space also included a production studio where writers scripted and shot real-time content based on how the conversation evolved.
The tone of the responses was sympathetic – "we feel your pain" – and playful vs. heavily brand focused. People who engaged were invited to DM community managers for free Pantene products customized to their specific hair needs so they could take the 14 Day Challenge and experience their own #GreatHairDay.
Consumers found interactions with Pantene engaging and, as a result, shared our content, clever responses and product deliveries on their social channels while affirming their intent to take the Pantene 14 Day Challenge to achieve a #GreatHairDay.
On Day 14, Pantene celebrated #GreatHairDay in a big way, cheering on those who took or started the #GreatHairDay transformation, and launching the brand's reveal ad on 'This Is Us.' Through a paid sponsorship, we owned the #GreatHairDay hashtag on Twitter for the day. We shared content of partner Arianna Huffington's visit to the studio (on behalf of her online platform Thrive) and captured heavy behind-the-scenes content from the Pantene Studio so consumers could be part of the moment.
The team erupted into applause when for the first time in history, the #GreatHairDay hashtag overtook #BadHairDay - on the last day of the Pantene #14DayChallenge!
Attention: We disrupted the hair conversation and consumers noticed! Our total organic and influencer reach was 51.5MM, which was boosted by an additional 130MM paid reach.
Action: We flipped the hair conversation! On the final day of the campaign, consumers posted #GreatHairDay 587% more often per day than pre-campaign benchmarks
Affection: Pantene owned the hair conversation! We garnered an 89% share of voice following the #14DayChallenge, a 47% lift.
