Instilling Body Confidence
In 2014, Dove brought focus to the "Selfie," with its short film of the same name. The film showed how women and girls self-edit and critique their own selfies in a much harsher way than others view the photos and their beauty. But showing isn't enough. In order to actively turn beauty from a source of anxiety to a source of confidence, Dove asked women and followers to begin posting confident selfies under the hashtag "#BeautyIs."
Not Just a Hashtag
Dove then went one step further. To reinforce this behavior, and recreate the experience of receiving positive feedback displayed in the short film, Dove reached out one-to-one to women who participated, privately sending over 2,000 personalized, handwritten notes through Instagram Direct.
As a private feature of Instagram , only the specific recipient of a note sent via Instagram Direct would be able to view the message. While the platform offers no way for recipients to automatically share Instagram Direct messages to their public Instagram feed, recipients were so moved by the personalized notes that more than 500 women screengrabbed, saved, uploaded and shared the notes publicly to their followers within their own Instagram feeds.
Results: More Than Numbers
Those "re-grams" resulted in more than 375,000 impressions on Instagram and 12,000 engagements - all of which originated from women and not from the Dove brand itself. Even more important were the results that can't be quantified: happiness gifted, gratitude shared, and confidence instilled.
When it comes to beauty confidence, changing minds and behavior are what matters most to Dove. The women and girls featured in Dove's short film, "Selfie," were able to display their selfies and see others' positive reactions to their photos. The rest of us, encouraged by Dove to confidently post selfies under the banner of #BeautyIs, display selfies on Instagram regularly but don't always get the positive reinforcement needed to bolster self-confidence. During this campaign, Dove ensured the positive reinforcement was given by delivering it firsthand.
Dove reached out one-to-one to women who participated in #BeautyIs, privately sending more than 2,000 personalized, handwritten notes through Instagram Direct. Each note was crafted specifically for its recipient, picking up on cues women included within their Instagram feeds, and every note was hand-written - delivering a personal touch too often absent from the brand-consumer relationship.
Eschewing social media trends, Dove sent all the notes completely privately--showing women that this effort was truly directed towards them as individuals--not posted publicly to Dove's entire following. Though it would have been easier to send one message to 2,000 people, it was far more meaningful to send 2,000 individual messages, one per person.
Despite delivering the messages to Instagram Direct inboxes, recipients were so moved by the personalized notes that more than 500 women shared their notes publicly to their own Instagram feeds, resulting in more than 375,000 impressions on Instagram and 12,000 engagements.
This was a unique activation on Instagram, creatively using the platform's direct message functionality. While other brands have used Instagram Direct to connect with consumers for customer service or to offer a coupon, Dove forged a path entirely its own: reaching out, one-to-one, with personalized sentiments. No other brands had previously used the Instagram Direct feature in the same way and the recipients of Dove's #BeautyIs notes were surprised and elated at this completely unexpected outreach from the brand that spoke to them personally and asked for nothing in return.
Ultimately, this brought Dove into the feeds and lives of its consumers, personally reinforcing the positive body image that contributes to Dove's vision of a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety.
