Objective
Sun Detergent was largely inactive on social media when we began working together in 2014. Our goal was to put them on the social media map with a persona distinct from what other laundry brands were doing in the space. Sun was over-indexing with female African- American consumers, according to Nielsen data, and the brand came to VaynerMedia seeking content that would resonate with this audience.
Strategy
While other laundry brands go for images of verdant meadows and fields of lavender, we said, "To hell with all that: What our audience really wants is someone to say, 'Hey girl, put that basket down. I'll do the laundry tonight.'"
Social listening revealed that talk around laundry was overwhelmingly negative in sentiment. We sought to inject sunshine into the lives of our target consumers and turned the dial to hot and heavy:We created a series of "Hey Girl" memes on Facebook to delight our audience with real talk, real affection and real laundry-toting heroes. Enter: Sun Studs.
Results
VaynerMedia established a distinctive voice, look and feel for Sun, and the CPMs were 75% lower than what we typically see for consumer goods brands. In addition, consumer comments made clear the campaign was a slam-hunk: comments on the were incredibly positive:
"This makes me want to do some laundry."
"Maybe we need to go do laundry at the laundry mat!! Lol"
"What was this advertisement for??????? Holy crap! Got my vote."
Hey, Girl: I'm Different Than Those Other Guys (The Ask)
Sun Detergent had no presence on any social platforms when they first came to VaynerMedia in 2014. They wanted to step out in a big way.
Hey, Girl: Tell Me Your Feelings (Insights)
We surveyed other laundry brands on social media and found they were trapped in another century--possibly another universe. We saw cherubic children who needed a bath more than clean clothes. And–no kidding–laundry bottles dressed as Thanksgiving Day turkeys. Make you want to buy detergent? Us, neither.
We found our audience takes #laundryday selfies on Instagram. They wonder aloud on Twitter, "laundry day or nah?" We found that no brand was really speaking to multicultural, new millennium ladies who buy laundry detergent in a way they want: in a deep husky, voice that offers to hand-wash their delicates in the morning and go shopping at the mall in the afternoon.
What did our consumers *really* want from a laundry brand on social media? Bed sheets billowing on a clothesline in a soft breeze? Butterflies in meadows? Not according to our research. How about a series of occasionally shirtless dreamboats who haul laundry in seductive, meme-worthy "Hey, Girl," tones. *That's* more like it.
Hey, Girl: How'd You Get That Look? (Creative)
We knew from social listening that our audience likes their memes. But how could we take a snippet of Internet culture and harness it for a laundry brand?
We chose an eye-popping primary color palette that referenced Sun's packaging without branding the posts too literally. We imagined laundry as if it was on VH1, with a power-pop bassline: citrine, turquoise and other catchy color combos sure to pop for users scrolling through their phones, where we knew the majority of our audience would be accessing our content (nearly 38% of Facebook users only access the platform via mobile).As for our Sun Studs, we meticulously selected just the right hunks. Was he dreamy? Did he look like he could lift 30 pounds of laundry? Our casting process, IRL and from stock imagery, was exhaustive.
Hey, Girl: You Dig Me? (Results)
Overall, Sun's promoted posts achieved CPMs more than 50% below the average Facebook CPM we usually see for CPG brands. When we looked at CPMs for our "Hey Girl" Sun Studs, content costs were closer to 75% lower than the average CPM we see across our CPG brands on Facebook. The content's deep connection with our target audience made our spend all the more efficient. Ka-ching.
