Building brand equity through increasing emotional connection

It’s not too late to call in sick!

Many women revealed that they actually enjoy their mood swings (to an extent), because it allows them to define their own rules of happiness, such as eating chocolate or buying shoes without the guilt. This led to the birth of the provocative “Have a Happy Period” (HAHP) campaign.

After completing in-depth, global research, Always, together with international advertising agency, Leo Burnett, came to the conclusion that women are ready for change. A change from a negative to a positive mindset, regarding their periods.

“It's not too late to call in sick!” - is just one of the many cheeky and irreverent taglines, soon to be hitting various South Africa media channels. The overriding campaign objective is to build brand equity through an increased emotional connection with women, thus moving the brand from its previous functional product focus, to a renewed emotional experience. Through HAHP, Always is reaching out to women and touching their lives by agreeing that this can be an inconvenient time of the month. It cannot get any worse, so make the most of it.

Choice

Succinctly put: Women are in charge of their own lives and can choose to have a happy period. Says Khululiwe Mabaso, external relations manager at Proctor & Gamble (P&G) SA, “What all women have in common is that they accept their period as a part of their femininity; they don't want to hide or be too negative about the subject. I know how uncomfortable and even painful periods can be and the physical and emotional roller coaster which many women suffer as a direct result. All we wish to achieve through this campaign is to encourage women to find their own individual way to make this time better for themselves.”

The HAHP campaign has been intricately woven to be flexible enough to adapt to global market implementation. The US saw the launch of the inaugural taboo breaking campaign in 2006 and was the first to fully embrace the concept of seeing the brighter side of periods. Last year (2007), Always was selected as one of the top brands in the US Advertising Age “Marketing 50.” Furthermore, the HAHP advertising campaign was recognised in a select group of top “50 Sharp Ideas” for its sheer innovation and resounding success to market.

July 2008 sees the HAHP campaign hit SA shores and is sure to create a tide of industry comment, both positive and negative. The local implementation is based on the same core campaign elements, which has recently been executed in North America with great success. Always believes that South African women are equally ready go positive.

Key campaign messaging:

• Always frees women to enjoy their lives as women by encouraging them to view their periods as a more positive experience
  
• Always understands that periods can be a painful, as well as inconvenient time of the month for women; and is here to support and protect them
  
• Always shares woman-to-woman knowledge, advice and insight that can assist women have happier periods

Campaign communication tools

The HAHP campaign will be freeing women and encouraging them to make the most of their periods through the following touch points: television, print, sampling, in-store and out of store activity that generates consumer interaction.

Campaign taglines:

The following examples epitomise the cheeky and irreverent mindset of the HAHP campaign, as proposed by Always:

• It's not too late to call in sick!
  
• Enjoy your mood swings!
  
• Enjoy feeling the blues!
  
• Always has got you covered!

For further information regarding HAHP, go to www.always.com.