Planning Casebook: Wilkinson's Xtreme effort proves worthwhile

by Amy Parker Media Week 01-Jul-08, 07:30

Challenge: To tackle consumer perceptions that disposable razors compromise quality of shave.

Client: Wilkinson Sword
Agency: Mediaedge:cia
Planner: Amy Parker

Previous work showed us that once men try Xtreme 3, they often adopt it as their brand of choice. We needed to encourage use among our target audience of male students via sampling.

As a challenger brand, we needed to couple a mass sampling drive with a powerful communications strategy.

During planning, Dennis Publishing was preparing to launch Monkey, the UK's first online interactive male magazine, and it proved to be a perfect fit.

Strategy
To find "Britain's Most Xtreme Shaver", while pushing samples to the key audience.

The goal was to make consumers interact creatively and demonstrate Xtreme 3's benefits. We provided potential consumers with a razor and an online community. Working with a forward-thinking media owner allowed us to create an innovative online campaign, focused around user-generated content.

Activity
The competition ran over 11 weeks, appearing in Monkey as a rich media DPS and on a dedicated microsite. It was kick-started with a call for free sample requests. Over seven weeks, readers sent in videos of their funniest, most bizarre, shaving experiences to try and win weekly prizes and a place in the final. The winning eight videos were put up for public voting to win either a cash prize, a holiday, or the accolade of "Britain's Most Xtreme Shaver".

Results
Wilkinson Sword had some great editorial content on Monkey, while video entries demonstrated brand engagement. In one week, 69,000 votes were cast for the winning entry, with 186,000 votes collected overall.

Our post-campaign research (with Monkey) showed that 75% of users felt the brand fitted the magazine, while 65% enjoyed interacting with the feature and 19% (19,000 users) bought the razor after receiving their sample. Wilkinson Sword had a 23% sales uplift during the campaign, reclaiming the number two spot in the disposable razor market.

Amy Parker, Communications manager, Mediaedge:cia

Send case study suggestions to: hayley.pinkerfield@haymarket.com