Philips Personal Health ditches TV for creator-led storytelling and UGC-driven growth

Mumbai: As many legacy brands continue to recalibrate their influencer strategies, Philips Personal Health is going all in, replacing TV reach with creator resonance. The company, which has completely phased out television advertising, is now building its growth ambitions around user-generated content (UGC), micro-creators, and digital-first engagement models.

With a target of growing two to three times India’s GDP, Philips India’s strategy is anchored in creator-led storytelling rather than mass-market messaging. Nearly 80% of its marketing spends are now directed toward digital platforms and on-ground activations, marking a decisive shift from conventional advertising to community-driven influence.

Small creators at the centre 

“Influencer marketing has become a core strength for us,” said Smit Shukla, Head of Philips Personal Health, India Subcontinent, in conversation with BuzzInContent.com. 

“But we’ve taken it a step further by building a strong capability around user-generated content (UGC). We’ve developed this muscle to the point where we’re now able to churn out over 300-400 content pieces every month.”

Instead of relying on high-reach creators, Philips India is investing in authenticity and micro-expression. Shukla explained that the company prefers working with smaller creators who bring relatability and a sense of realness to the brand.

“We’re not transactional in our approach. We invite creators to experience the product and share their perspectives if they genuinely like it. It’s an organic process that builds an invisible yet highly engaged ecosystem, something many brands overlook,” Shukla said.

This strategy has also helped the company reduce its advertising-to-sales (A-to-S) ratio from double digits to single digits, a sign of marketing efficiency built through consumer resonance rather than pure media weight.

From broadcast to community

The pivot away from television is perhaps the clearest indication of how radically Philips India’s marketing mindset has evolved. “Until 2024, we still had some investments there, but we’ve completely shut that engine off. Now, nearly 80% of our spending goes into digital, with the remaining 20% focused on on-ground activations,” he told BuzzInContent.com. 

What’s particularly striking is how Philips is not just moving digital but entering spaces where community and authenticity define influence. Shukla revealed that the brand is actively exploring Reddit and Discord, platforms that have traditionally remained untapped by Indian marketers.

“While we’re still in early discussions and evaluating how best to create meaningful engagement there, we’re certain that these are the spaces we’ll be active in moving forward,” he said.

For a brand that operates at the intersection of health, grooming, and self-care, this expansion marks a shift from advertising to participation, meeting consumers in conversational, not commercial, environments.

The multi-agency collaboration model

Philips’ #DontBeatAroundTheBush campaign for OneBlade Intimate exemplified how the brand’s creator-first approach extends into integrated storytelling. The campaign, built around the insight that 90% of young Indian men practise intimate grooming, was co-created by multiple agencies rather than a single lead shop.

“It was developed through collaborative brainstorming between our internal teams and WLDD, who also executed the entire out-of-home activation featuring the downward arrows. FleishmanHillard served as our strategic thinking partner, while McCann contributed in the early stages,” Shukla shared. 

This multi-agency collaboration allows Philips India to pick the strongest ideas from a diverse creative pool while keeping OMD as its single media planning and buying partner for consistency and scale.

According to Vidyut Kaul, Vice President – Head of Growth Region, Royal Philips, the company’s marketing strategy today revolves around measurable impact and engagement-first content. Kaul added that engagement now precedes product exposure in Philips’ marketing playbook. “We start with an engagement strategy where content, not product, is the first thing that consumers experience,” he said.

The new growth engine

With more than 50% market share in India’s male grooming segment, Philips is betting on category creation and premiumisation as its next growth frontier. But the real fuel behind its growth ambition lies in the creator economy.

“Premiumisation in India is on a strong upward wave, and we’re leading that journey,” Shukla noted. “Consumers are increasingly willing to upgrade, and our premium products have been driving a major delta in our overall growth.”

It seems that for Philips India, the path to 2-3x GDP growth won’t be defined by mass advertising but rather by creators, conversations, and communities.