Why Colgate had dessert influencers brush their teeth with sweets
Recently, to promote the habit of night-time teeth brushing, the brand partnered with popular dessert creators to craft brushing reminders cleverly camouflaged as regular dessert reels
Delhi: Content creators refuse to be viewed as mere commodities, emphasised Juneston Mathana, Executive Creative Director at WPP@CP in an interview with BuzzInContent.com.
He further explained, "Influencers serve as valuable creative partners. When involved in influencer marketing, they also seek to collaborate with brands in creating engaging content, thus mitigating the risk of losing followers, which is their greatest concern."
Crafting impactful influencer-led campaigns hinges on injecting creativity. Brands typically fall into two camps: those treating influencers as mere amplification tools, partnering with thousands of them, and those prioritising creativity and storytelling, opting for a select few influencers and giving them creative freedom.
This narrative focuses on one such brand falling into the latter category – Colgate.
Recently, to spread the message of brushing teeth at night, the brand collaborated with popular dessert creators such as Shivesh Bhatia, Natasha Gandhi, Neha Deepak Shah, and Shreya Agarwala. Together, they created unique brushing reminders cleverly disguised as ordinary dessert reels.
This is part of the brand’s larger campaign which was timed to coincide with the festive season, Colgate launched the ad campaign "The Sweet Truth" in October 2023 to promote nighttime brushing.
Granting creative freedom to content creators is paramount, asserted Mathana “In the past, we attempted to micromanage every aspect of influencers’ content, and it was an epic fail, to be honest. Therefore, it's crucial to give them the freedom, provided the brand and its agency invest time in aligning them with the idea. Once they grasp the concept, you have to take a leap of faith. More often than not, it has resulted in exceptional content,” stated Mathana.
Leading the influencer campaign #BrushTonight from WPP@CP, an integrated global WPP team dedicated to serving Colgate-Palmolive worldwide, Mathana shed light on why the brand opted to work with dessert influencers specifically. He noted that Instagram boasts a large audience that avidly consumes dessert and food videos, prompting the brand to target that demographic.
“We decided to partner with dessert influencers because they consistently produce mouth-watering content on Instagram. The most effective way to convey the brand message was through visually striking and unconventional means,” Mathana elaborated.
Based on the startling revelation that the last thing millions of Indians put on their teeth is sugar, and not toothpaste, this activity is being strategically placed during dinner time from 8 pm to 12 am. All so that a nation of several thousands of sweet lovers remember to end their night with toothpaste, and not sugar.
Mathana said that they ensured the dessert creator’s authenticity of content was not hampered in the process of putting out the brand message. He elaborated, “People follow these creators for the different types of recipes they whip out and put on social media. Our team didn't want to mess around with that part of the storytelling. We planned it most naturally by just adding the surprise element at the end. That surprise element only makes the Reel so engaging."
The biggest mistake brands make while taking the influencer marketing route is binding their agency with a particular set of influencers and asking them to make content using them only. “At that time it feels like someone has tied our hands. I cannot do anything but work with what is given” said Mathana.
But the minute, choosing influencers for campaigns is a collaborative process, great content is bound to happen, added Mathana.
Mathana mentioned that the WPP@CP will consistently produce various contextual pieces around the brand message of nighttime teeth brushing, around the clock.
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