Challenge:

Given the difficulties the world faced in 2020, Vietnam’s pandemic experience was relatively mild, and in the lead-up to Lunar New Year, the country was looking forward to welcoming a brighter 2021. To sustain Lifebuoy’s share of voice and perpetuate the handwashing habit, the brand needed to educate an optimistic (= apathetic) audience on the importance of hand hygiene during Tet.

To penetrate the celebratory mood that takes over Vietnam at Tet, it was imperative for the brand to engage consumers with the right content in the right contexts for maximum impact.

Approach:

To ensure a culturally relevant approach, the campaign focused on consumers’ truth through Tet rituals, and found an opportunity for Lifebuoy in the act of praying.

During Tet, praying signifies hopes for a better future. But putting our hands together in prayer also recalls the act of handwashing, which Lifebuoy wanted to reinforce.

As most goals and plans for 2020 were either postponed or cancelled, consumers were more sensitive to what they prayed for in the New Year and were aware that many of those prayers might not come true. Additionally, washing our hands is the most practical way to protect our health, which is the basis for all prayers to come true. Our big idea was: “The power to turn prayers into reality lies in our clean hands.”

Execution:

This idea was cascaded into two main phases:

Firstly, the campaign kicked-off with a branded Tet film in collaboration with a major social influencer. It depicted an imaginary scenario where social distancing happened during Tet and all the usual celebrations had to happen virtually. Comedic storytelling and culturally insightful contexts delivered a wake-up call on the importance of handwashing.

Then, similar to the way that handwashing not only protects individuals but also safeguards the whole community, Lifebuoy upscaled praying into an act of responsibility towards the public. This brand-do phase was activated with a manifesto clip aptly named “The Prayers of The Hands.” Featuring snapshots of the hands during the pandemic and narrated by an A-list actor, the video sparked a nationwide wave of support on social media. From there, Lifebuoy encouraged consumers to join hands in sustaining the handwashing habit and donated handwashing gel to underprivileged communities.

The brand also rolled out a series of engaging activities to continue the “praying” story leading up to Tet: An AR filter that provided New Year fortunes, an interactive chatbot that reminded people to wash their hands to best realize their prayers, and an on-ground activation at temples and pagodas to leverage the praying context.

All activitities were synchronized and linked to the Lifebuoy e-commerce store where consumers could purchase products in limited edition packaging.

Results:

– 149,909 total discussions

– 42,623 user generated content

– Very good sentiment score: 1

– Top 7 on Buzzmetrics’ Top 10 Campaigns on Social Media and top 3 on Younet Media’s Best Tet Campaigns

– 30,000 handwashing products donated