Ansell gets the conversation going
Millennials influence and inspire the New General Market. Most agree they are the cultural catalysts and actually influence consumers way beyond their age segment.
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That fact isn’t wasted on Ansell who, as a marketer of sexual wellness products, really needs to understand the market dynamics. “One of the things we look at is how they are influencing the broader market,” said Carol Carrozza, VP of marketing for Ansell Healthcare. “We’re really trying to understand the implicit feelings, which aren’t necessarily expressed outwardly but are catalysts for behavior, so we can connect in a meaningful way with this age group. We engage through lifestyle activities and behaviors in a very different way. They date online; they date by swiping left and right; only 28% of millennials are married, which means their outward expression of relationships is very different from their traditional parents,” she said.
That doesn’t mean, however, that they are not seeking relationships and building trust with brands. What marketers need to deliver to them, she suggested, is information, guidance and content. “Explicitly, they’re acting like they know everything; implicitly, they really are very unsure. And that’s why they have 1,000 friends on Facebook — because they’re reaching out and they’re connecting, however differently in a social online environment. They do have this need for connection, [it is] just expressed differently.”
She noted millennials share some similarities with baby boomers and Gen X, except the relationships are expressed in a much more open way, especially via social media. “They’re sort of teaching and embracing the entire market to think and act the same way,” she said.
The changing market prompted Ansell to try new strategies, especially those to nurture authenticity and build a community. Ansell did a city market test through a digital campaign that not only boosted sales immediately, but also had residual gains after the end of the effort. “We have listening tools online to see what people were saying about the brand prior to, as well as during, and then post. The word of mouth just kept going. And it’s because we were communicating, in a very local, engaged sort of way.”
Another learning is that TV still exists, but in a new form. “It is a different screen. They’re all watching Hulu,” she said. “Now TV is about how you serve up content. And they keep talking about the messaging because our content and our messaging is relevant to their lifestyle.”
As an example, she noted that Ansell would have embedded content on such sites as Thrillist, where people seek advice on what to wear to clubs or what night spots would be hot for the weekend. “We increased sales and brand awareness because our content was relevant to their behavior and lifestyle, and not just an ad pushed out by a company.” Additionally, since Ansell is a global company, it has begun to cross country borders where consumers in the United States are talking about the brand to people in Australia (or other countries). “And that’s when we knew that we were really very successful in terms of engaging our consumers and the users, we were reaching people who were not necessarily coming to our website, but they were still talking about the brand and how it played in their life. Those two things were probably the strongest measures of success for us.”
Ansell started a user panel, where participants receive products to test and review, and that’s been a great tool. “We ceded authority in a good way because now we are listening to and hearing from the community we are engaged with. We’ve given them the power to tell us what the product should be, how the product should work and [how it should] speak to them,” Carrozza explained.
Learning how to reach the New General Market can have hits and misses. Having a presence on every dating site actually was “too close,” Carrozza said. Instead, the company looks for avenues to help support the lifestyle. “What do they really want to know? They kind of want to know a little bit about the products, but they really want some tips about how to develop relationships.” To that end, Ansell focuses on content, not in an overt way, but with a subliminal delivery because of the nature of the product line. “And in a very engaged way we built this very close-knit community who wants to help support and own the brand,” she said.