Social experiment-cum-viral marketing helps brand hit targets

MANILA, Philippines - It was an Internet-driven social experiment-and-viral marketing rolled into one.  

On the one hand is a young woman, with thick eyebrows and hairy arms and legs, sent roaming around malls, watching concerts, doing karaoke or walking her dog, while dressed in black turn-of-the-century terno. No detail was spared to make this lady — who went by the name ‘’Barbara Cruz’’ — stand out among the crowd. 

Some would stare at her, unbelieving; others would dismiss her as some character in a prank show. But it was all in all a successful social psychology experiment that showed thoughts, feelings and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others. 

On the other hand is the World Wide Web, that boundless universe called cyberspace that is now deemed as a potent marketing tool.  

Powered by the so-called new media which includes social marketing networks and blogs, a viral campaign to ‘’catch and shoot Barbara’’ was launched by Veet, the world’s leading depilatory brand, encouraging people who may have a sighting of ‘’Barbara’’ to take a snapshot of her and upload these to a designated website.   

Popular blog Chuvaness.com started the ball rolling by piquing the curiousity of her loyal readers as to who this mystery woman was. Several other blogs picked up the trail and soon, netizens were talking about ‘’Barbara.’’ 

Chuvaness.com stats, for one, showed that the posts on “Barbara” elicited a total of 121,143 hits and over 160 comments.  

Chuvaness.com’s Cecile van Straten attested that Veet’s “Barbara’’ has been one of the most successful online promos she did on her blog. Among the other companies that have successful mounted their campaigns with Chuvaness are Biogesic and Bayantel. 

“I have initial doubts about the promo concept because I  was not sure how people would react to a social experiement-cum-promo. But I was surprised at the feedback and how my readers were into it. Comments ranged from actually believing that Barbara was a ghost to smart alecky to those who hinted that it could possible by a PR and marketing campaign,” notes Van Straten.  

‘Undercover marketing’

Veet successfully utilized “undercover marketing,” which marketing specialists define as “a viral message that is presented as a cool or unusual piece of news, or activity, and not as a product or service that is being marketing.’’   

In the case of Barbara, her photos riding the MRT, walking the dog, or eating out floated on the internet. People were clueless as to who she was and why she was oddly garbed but the buzz that it generated helped spread the word about Barbara.  

Blogs reposted not only the story of Barbara, but also the wonderful prizes that Veet was giving away for the photo contest. Aside from the promo site (http://catchandshootbarbarapromo.com), ‘’Barbara’’ opened Twitter and Facebook accounts to update the curious on her location and where they could ‘’catch and shoot’’ her. In so short a time, ‘’Barbara’’ was able to gather followers who in four weeks uploaded nearly 3000 candid shots and garnered about 300,000 votes from online voters.  

Successfully using new media as a platform for the campaign, Veet was thus able to hit its targets as far as consumer awareness and sales are concerned. 

“With this viral marketing, Veet is able to strengthen its online branding targeting first-time users and razor users, young females who are tech-savvy and who have active social life and whom we seek to empower with touchably smooth skin that radiates a sexy femininity,” says Veet brand manager Isa Marfori.

Leny Ledesma, vice president for accounts of Think Ideas, the creative group behind the campaign, adds that it is all about changing mindsets – from the medium to the message. 

“Since Veet has always advocated modernity and innovation, we believe that we should also carry this out all the way to the campaign to promote the beauty of modern ways. We tapped blogs and social networking sites, and the whole promo itself is web-based, with modern gadgets as prizes. But it is more than just selling a product, it is about giving Filipino women a better alternative,” Ledesma says.