Axe goes bullish on digital to introduce stronger fragrance

The deodorant brand has launched a campaign on Twitter and YouTube to lead up to the mainline TVC for its new strengthened fragrance.

Hindustan Unilever's deodorant brand, Axe has taken to digital in a big way to introduce its new variant. The brand has introduced a strengthened version of its fragrance to meet Indian consumers' demands.

In the first phase of the campaign, which is now live, the brand has used a mix of Twitter and YouTube, along with a revamped website to lead up to the mainline television commercial that premiered during the recently-concluded Asia Cup.

Commenting on the digital campaign, Kedar Teny, category head, deodorants, Hindustan Unilever, says, "Axe has strengthened its fragrance to meet the Indian consumer preference. The brief given to the agency was to bring alive the proposition that 'New Axe is so strong that...' in the digital space, a medium that is increasingly becoming the preferred destination amongst the target group. In this age of 2.0 we want Axe to be not just part of the observations but be an integral part of consumer conversations."

As part of the campaign, the brand has revamped the Axe website to drive the point of an extra-strong deodorant. The site promotes the brand proposition of a stronger Axe for men by not allowing women to 'enter' and browse the website. The portal also features a set of videos on the newly developed Axe fragrance.

The backbone of the first phase of this campaign, developed by digital agency 22feet, is the use of Twitter. The agency introduced a hashtag #stronglyattractedto to lead up to the TVC premiere. People were asked to tweet with this hashtag. The virality of the microblogging site ensured that the hashtag trended for two days, even without people knowing the product. The idea behind a hashtag campaign on Twitter was to generate hype and buzz before the product was revealed during the highly-viewed Asia Cup matches.

Commenting on how the digital initiatives for Axe fragrance help it to generate buzz on mainline media, Teny adds, "By being present on digital platforms such as YouTube and Twitter, it is possible to add a considerable fillip to both the overall reach and frequency of the relevant message. Owing to the dynamic nature of various digital media, it becomes possible to convey the relevant message in multiple creative and innovative ways, hence grabbing attention of the group that is being targeted."

The breaking news format that Axe has adopted on the digital medium (YouTube) to convey the message of 'New Extra Strong Axe' over the past week has been extensively shared and viewed on social media platforms. According to numbers provided by HUL, the YouTube masthead property has delivered 5.2 million impressions overall, touching 2.36 million unique users.

The 'Breaking News' TVC has also received 1.57 million full-video views.

The brand also plans to roll out subsequent phases of the campaign, which will include Facebook, the mobile platform and other innovations to give the conversation another relevant channel in the digital space.