Walmart Helps Dove Build Self-Esteem

Walmart, long a partner in the “Self-Esteem” marketing platform of Unilever’s Dove brand in the U.S., has hosted multiple account-specific activations of the brand’s initiative since last fall. The “Self-Esteem Project” (formerly known as the “Movement for Self-Esteem”) aims to help girls feel more confident about themselves through youth programming as well as tools and activities designed for moms, mentors and teachers.Most recently, the partners leveraged social media to amplify the reach of a custom “Camera Courage” campaign that called attention to women’s insecurities about being caught on camera. On multiple Saturdays in January, approximately 1,000 Walmart stores hosted Dove photo booths at which shoppers could pose for photos. Participants were then encouraged to share the photos via image-sharing service Instagram using a special hashtag, #CameraCourage.The partners tapped multiple mommy bloggers to promote the effort, arming them with $50 store gift cards to dole out to their readers. The program also received support from a two-page ad running in the January issue of Time Inc.’s All You magazine. The ad directed consumers to visit Dove’s Walmart.com showcase to watch a short film that “captures why women hide from the camera as an adult, but loved the camera as a little girl.” Also available on Dove’s YouTube page, the video has accumulated more than 17 million views. The ad additionally presented quotes from readers of the magazine describing what beauty means to them, and invited consumers to join Dove’s broader conversation using another hashtag, #BeautyIs.The permanent, e-commerce-enabled brand showcase also was integral to the partners’ earlier effort encompassing an exclusive sweepstakes. Running Oct. 22 through Nov. 22, 2013, the sweeps required entrants to download a self-esteem discussion guide that was made available on the showcase. The promotion awarded unspecified gift cards: one worth $1,000 to the grand-prize winner and others worth $300 to one daily winner throughout the promotional period. Don Jagoda Associates, Melville, N.Y., administered the sweeps. Home-page banner ads on Walmart.com linked to the showcase during each program.Earlier in the fall, the collaborative activity had Walmart stocking an exclusive, limited-edition Confidence is Beautiful product collection spanning shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, body wash and bar soap. A full-page feature in Walmart’s Sept. 29 circular plugged the products’ availability. Proceeds from their sales helped contribute to self-esteem programming for Girls Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and the Boys and Girls Club of America. Dove also ran a co-equity FSI for Walmart on Sept. 30 touting sales of its widely available Daily Moisture SKUs as also helping fund self-esteem-building programs.Walmart additionally has participated in the “Dove Self-Esteem Weekend” – which takes place annually in October – by hosting in-store self-esteem workshops at more than 1,000 locations in previous years. The 2012 Self-Esteem Weekend activity included in-store brand ambassadors handing out self-esteem toolkits and discussion guides and inviting moms and daughters to be photographed in a pledge for greater communication. Participants who shared the photos via social media received a free branded magnet. They were encouraged to print their pictures at the Walmart Digital Photo center and frame them in a complimentary branded frame.The effort also activated Unilever’s sponsorship of Walmart’s Soundcheck music streaming program; PDQ trays and pallet displays promising a free custom-published magazine and exclusive CD with purchase of two products, pallets and Smart Network endcaps presenting self-esteem messaging, an online purchase incentive, an ad in Walmart World employee magazine and a circular feature.Dove hopes Walmart’s scale will help the brand reach 15 million girls with self-esteem programming by 2015 – a global commitment Unilever announced in 2010. The pledge brought a more tangible component to the “Campaign for Real Beauty” the brand had been conducting since 2004.Walmart and Dove have been working together in this capacity since as early as 2008, when the retailer hosted a “Dove Self-Esteem Month” that comprised a performance from actress/singer Jennifer Hudson filmed exclusively for the retailer, national media outreach, and support from in-store, print and social media elements.

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