Lifebouy created a story highlighting the insecurities the LGBTQ+ community faces in Vietnam to drive advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and compel millennial and generation Z consumers to carry hand sanitizer to protect them from COVID-19.
Objective:
A fourth wave of COVID-19 had been impacting cities across Vietnam since the end of March 2021, marking the longest and most-severe outbreak since the pandemic began. While Vietnam was ranked second worldwide in controlling and preventing the outbreak, the country witnessed thousands of new cases popping up every day.
After a long year fighting against the pandemic, Vietnamese consumers had adapted the habit of using hand sanitizers on the go, especially before entering buildings and supermarkets, as this practice was mandated by the Ministry of Health. Hand Sanitizers, therefore, had become a necessity.
Target Audience:
Lifebuoy had launched a portable hand sanitizer product to encourage out-of-home usage. As the product's source of growth was millennials and generation Z consumers, the brand focused its effort on engaging this audience, not only to raise awareness of the product's functionality toward maintaining hand hygiene, but also to educate and remind them to use sanitizers throughout the day. However, carrying these little tubes of sanitizers was considered "uncool" by millennials and generation Z. The brand's challenge was to find a solution to increase its appeal amongst the target audience, making hand sanitizer not just essential, but a cool lifestyle statement.
Creative Strategy:
Millennial and generation Z consumers in Vietnam are not a shallow cohort. A Decision Labs survey revealed that this generation was concerned with the world around them and preferred brands that stood for a social cause. This generation was also digitally savvy, with 79 percent of them preferring to share their opinions on social media, and 30 percent admitting they prefer to express their feelings on chat apps rather than in person.
The brand also realized that amongst the rising social concerns in Vietnam, fighting for LQBTQ+ rights resonated the strongest with younger generations, and over 60 percent of them admitted they had joined discussions about the deep-seated prejudice affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
Since same-sex marriages are not protected by the law, the LGBTQ+ community struggles to fight for the safety and love they deserve. Lifebuoy wanted to tap into this daunting issue of "Safety in Love," to create a better connection with the LGBTQ+ community.
Context:
Lifebuoy's objectives were to:
Overall Campaign Execution:
Lifebuoy partnered with Vu Mini, a well-known LGBTQ+ illustrator, to craft a story called "Until It's Safe." The story showed families being separated due to the pandemic keeping in touch with one another through calls and messages until they could finally embrace each other in person. Amid the various families and couples, the story highlighted an LGBTQ+ couple that had been hiding their feelings, masking their encounters, and suppressing their hope for the future, telling the other person "Until it's safe." The story brought to light how the LGBTQ+ community has been living in this constant fear for decades, ending with the statement: "Lifebuoy Safety4All, Because Safety, Like Love, does not Discriminate."
Mobile Execution:
"Until It's Safe" was shared across LGBTQ+ community fan pages during Pride Month and became an instant hit. Within two days, thousands of interactions were generated around the story organically, expressing love and support towards Lifebuoy's message.
The Lifebuoy's Safety4All Hand Sanitizer was launched exclusively on Lazada three days after the release of the story. Proceeds from each purchase went to ICS Vietnam to support members of the LGBTQ+ community in need.
Market Impact
