This campaign used creativity, insight and behavioral science to deliver business effectiveness and change a nation for the better.

In Thailand’s haircare market, Dove was number 5, with declining relevance and share. We identified an issue impacting both on hair and on Dove’s brand mission: the strict rules in Thai schools, with forced haircuts inflicted on girls whose hair deviated from the regulation bob.

In a nation that respects authority and disapproves of unchecked individualism, Dove found a way to bring opponents on board, increasing sales and share, and setting Thai girls free to wear their hair as they pleased.

A Culture Of Discipline Where Teachers Are Revered.

In Thailand, teachers are well respected. Culturally, teachers are described as the ‘second set of parents’ who look after children while they're at school. Their role is to instill discipline and impart wisdom for students to become good citizens in the Thai society.

Gone Too Far In The Name Of Teaching Discipline.

Hair rules, standardized hair length and style, are considered one of the methods of instilling discipline among Thai teachers and educators. While this thinking is in line with the Thai culture, the punishment enforced on students has gone too far. In recent years, forced haircuts have been picked up by media and have spurred public controversy. In some cases, students are forced to walk around school with a missing patch of hair. This has turned teaching disciplines into a toxic practice that destroys people’s confidence at a young age.

In an industry built on unattainable standards of perfection, Dove believes that women of all ages deserve to feel beautiful, so that they see their appearance as a source of confidence, not anxiety. This matters because around the world, 60% of girls are so concerned with how they look that they opt-out of participating fully in daily life.

To this end, Dove goes way beyond just selling shampoo and skincare. Since 2004, it has run the Dove Self-Esteem fund, providing confidence-boosting education for 60 million young people. In the U.S. it has campaigned to end discrimination against black women for wearing natural hairstyles.

These activities are good for society and good for business: awareness of the Dove Self-Esteem Program lifts purchase consideration, and brand association with ‘inspiring women to feel more confident in their appearance’ is the primary driver of Dove’s Brand Power.

Thailand is a collectivist nation with a culture of conformity.

Dove is primarily known as a haircare brand in Thailand, a collectivist nation with a culture based on respect for authority, conformity to social norms, and a disapproval of what are seen as the excesses of ‘Western’ individualism.

In schools, strict standards of behavior and appearance are rigorously enforced. For girls, for example deviating from the regulation hairstyle, a short bob, can result in an enforced public haircut.

Any relationship between Dove’s global brand mission and Thai culture was always going to need careful handling.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

Dove is #5 brand In the $300MM Thai hair market. Since the pandemic, competition between brands intensified, increasingly driven by NPD and discounting. Over that period, Dove’s sales declined -7.1%, share fell from 9.3% to 8.8% and Brand Power from 11.8 to 11.2i.

CLIENT NEED

Dove needed to halt the decline in haircare sales and share. It also needed to reaffirm the relevance and power of its self-esteem mission in Thailand.

BUSINESS NEED

Halt sales revenue decline within 12 months

MARKETING OBJECTIVE

Prevent loss of consumers, holding market share at 8.8%

BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVE

Generate advocacy for Dove within the topic of haircare

COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES

Maximise ROI and earned media with a campaign designed to:

Restore declining Brand Power, returning to 2019 peak of 11.8.

Achieve +10% increase in top-of-mind brand awareness

+5% for Meaningful and Salience

As Thai children returned to school after prolonged pandemic closures, we identified the issue of forced haircuts as an opportunity to express Dove’s self-esteem mission.

In more individualistic cultures Dove could be an activist for change, but research showed that in Thailand that would be seen as confrontational and ‘western’ - a particularly sensitive issue in Thailand at a time when the streets of US cities were being shaken by riots. Being ‘like Americans’ would alienate rather than persuade.

The insight came from behavioural psychology, which indicates that the most effective way to change someone’s mind is not to disagree, but to start with common ground and work back from there.

We realized that the best way to persuade Thai legislators, teachers and public opinion to change their minds on forced haircuts was to build a strategy on a point of universal agreement rather than on a point of controversy.

The creative strategy - #LetHerGrow

A bold campaign built on a consensual starting-point: “everyone agrees that younger generations should grow up in an environment that allows them to become confident adults."

We amplified the voices of psychologists, influencers, girls and women, bringing in teachers rather than seeing them as the enemy. We underscored the negative effect of forced haircuts on confidence and called for solidarity in creating a future where students can grow into the greatest version of themselves.

From this idea Dove built an integrated campaign connecting human insight with rich storytelling, combining creative content with strategic media buys.

A 3-part media strategy:

SKYROCKETING THE ISSUE. Unmissable OOH and a high-profile press conference.

MAKING IT REAL. Research from a leading child psychologist and a portal to share stories and pledge support.

INVOLVING THE EDUCATORS. A new programme of self-esteem education workshops involving the Girls Guides Association of Thailand.

#LetHerGrow revived the brand’s fortunes and made the world a better place for 33MM women by overcoming a deeply ingrained injustice in Thai hair culture.

BUSINESS RESULTS

Revenue INCREASED +11.1% from -7.1% to +5%, within 12 months.

MARKETING RESULTS

Market share decline reversed: +0 .5% growth from 8.8% to 9.3%.iii

BEHAVIOURAL RESULTS

Influencers reached 7.35 million followers, generating 118,200 likes and shares. This represents 10% of total Thai population AND 22% of its women.

2,700 people pledged support

700 people shared experiences

In the month following launch, online conversation around forced haircuts increased +366%.

COMMUNICATIONS RESULTS

Brand Power score 12.3, the highest level for five years, despite a -50% lower spend vvi.

+27% top-of-mind awareness

+15% Meaningful

+8.5% Salience

PURPOSE-LED RESULTS

The Ministry of Education announced in January 2023, “Ministry lifts ‘unfair’ rules on hairstyles” – calling for an end to forced haircuts, for good.