The global “Dove Camera Shy” program was adapted for retailer Jean Coutu in the Quebec market. The challenges were to be relevant to the Quebec market while creating a perfect fit with Jean Coutu; find an engaging way to link emotional benefits and product sales; and get shoppers to visit different sections of the store to purchase multiple categories of Dove products.

The objectives of the program were to: reinforce emotional attachment with the Dove brand by strengthening the brand mission of encouraging women to be their own beautiful selves; encourage current Dove shoppers to engage with the brand and purchase one more brand item from another category; activate an exclusive, retailer-specific campaign in Jean Coutu; and engage the banner’s majority-female clientele with a big, bold in-store and online presence.

Research shows that only 4% of women would describe themselves as beautiful. As adults, women become more self-conscious, developing an increasingly anxious relationship with the way they look. This lack of confidence means 77% of women claim to be camera shy.

So how could the “Dove Camera Shy” program be leveraged and adapted to the reality of Quebec consumers and get them to change their behaviour by actively expressing their own beauty? The key Jean Coutu insight was based on research indicating that its consumers are 65% women, and they appreciate the banner’s strong, clear promotions (both in the flyer and in-store), as well as the superior photo processing service.

Jean Coutu and Dove teamed up for a two-phase campaign, the first wave of which involved raising the issue that women are less likely to want to be photographed the older they become, and then encouraging those women to engage in a positive self-perception shift by submitting their picture to a microsite created especially for the campaign. In-store browsers would be converted to shoppers by giving away an exclusive Jean Coutu photo album with the purchase of two or more Dove products. In the campaign’s second phase, Jean Coutu and Dove celebrated women’s behavioural shift by showcasing the participants’ pictures in stores, as well as in the media.

A fully integrated plan was developed to reach consumers at every stage of the shopper journey, consisting of: ads in Jean Coutu flyers (2.6 million), newsletters (225,000) and on the website landing page inviting consumers into the store; ads in Jean Coutu photo department-specific newsletters and confirmation emails (111,547 consumers opened the newsletter with a 5% click rate); a Dove e-blast sent to 13,432 subscribers; newspaper ads for each wave (502,000 impressions within the target group of women 18 to 49). Additional touchpoints included: Facebook ads (1,121,741 impressions), which drove potential participants to the microsite; 288 in-store executions including end-cap header and sides, tear pads and danglers; and the offer – a free softcover pocket photo book with the purchase of two or more Dove products (a value of $12.99).

The first wave saw the number of transactions of two Dove products and more increase by 10% (versus the same period in 2013), and volume sales (for Dove’s hair, deodorant and personal wash) increase by 22% versus the same period in 2013, while these categories are declining in the Quebec market. Facebook ads during this wave also yielded 1 million impressions. Shoppers redeemed 1,236 and 1,371 pocket photobooks online during the first and second waves, respectively. Both waves reached 2.6 million households, while newspaper ads netted 255,000 and 247,000 impressions within the target group of 18- to 49-year-old women during the first and second wave, respectively.