How do you sell a product that nobody wants to talk about? How do you even talk about a product whose functionality you cannot show but only euphemistically refer to? Few would disagree when I say that feminine hygiene is no ice-breaker and ranks pretty low on the list of fun things to talk about. It is no surprise then that marketing for feminine hygiene products, as Bite Shanghai found out, comes with its very own set of challenges that are tricky but certainly not insurmountable.

Having worked with healthcare giant Sanofi Aventis for a number of years, Bite was tasked with helping to promote the company’s Lactacyd brand of feminine intimate washing products. While this would have been a tough undertaking in any market, in China the particular challenge was also that feminine wash is a fairly new concept with most women unaware of the products’ benefits and therefore rather reluctant to use it. Moreover, with China being a generally more conservative marketplace, it was unlikely that an attention-grabbing, racy campaign that took a light, humorous approach to intimate issues would be well-received. While for instance P&G’s recent online campaign for Tampax had elicited a few chuckles and interesting discussion in America, it was more likely to cause shock and horror among Chinese audiences who may not have appreciated the male protagonist’s antics which include grappling with a ‘manpad’.

With this in mind, Sanofi Aventis decided to take a different line of attack which enabled potential customers to test the product and utilize their positive experiences to convert them into real consumers. Bite’s role in this was to create a website and coupon system that would not only help distribute samples, but also track down specific information about access paths and media clicks to give Sanofi a better insight into its media strategy and e-commerce process.

The website armed with tracking capabilities that Bite designed proved to be a hit with more than 100,000 people showing interest in trying the product in the space of just two weeks. Moreover, through the tracking system, Sanofi was able to see how people had heard about the promotional campaign and which online channels actually led to them spending significant time on the website. This had a huge impact on how the company decided to allocate its media budget going forward.

There were a number of takeaways from Bite’s work with Sanofi Aventis. The most important and obvious of these was the huge importance of context (product and marketplace in particular) when it comes to launching campaigns. While “look-at-me” campaigns that are engaging with an almost a shock and awe effect are regarded as desirable, they are also extremely unsuitable for some products and audiences. What had worked for P&G in America would be unthinkable in China just as the Lactacyd approach would have been deemed too lackluster by thrill-seeking American consumers.

Campaigns are in some ways much like a guest list one would put together for a social gathering. There are the ones you would invite and others you wouldn’t depending on the setting, mood and other guests in attendance.

Going with this analogy, the P&G campaign would be the loud, boozy and fun friend who would be on top of everyone’s list when it comes to throwing a bachelor/bachelorette party or celebrating the inevitable 30^th birthday bash. The Lactacyd campaign on the other hand would be the demure, shy but equally interesting friend who would make a perfect companion for a sophisticated dinner party or a night at the opera. They are both good when deployed in the right setting and completely in their element when the occasion and audiences are right. Mixed together however, they are also a recipe for disaster.