Title	COLDISH
Brand	SENSODYNE (GLAXOSMITHKLINE)
Product/Service	SENSODYNE'S TOOTHPASTE FOR SENSITIVE TEETH
Category	A02. Healthcare
Entrant	PRIME WEBER SHANDWICK Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation	PRIME WEBER SHANDWICK Stockholm, SWEDEN
Media Placement	PRIME WEBER SHANDWICK Stockholm, SWEDEN
PR	PRIME WEBER SHANDWICK Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production	PRIME WEBER SHANDWICK Stockholm, SWEDEN
Post Production	PRIME WEBER SHANDWICK Stockholm, SWEDEN
Additional Company	KöLD Malmö, SWEDEN
Additional Company 2	GLAXOSMITHKLINE Vallensbæk Strand, DENMARK
Additional Company 3	WEBER SHANDWICK The Hague, THE NETHERLANDS
Additional Company 4	ZENITH NETHERLANDS Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Additional Company 5	MSL Oslo, NORWAY

Name	Company	Position
Maria Ramsay	Prime Weber Shandwick	Client Lead
Daniel Hampusson	Prime Weber Shandwick	Account Manager
Beata Berg	Prime Weber Shandwick	Senior Strategist
Frida Nilsson	Prime Weber Shandwick	Analyst
Isak Landaboure	Prime Weber Shandwick	Creative Director
Christoffer Lind	Prime Weber Shandwick	Art Director
Helena Melander	Prime Weber Shandwick	Design Lead
Emma Björnwall	Prime Weber Shandwick	Copywriter
Renée Lorenius	Prime Weber Shandwick	Producer
Marcus Bjellder	Prime Weber Shandwick	Event Manager
Ella Stork	Prime Weber Shandwick	Event Manager
Jesper Gunnarsson	Prime Weber Shandwick	Event Manager

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

We put on lab coats and invented a novelty first – ‘lukewarm ice cream’. Handed out from ice cream trucks at summer events across Europe to people with sensitive teeth, it allowed us to vividly demonstrate our key message: “This is your only pain-free way to eat ice cream, unless you switch to Sensodyne toothpaste.” Free ice cream proved to be the perfect lure for our message: 6,500 consumers came to try ‘Coldish’ lollies over 10 days in six European capitals; 40,000 engaged on social; and client Sensodyne’s message gained coverage in nationals and health journals in all target markets.

Background

How do you create engagement for something as ordinary as brushing your teeth and start a conversation about tooth sensitivity? That was the challenge for oral-sensitivity toothpaste brand Sensodyne with its new, global campaign, Life is too short for sensitivity, moving away from conventional ‘pain’ messaging to argue that people with sensitive teeth were actually suffering deprivation – missing out on moments that matter. Worse, such avoidance mechanisms were unnecessary when sensitivity could be alleviated by switching toothpaste. GSK/Sensodyne wanted to transform these elements of public understanding and create local relevance. Shifting from its traditional reliance on paid media, GSK wanted to trial consumer-style, engaging and organic communication – amplified in digital and earned media. For insight, we surveyed 6,000+ consumers across Sensodyne’s six target markets and found 4 in 10 indeed avoided favourite snacks due to sensitivity. The #1 no-go – too painful for one-third – was ice cream.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Ice cream was the perfect opportunity. Going into summer in Europe, sensitivity-prone consumers would be missing out on their favourite sunshine food. We looked to GSK’s R&D capability: Could science somehow remind consumers of the great taste of ice cream they’d been missing? A literal ‘ice-breaker’ to provoke a conversation about available remedies? Our concept – ‘Coldish’ – would be the world’s first ice lolly for people with sensitive teeth. Lukewarm and pain free, it would allow consumers not just to hear our message but experience it viscerally, with every bite setting up our critical question: “Why miss out on ice cold ice cream and go through lengths coming up with something lukewarm, when simply switching toothpaste would cure your sensitivity?” ‘Warm ice cream’ had obvious headline appeal to media and influencers, and “Free ice cream!” signage would be an easy pull in. Now, we just had to invent it...

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Our target audience was 25-49 year olds, under-represented in Sensodyne’s customer base. (Young people are typically less aware/less bothered that tooth discomfort is sensitivity.) Our plan: Tap into the hot vogue for handcrafted ice cream, and target our audience where they want it most — sunny summer events. Touring six markets (Nordic countries, Netherlands and Belgium), our ice-cream trucks would arrive and hand out Coldish. While munching their lollies, they would be the perfect captive audience for a conversation about how they could enjoy real ice cream every day again, pain free, simply by switching toothpaste. We would also target food and lifestyle influencers (paid and unpaid) with Coldish, as well as national media, health/lifestyle, food, dental and vegan magazines (Coldish is plant-based) to get their help spreading our message across. With Coldish as a conversation starter online, we would trigger engagement for something as ordinary as brushing your teeth.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

Our principal execution challenge was the product itself: We needed a molecular gastronomist, a chef, a laboratory, an expert partner (ice-cream maker Köld) and 6 weeks (Mar-Apr 2021) to trial hundreds of foul-tasting attempts before we found the perfect recipe. Finally, by June, 10,000 delicious lollies were produced for all six markets in beautiful Prime-designed Coldish packaging, with wrapper text about the initiative. Media and influencers received cooler bags of lollies and PR information, and our key focus was then: 1. To ensure influencers raved about Coldish. We organized for them to attend events, assisted them recording clips for stories, and even drove our Coldish ice cream-truck to their homes. 2. To manage a European tour with a perishable product. (After 80 minutes, even Coldish melts.) e.g., Days before launch, a power cut left us organising a hectic courier dash across three Covid-restricted borders to deliver more lollies in time!

List the results (30% of vote)

Our primary goal was to start conversations with consumers. Our idea worked brilliantly: 5.8 million people across the Nordics, Belgium and the Netherlands heard about Coldish and Sensodyne, and discussed the simplicity of alleviating sensitivity. Over June-July, 6,500 people visited our touring truck (yes, 3,500 lollies turned into ice cream sadness during our various power-cut escapades!) and, while enjoying free ice cream, we were easily able to engage each one in a conversation about the needlessness of suffering sensitivity. The conversation then progressed to behavioural nudges on social, as responses from Sensodyne users (e.g. “I’ve had sensitive teeth since being a kid but, thanks to Sensodyne, my life has changed”), prompted others to want to learn more (“I had to check again to make sure it was true! Wow!”). So while we delivered only 6,500 ice creams, we managed to engage thousands and reach millions with Sensodyne’s message.