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Social Networking for Product Branding

Introduction Sunsilk is a hair care brand, primarily aimed at women, produced by the Unilever group. Sunsilk is Unilever’s leading hair care brand, and ranks as one of the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate's leading brands. Sunsilk shampoos, conditioners and other hair care products are sold in 69 countries worldwide. Sunsilk is sold under a variety of different names in markets around the world including Elidor, Seda and Sedal. The brand is strongest in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and is the number one hair care brand in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. History

σ Sunsilk was launched in the UK in 1954, and by 1959 it was available in 18 different countries worldwide. At the time, Sunsilk had an advantage over other shampoos in the market as it only needed one application, and so meant washing less natural oils from the hair. Sunsilk cream shampoo for dry hair was launched in 1956.

σ In 1961, Sunsilk Liquid shampoo was re-launched to Sunsilk Beauty, because ‘Liquid’ in the name, originally used to distinguish the product from powdered shampoos had become meaningless as the majority of shampoos were now in liquid form.

σ Sunsilk significantly improved product formula and launched new variants in 1966: the first major shampoo to contain olive oil, which acted as conditioner to make hair soft and manageable; shampoo for dull hair, which restored hair’s natural shine; lemon shampoo for greasy hair with deep cleansing ingredients.

σ Sunsilk hair spray was first launched in 1964 to enter an expanding hair-spray market, but in 1966 a new product formula was developed which gave hold, even in damp weather whilst still caring for hair. The hair spray contained a French perfume and could easily be removed by brushing or shampooing it out.

σ In 1969, all Sunsilk shampoo was re-packaged in new PVC bottles, which were larger than traditional glass bottles for the same price.

σ Sunsilk conditioner was launched in 1971 with three variants for dry, normal and greasy hair. In 1973, Sunsilk launched an aerosol dispensed setting lotion. An economy size shampoo bottle was introduced for Sunsilk in 1974.

σ In 1975, Sunsilk became the biggest name in hair care with 1,000,000 packs being sold every week.

σ In 1980, the whole Sunsilk range was re-launched, with improved formulations and packaging design to bring the brand into the 1980s.

σ In 1985, Sunsilk styling mousse was launched and 2 years later a conditioning mousse followed.

σ In 2001, Sunsilk moved into the hair colourant market for Asian-type dark hair, offering a range of seven permanent colours from natural black to copper with purple, red and gold tints.

σ In 2003, Sunsilk launched a new range of shampoos and conditioners, which were developed to meet women’s hair needs and reflect the way women think about their hair.

Advertising Sunsilk began advertising in 1955 with a campaign that focused on specific hair "issues". In the UK, the campaign focused on shiny hair. During the 1960s, a television commercial of Sunsilk featured a tune composed by John Barry, “The girl with the sun in her hair”, which proved so popular that it was subsequently released as a pop single. Sunsilk radio commercials were aired in 1969 featuring Derek Nimmo to support the new Sunsilk Herb shampoo for problem hair called “Hairy Tales”. In the early 1970s, Sunsilk was advertised with the slogan “All you need is Sunsilk”. Madonna, Shakira and Marilyn Monroe all featured in Sunsilk's 2008 advertising campaign “Life Can’t Wait” which launched with a Super Bowl XLII spot. The philosophy behind the campaign was about girls taking positive steps to gain better control of their lives “Hair On = Life On”. Actress and former Miss World Priyanka Chopra is the brand ambassador for Sunsilk in India Sunsilk Gang of Girls Towards the end of 2002 Sunsilk, which was then sponsoring the Miss India pageant, decided to establish an online presence for the endeavor. The success of this activity spawned the idea of developing a portal for young girls and soon thereafter the Sunsilk Naturals (as the brand was known back then) came into being.

The site at this time was replete with substantial hair and beauty content while prominently featuring Jawed Habib as hair care expert. This in turn successfully resonated with the target audience paving the way for an exclusive all-girl community that is today widely recognized as Gang Of Girls. Strategic Insights Over the years the website has evolved in its look, tone and core content. However, it has always operated on certain fundamental principles and with a thorough understanding of its target group. Sunsilk gang of girls is an exclusive online community for such likeminded girls. The site is built on the philosophy that girls love to gang together to express what they feel. It is a place for young urban women to come and say what they mean. It is founded on three pillars and has been operating on these since its inception. These are self-expression, interactivity and hair & fashion content. Today the website speaks to the 20 something urban woman found to frequent malls and multiplexes with a love of shopping and a tendency to live life to the fullest. The Sunsilk girl keeps up with the latest fashion and trends and would seek these out in magazines, movies and peers. The brand recognizes this and broadly wishes to operate in the space of fashion and style. Website Features GOG TV enables girls to upload and share their videos. It has features like the moviemaker create her own movie by using pre-shot movie clips. It also features the slideshow maker; where a user can upload pictures and give it various transitions along with background music.

Get Spotted is yet another platform for girls to showcase their talents in performance art, writing etc. and win prizes based on how other users rate their talents.

Furthermore, the Life Can’t Wait tool gives users a unique and creative space wherein they can express to other users their life’s defining moments as well as their goals and dreams.

The Be A DJ feature in the Rhythm Lounge allows users to express themselves musically – they can create their own music mixes by mixing and matching pre-recorded instrumental tracks.

Space to Interact with Other Users Girl Talk is one of the most active sections of the website. It is a forum that gives girls the space to discuss everything from hair & fashion to the latest in entertainment.

Ask the girls is a special feature introduced with the understanding that girls often have questions that only other like-minded girls can answer. The site therefore has given its users the space to ask around. From fashion to sex to sports the girls can ask questions under specified categories and get them answered by other girls.

The website in association with MSN India has also introduced its very own mail and chat service available exclusively to girls on the website.

Interactive Tools & Applications The Complete Makeover Machine is a breakthrough tool that allows users to give themselves head-to-toe virtual makeovers by experimenting with the trendiest hairstyles, outfits and accessories.

The site is further equipped with exciting games that users can play over and over again.

A handy desktop application – the Sunsilk Buddy – keeps users abreast of the latest happenings on the site and gives them the means to update various sections of the site through the application itself.

Spirit of Ganging Ganging is alive and blazing ahead on the site and this can be seen in the core site sections that focus on the spirit of ganging. The Gang Blogs for instance allows users to blog as a gang thereby each blog reflects the collective opinion of the various gang members that author it.

Gang Wars is yet another fun activity that gangs can partake in each month. Gangs get to compete against one another in games and the winning gang is awarded exciting prizes.

Gangs are also given the space to seek out new members and website newbies can find themselves a suitable gang by placing classified ads in the classifieds section of our site.

Associative content

σ The website features blogs by noted hairstylist Jawed Habib and other female celebrities giving users insight into the lives and minds of their idols.

σ The site is well equipped with the latest entertainment updates presented by MSN India.

σ The website in association with Astro Life presents users their daily horoscope along with other astrological insights.

σ An association with Monster Jobs allows the site to present users with hot career opportunities for them to explore.

σ An association with the IPL team Kolkota Knightriders allowed the Knights and Angels campaign, to select the cheerleading squad for the team through the website.

Replicating Success across Asia The success of Sunsilk Gang Of Girls, over the years, has given way to the launch of Gang Of Girls websites for each of a number of countries in South and South-East Asia. Other Media Used Towards the end of 2007 Sunsilk Gang Of Girls introduced a viral spoofing the then popular film ‘Chak De India’. The viral appropriately named ‘Choke There’ features a disgraced & beleaguered hockey coach in search of his dream hockey team. Some of the hilarious spoofs featured in the viral include Shah Rukh, Himmesh, Mithun, Sholay’s Thakur and more. Campaign Stats Campaign URL www.sunsilkgangofgirls.com Results • Total Registration – 7,16,621 • Average Monthly Page Views – 30,00,000 • Average Monthly Hits – 1,20,00,000 • Average Monthly Unique Visitors – 97,086 • Total Number of Gangs – 42,586 • Average Visit Length – 11.06 minutes