Colgate’s Smile for Change initiative—a partnership between the oral hygiene giant and The Smith Family charity – is encouraging Australians to help raise funds and awareness for Aussie kids in need using Facebook.

Designed for Colgate by George Patterson Y&R Sydney (GPY&R), the campaign sees Colgate, The Smith Family, and legendary Aussie swimmer and mum Susie O’Neill team up to harness the simple pleasure of seeing children smile for social good.

Parents or guardians simply have to ‘like’ Colgate’s Facebook page to be granted access to the Smile for Change app.  After that, they’re free to proudly upload a photo of their smiling child. For every photo uploaded Colgate will donate one dollar to The Smith Family, a charity focused on helping disadvantaged Australians get the most out of life.

Channels used

Smile for Change was fittingly kicked off with a PR event at the smiling gates of Sydney’s Luna Park featuring campaign ambassador and Aussie swimming legend Susie O’Neill.

Since then, further PR and a wide-reaching TVC campaign showcasing real Aussie families and their smiling children has been used to drive Facebook participation.

On the Facebook page itself, further engagement has been encouraged with posts featuring oral heath facts and tips as well as calls for parents to submit their own tips and experiences with child oral healthcare.

Think global, act local

According to GPY&R, the greatest challenge with the Smile for Change campaign has been to create “a truly local campaign for such a global client.” 

With the TVC component driving Facebook traffic and campaign participation, real Aussie families were cast for the Sydney shoots to give the campaign a local authenticity.  This local authenticity is then continued naturally through the photos of real Aussie kids uploaded to Colgate’s Facebook page.

Key Resources

According to Lynda Gray at GPY&R, the entire campaign was designed, constructed and rolled-out in house by GPY&R on behalf of Colgate, with only PR support being outsourced.

“[We engaged] SSH for PR,” says Gray.   “We worked together closely to ensure that we had a successful launch in Luna Park, as well as generating engagement with our Facebook site.”

Demographics

The Smile for Change campaign primarily targets the parents or guardians of young children.  Secondarily, it targets anyone in a family who will be affected by the emotional connection with Colgate.

A survey of comments and general participation on the Colgate Facebook page indicates a predominantly mum-centric audience response typical of Fast Moving Consumer Goods campaigns. 

Campaign aims

“A key aim is to start a movement encouraging Australians to help children in need and make a difference to their lives,” says Gray.  “Poor oral health is a significant issue, particularly among the disadvantaged. While Colgate has a well-established, behind-the-scenes oral health programme, Smile for Change is also designed to strengthen the emotional bond to the Colgate brand.”

Facebook activity indicates a more than healthy degree of public engagement.  While the odd comment suggests there has been some confusion amongst a minority of users over where to post their images (they must be posted through the Smile for Change app and not simply on the Colgate Facebook wall), quick responses and active moderation has meant that all teething problems have been smoothed over with minimal fuss. 

As with all well-managed social media campaigns, GPY&R’s Smile for Change has embraced every opportunity to interact with their audience and demonstrates that even trouble-shooting can be an opportunity to enhance brand trust when handled correctly. 

Outcome

Measurement of the campaign’s success is exceedingly simple:  The more photos uploaded, the more money goes to the Smith Family.

So far Colgate’s Facebook page has received almost 22,000 likes and there have been nearly 4,500 individual photos uploaded, with a dollar donated by Colgate for each one. 

Numbers like that are sure to put a smile on the face of everyone concerned.