OMO – Dirt is Good – Outside Play Foundation

Unilever brand Omo and the Outside Play Foundation commisioned bespoke research that showed that children are playing outside less. A campaign by Mindshare was developed to highligh the importance of outside play and to inspire parents and children into action.

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Innovative media strategy

Unilever laundry detergent brand OMO, believes dirt is good. Playing outside is crucial for the social and physical development of any child yet these days when the computer dominates so many social activities, outside playtime is declining. OMO decided it was time to take responsibility and promote the importance of it. Following the foundation of the OMO Outside Play Foundation (OOPF) with the Dutch Olympic Committee, OMO commissioned bespoke consultant paediatric research which proved children played 20% less outside in '07 vs '05. The brand built on this with a campaign to inspire parents and their children into action.

Creative execution

OMO published their research emphasising the importance of outside play, which formed the bedrock of the campaign and was supported by highly targeted TV, digital and print encouraging children to form their own special outside play clubs and register with the OOPF via a bespoke website.
Kids were further engaged through Jetix TV with a promo, online forum, game, and email strategy and a specially constructed Board of Dirt jury judging the most innovative clubs.

Target audience

This campaign first reached mothers (of children 5-12 years) with the published research and then informed through the TV commercial, online and print partnerships including parenting magazine (J/M/).

"Life&Cooking" (the Unilever owned RTL TV format) reported on OOPF, while Jetix connected the kids through partnership including online. Editorial in the children's magazine Bobo was also created. OMO organised the National Championship of Outside Play, which gained high levels of PR and awareness.

Effectiveness

  • An amazing 270.000 kids registered with the OOPF, clustered in 40.000 clubs.
  • The OOPF is the fifth biggest sport association in the Netherland and 55% of all mothers are aware of the OOPF.
  • The brand strength of OMO improved significantly due to the creation of the OOPF (Millward Brown).

Context

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