Dettol, one of the nation’s favourite cleaning brands, had a new addition to introduce to the world—cue their plant-based products, Dettol Tru Clean. A selection of wipes and a spray, made for the eco-conscious consumer at its heart—free from harmful chemicals, such as bleach, dye or phosphates. Instead, Tru Clean uses a plant-based active ingredient, lactic acid, to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses.²

With a mission to raise awareness for Dettol Tru Clean to a broad audience (aged 25-65) and reach the rising sustainably-minded consumer—with over 5m people who use Pinterest in the UK saying they are passionate about environmental issues³—Dettol set their sights on a multi-objective marketing campaign.

Why Pinterest went hand in (rubber) glove for this campaign

According to a recent study, Pinterest is the first place where people go to get their inspiration for sustainable living among social platforms, and 1 in 2 shoppers expressed they want digital platforms to help them discover and connect with eco-friendly brands⁴––Dettol was perfectly positioned to speak to this audience.

The formula for ads success

The brand wanted to raise awareness for Dettol Tru Clean to its existing broader audience (people aged 25-65) whilst engaging new potential customers too—Pinterest’s eco-conscious audience. Dettol set consideration as a secondary objective to educate consumers on the benefits of plant-based cleaning, without having to compromise on efficacy.

Dettol used a combination of video ads (max width and standard), static ads (Pins and carousels), smart targeting (interest, keywords, and search) and a Pinterest brand lift study. They also worked closely with Pinterest’s creative teams to ensure their Pin packs followed best practices.

Dettol’s multi-objective media strategy included setting up a Brand Lift Study to measure performance whilst comparing two strategies: awareness and consideration.

Testing two approaches, they compared broad demographic targeting versus more specific demographic targeting (adding interest and keyword targeting). Keywords such as “eco conscious food & drink”, “cleaning”, “health & wellness” and “sustainable beauty & fashion” were among some of the campaign’s top performing.¹

The Brand Lift Study ran during the campaign, giving Dettol visibility over any changing brand metrics, and the opportunity to dial up or down their marketing efforts. They were also keen to test their creatives, created with digital optimisation in mind, to make sure they were grabbing the consumer’s attention within the first few seconds. 

Gleaming results

Dettol successfully drove incremental impact and reach––and here are just some of the facts and figures from the campaign’s wash-up:

Broad versus targeted demographic––the targeted proved most successful, showing greater lift across all metrics compared to the broader demographic.¹

The campaign saw +1.6pts lift in Aided Brand Awareness (above the CPG industry average) and +3.5pts lift for people aged 35-491. There was also a +2.5pt lift in Pin Awareness (again, above the CPG industry average) and +1.1pt lift in Brand Association for product claims.¹

Video viewability was 80% over the MRC standard, with max-width proving to be the most engaging format for this campaign.⁵

Dettol's campaign shone on Pinterest due to their effective multi-objective strategy, following creative best practices, dialing up different ad formats and smart targeting. Reaching the audience they wanted and the gleaming results soon followed—delivering on all their campaign goals—driving reach, lift, awareness and more.

Tips for your next campaign

Try these Pinterest best practices to get more out of your ads:

1. Implement a multi-objective media strategy: Adopt a test-and-learn mindset. Advertisers who take a multi-objective approach see more success than those who home in on a single media objective.

2. Experiment with different ad formats: Innovate with different ad formats on Pinterest. Explore the many ways your brand can show up on the platform to capture your audience’s attention.

3. Maximise your creative, messaging and reach: Use Pinterest products such as Carousels to showcase different product features, advertise multiple products, or tell your brand story in chapters.