• Adweek, Tuesday, August 22, 2006 12:45 PM

Consumer product behemoth Unilever is incorporating a substantial amount of nontraditional marketing methods in the largest U.S. launch of a hair-care product. To introduce Sunsilk, the company is earmarking about $30 million, or 15 percent of the total $200 million budget, for nontraditional media. The platforms include mall displays that use a new audio technology to grab attention; a profile and ads on MySpace.com; cinema ads in nationwide theaters; and eye-catching 3-D displays in close to 900 bars in key target markets, such as Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Like the broader campaign, which broke in July, the far-reaching nontraditional effort centers on the concept of "hairapy" for young single women on the go. Several factors are driving the heavy allocation to nontraditional venues. "The bull's-eye target for this brand is the 25-year-old single woman who is in a so-called quarter-life crisis," says Susan Noble, senior partner and group marketing director at Unilever media agency MindShare. "They have one foot just out of college and one foot in the professional world, and she's trying to create a balance between the need to go out and see friends and the need to be at work the next day." So the strategy behind the media plan is to reach her in multiple places, like movie theaters, bars and malls, as well as TV, online and print.

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