The Philips Sonicare oral-care brand is leaning into the wellness movement.
Starting September 14, Philips Sonicare has tapped Spotify for an in-app campaign offering personalized playlists and motivation moments to inspire people to achieve their wellness goals. Though Philips Sonicare has long aligned itself with oral health, this campaign intends to embrace the softer concept of wellness. The attractiveness of advertising through Spotify was the ease with which it’s integrated into people’s existing habits, like cooking, cleaning, driving or even brushing their teeth, said Devon Driscoll, marketing brand manager at Philips Oral Healthcare
“When we talk about wellness, we do not want to make it feel like it’s this huge hurdle where consumers have to transform their routine,” said Driscoll. “We want to promise that when you consistently use the Sonicare, you’re brushing the right way; [wellness] starts with just two minutes twice a day.”
Spotify non-subscribers will hear Philips Sonicare ads during commercial breaks, which have a call-to-action to fill out a brief survey asking about their interests, goals and listening habits, to generate a personalized playlist. Paying subscribers who do not have commercial breaks can access the ad campaign via a direct link found in influencer content, Philips Sonicare’s unpaid social content and media articles. The playlists have three distinct themes: “Inspirer,” “Jokester” and “Coach.” Additionally, Philips Sonicare tapped soccer player and Olympic gold medalist Sydney Leroux for motivational audio clips interspersed throughout playlists. Philips Sonicare has used Spotify ads as part of its advertising mix in the past and is sponsoring Spotify’s pre-existing “Fun Run” playlist with in-app ads.
Later, on October 13-14, Philips Sonicare will sponsor the Long Beach Marathon in Southern California. The brand will meet runners and guests there at the pre-race expo through an interactive art installment where people can contribute to a motivational mural. The final art piece will be displayed at the finish line, where more than 17,000 marathon participants can see it.
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According to market research firm Civic Science, Philips Sonicare holds a 23% market share of electric toothbrush users as of 2022, behind Oral-B at 51%. Philips Sonicare is owned by Dutch multinational conglomerate Philips, which does not break out individual brand sales in its quarterly earnings.
Oral-care brands have attempted to cross the bridge into beauty and wellness for a few years. Starting in early 2019 and through 2020, a surge of new brands, products and retail partners turned oral care into “smile care.” In 2019, Moon Oral Care launched, followed by Hello Products, expanding into Ulta Beauty in Jan. 2020. And, since 2019, Smile Direct Club has leveraged a marketing narrative around being a cosmetic brand, driving home the concept through Macy’s and CVS partnerships. Since then, oral care brands have gone upscale as premiumization has spread throughout personal care and hygiene brands. Premiumization has been informed by both consumers’ demand for nicer-looking products and brands’ desire to pad the bottom line of sales in the absence of a growing product category demand.
In 2022, Philips Sonicare conducted a survey which found that 47% of Americans under 40 years old are re-evaluating their self-care approach, which is why it is “critical” for Philips Sonicare to be a part of that conversation, said Christine Croce, director of marketing and consumer activation at Philips Sonicare. Driscoll added, that when people look good, they feel good, and Philips Sonicare wants to be known for both those elements and health.
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“We know there’s a need, and more than ever, this [wellness movement] is becoming so heightened. So, we’re trying to strategically position ourselves to help consumers,” said Croce.
