In conversation with Social Samosa, Anika Wadhera of Sirona Hygiene throws light on finding a voice on a topic that's not openly spoken about, while sharing insights on a recent campaign and current marketing trends.
Hiding the red stain on the skirt at school, showing up at work with a heavy flow and menstrual cramps, and going through menopause while managing a family - menstruation has a heavy impact on every experience as a woman progresses in her life, but societal thinking and perspective on this intrinsic part of a woman's life has not progressed. Anika Wadhera, Head of Marketing, Sirona Hygiene, shares inisights on finding a share of voice in a space where the topic is not spoken about.
Taboo Topics - The Unspoken Problems
Menstrual hygiene and intimate care products are classified as essential, but conversations around them are not as common as (for example) online food delivery. In fact, a core biological process is often looked at in a different light. It is commonly known that menstruating women are perceived to be impure, or even sinful, and in certain communities barred from participating in familial affairs or need to carry out a disconnected lifestyle.
In the progressive society too, period blood in advertisements is blue. The shopkeepers tend to pack sanitary pads discretely in a newspaper or in a brown bag while handing them out. This whole narrative is on the verge of transforming, and digital-first brands such as Sirona Hygiene are moving forward on this path.
Menstrual and intimate hygiene is a taboo topic and not thus not openly spoken about. As a result not only is there lack of information for vulva owners on this topic, there is misinformation as well.
Anika Wadhera
Consumable Content - The Sirona Solutions
The brand has not taken the generic route of creating awareness and recall through product marketing and campaigns that focus on sales. All brand communications have been zeroed in on becoming a source of knowledge on a subject that lacks direction and information.
Anika shares that people are constantly seeking information through trusted sources. Since periods is a taboo topic in our country, there is low awareness that has given rise to various queries and myths. "This is where Sirona comes in and educates their audience through various forms of content formats like infographics, videos, articles on periods and similar topics".
She further adds that the brand has been able to break the stigma around periods by not only creating content but by also driving conversations through campaigns and engagement activities.
Taboo Topics X Consumable Content
Anika states that maintaining the educational stance is the key to growing in this category. Informational content that blends innovative solutions with a problem-solving narrative is critical for the social media strategy, she mentions. Topical templates, brand-related, and engagement-led content are the supplementary content pillars intended to keep the audience engaged.
She further adds that social media plays a critical role in accomplishing the key objective of educating the audience, and Shorts and Reels have helped in integrating serious topics into fun trends. "This helps to educate our audience and make the content interestingly consumable for them. Not only influencers, but even our own employees and customers create Reels for us".
Content Marketing has also contributed to the generation of sales for the brand. Remarking on the various digital touchpoints helpful in generating leads or completing the transaction, she shares that it significantly contributes to lead generation. The brand creates and distributes content across various platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Intimately Yours blog, The Sirona App, The Sirona Community, and more.
The brand recently launched a digital video campaign themed around the freedom of girls and women and conveyed the concept of women having the freedom to wear what they want to and be where they want to, at any hour of the day (or night). The root of this campaign stemmed from the notion that mothers are taken for granted and daughters are treated with love and care.
"The campaign is focussed on driving people to change their perspective and start treating their country as their daughter. Changing perspective takes communication, engagement and a period of time to show results. Thus for this campaign, we are not time, platform, or channel bound and will continue to work on it for a long time," Anika shares.
The shelf-life of a campaign is based on the brand intent & objective and not the current trends only -Anika Wadhera
Marketing Trends
Short video content dominating the A&M industry
People are constantly seeking information through trusted sources
Audience require information within seconds
Moment marketing has been in motion and will continue to grow
Several brands are on top of their game on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts
Build a connection with your audience in real-time through topics that drive them.
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