Dear friend of DKT:
Welcome to our September “Marketing Madness” issue. We are dedicating this newsletter to the innovative marketing campaigns that have been launched by DKT programs in recent months.
At DKT, we are committed to ensuring that safe, affordable family planning options are widely and easily accessible. To generate and meet the demand for family planning services, DKT uses a range of behavior change, marketing, and advertising strategies that leverage the power of the private sector. We highlight some of these strategies here: ambient marketing initiatives in Mozambique, social media marketing targeting youth in Brazil and China, and the introduction of fun, fresh commercials (including one that is now banned) in Pakistan and Ghana.
As always, thank you for supporting DKT International.
Christopher Purdy
President
Strategic street signs in Mozambique
In July, DKT Mozambique implemented a new marketing campaign nudging people to visit an INTIMO family planning clinics. By strategically placing attention grabbing signs about family planning for women, the number of first time clients that visit INTIMO clinics has increased significantly. In June, there were 186 first-time visits, while July resulted in more than a two-fold increase, totaling 400 first-time visits. We are encouraged by the results in Mozambique, and are excited to expand the scale of ambient marketing campaigns in the long-run elsewhere.
The establishment of ambient marketing campaigns, such as strategic sign placement in busy, low-income communities in Mozambique, is associated with a more than two-fold increase in the number of first-time visits at INTIMO clinics.
Celebrating Ramadan and learning about family planning in Pakistan!
DKT Pakistan tailored marketing activities to the religious calendar during the month of Ramadan. Through media coverage and the “Pre-Hype” campaign, DKT Pakistan was able to reach thousands of people, and encourage them to participate in an Iftar party at a local health clinic.
Sales fall in a number of DKT countries during Ramadan. This can be attributed both to the strict fasting schedule, and also the lack of marketing activities that are initiated during this period. This year, DKT Pakistan cleverly implemented a marketing strategy tailored to the Ramadan schedule. During the day, DKT Pakistan visited communities, going door to door inviting people to an Iftar party at the local DKT “Dhanak” health center. Newspapers, such as the Daily Messenger, Nawa-e-Waqt, Daily Pakistan and Daily Jasarat, also promoted and spread awareness of the events. In total, over 1,600 men and women attended the Iftar parties sponsored by DKT, celebrating the end of their fast as a community, and also learning about family planning and birth spacing services.
TV commercials in Ghana and Pakistan
In 2013, JOSH condoms aired a suggestive advertisement with the fashion icon Mathira. It was deemed as inappropriate and controversial, and subsequently banned by the government. In a similar fashion, JOSH condoms’ new ad that aired in late August 2015 (shown in the image above) was banned at the beginning of September.
Over the past month, a number of new TV commercials have been released. In July, the new Kiss condoms commercial was aired in Ghana.
Soon after, Ghana promoted the use of the Lydia IUD in three new commercials, each portraying a different satisfied customer – a student , a hairdresser , and a corporate business-woman . DKT Ghana uses these relatable characters to promote the Lydia IUD as safe, effective, and inexpensive. Also in the digital spher e, DKT Pakistan aired a new JOSH condoms ad at the end of August. This fun and fresh commercial, however, was banned by the Pakis tani government within a few weeks, reminding us of the previous controversies surrounding the JOSH condo m ad in 2013 , and the cultural obstacles that we still face today.
Successful youth activism in Brazil
DKT Brazil has extremely successful marketing that focuses on youth activism. DKT is hopeful that by exposing youths to information about sexuality, family planning and HIV/AIDS, they will also engage their peers in the information, causing a multiplier effect.
In Brazil, July marked the sale of DKT’s 1.5 billionth condom. If all of these condoms were lined up, they would wrap around the world six times. This success is attributed to DKT Brazil’s outreach and marketing programs that target youths. In addition to having a strong Facebook , Instagram and YouTube presence, DKT Brazil promotes the use of condoms among young people in bars and nightclubs. Additionally, DKT Brazil continues to fund the non-profit program Multiplier Youth . This program targets 10-12 th grade students, promoting the use of condoms, and increasing awareness of family planning services and STI prevention.
Using social media as an informational platform in China
DKT China has been approved for a WeChat platform, which will post educational and promotional information. We encourage you to subscribe to the platform by scanning the barcode provided.
DKT China is excited to announce that they have been approved for a WeChat platform. For those that have not heard of WeChat, it is an online text and video messaging application that can be used on all smartphones. In addition to messaging, WeChat also has public accounts, allowing people to subscribe and receive updates from millions of organizations. Currently, there are 600 million active WeChat accounts, with the majority of users being Chinese. This makes WeChat an extremely user-friendly informational platform for DKT, especially in China. DKT China has begun to post once every few days, including pictures, links, videos, and articles for educational and promotional purposes. If you are interested in following DKT’s WeChat platform, we encourage you to scan the barcode provided.
