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Jill Schreider
October 20, 2017
Comm483
SA Case Study

Always #LikeAGirl: Turning an Insult Into a

Confidence Movement
2015 Silver Anvil Award Winner
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Always #LikeAGirl: Turning an Insult Into a Confidence Movement

Always is one of the largest brands and makers of feminine care products across the
globe. In 2013, Always faced a challenge to connect with the millennial generation in order to
continue its trusted status against competitors and appeal to the demographic in a new, exciting
way. They would accomplish this through new media platforms using #LikeAGirl and spreading
a message rooted in feminism and confidence. The empowering message of the campaign,
combined with the creativity and authenticity of the Always brand, made it so successful that it
received a Silver Anvil Award in 2015. This case review will analyze the steps of this public
relations campaign, while evaluating its effectiveness.

Situation Analysis
Always led the global FemCare industry and consistently maintained confidence at the
core of the company. However, this confidence was expressed in terms of the reliability and
protection of the product itself. This type of trust is important with Always products, but it
became insufficient in building relevancy with younger women. Feminine care products did not
excite the millennial generation, but instead, they wanted brands that inspire conversation and
engagement, especially on social media. Consumers as a whole now look for brands that serve a
social purpose, not only sell their products (Vila & Bharadwaj, 2017). Always realized the
necessity of connecting its products with a larger message and redefining their idea of
confidence. Other FemCare providers and Always competitors were already beginning to
identify with millennials through social media, so Always knew they needed a captivating
campaign to ensure their competitors would not surpass them in the industry.

This information allowed Always to make an important discovery that would become the
basis of the campaign. Puberty is the primary time in a womans life where they experience a
confidence crisis and gender stereotyping is a huge contributing factor for the lack of confidence.
Like a girl is historically perceived as a negative phrase, implying that being a female is a
disadvantage and an insult. Always used this to create a campaign that challenged this
demoralizing expression, redefining it to empower women and instill confidence in them during
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this time.

Always did not have a SWOT analysis identified for this campaign, but they did take a
look at the strengths and weaknesses within their company, as well as competitors in order to
decide the best course of action for the #LikeAGirl campaign. Below is a formal SWOT analysis,
containing what Always would have likely included if they conducted one itself.

Strengths:
- Global leader in feminine care products
- Dedicated to confidence and trust of brand
- 30-year commitment to empowering
through puberty education
Weaknesses:
- Millennials do not feel connected to the
brand
- Focus on product reliability over
connectedness to consumers
- Low recognition of purpose of female
empowerment

SWOT Analysis-
Always

Opportunities
- FemCare was ready for a movement
- Female empowerment is a relevant topic in
today's fourth-wave feminism
- Success of other consumer brands in using
campaigns to tackle social issues (i.e. Dove)
Threats:
- Competition with other feminine care
brands, like Playtex and Tampax
- Other consumer brands that address similar
social issues
- Potential perceived lack of authenticity

The main takeaway from this SWOT analysis is the risk that occurs when linking a
product to a larger message and social cause. First, there is already competition from other
feminine care brands, as well as many other consumer brands that use social issues in their
campaign to be memorable and relatable. Because of this, Always may get lost amidst all of
these other brands. The other issue is whether consumers will remember the product linked to the
message. The campaign hardly focuses on selling the product, but more so conveys the message
of transforming Like A Girl from an insult to an empowering message. Always is risking
consumers only remembering the message, but not which product it is associated with. Finally,
other campaigns, such as Starbucks Race Together, get criticized for the lack of authenticity.
This means they just use a popular social issue that they do not actually care about, just to sell
the product (Vila & Bharadwaj, 2017).

P&G Always partnered with MSLGROUP and Leo Burnett Toronto to create a campaign
that leveraged the brands legacy of supporting girls during puberty, while also redefining the
word confidence and increasing product relevancy with this new generation of young women.
MSLGROUP conducted the necessary research that would shape the campaign.
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Research
MSLGROUP conducted a study with Research Now to better understand confidence at
puberty and better shape the campaign. They first used surveys to study the confidence of young
women at puberty. This method relied on primary, formal and quantitative research to obtain
results.
They learned:

More than half of girls (56%) claimed to experience a drop in confidence at puberty.
Lowest confidence moments for girls were when puberty started and when they got their
first period, and this can leave a lasting effect.
The majority (89%) of females aged 16-24 agree that words can be harmful, especially to
girls. They cast doubt on how powerful a girl can be, and can affect girls for a lifetime.

These findings helped Always to identify and confirm their target publicMillennial women
aged 13-34, and more specifically, young women going through puberty. The survey allowed
MSLGROUP to understand the age where confidence is lowest, in addition to the perception of
the phrase Like A Girl and other harmful phrases that put down women.

The other research method was secondary, informal, and preliminary/casual, as they analyzed
what other similar organizations have done. Different from surveys, this method created
qualitative results, as it provided ideas and not data. They looked at trends and identified key
insights, which they would later incorporate into the campaign.

These included:

Clear and simple articulation of idea and action needed

Authenticity is crucial
Validate insight with data points
Enlist select celebrity influencers for buzz and visibility.

Identifying similar campaigns was a great research method, as they were able to comprehend
what appeals to this audience and, at the same time, what isnt so effective. MSLGroup made the
correct choice through the type and variety of research completed. They needed to be able to
shape the campaign based on confidence levels at puberty. This would help them create a
movement that would appeal to the correct age group and support these young women.

They used their research to determine that they should use Like A Girl as an empowering
message to young women during puberty, when they are experiencing low confidence. With the
research from Research Now, they were able to drive the messaging and tactics to appeal to the
audience. They were also able to use this research to increase their credibility.

MSLGroup had to rely on this type of research, as their campaign was natural, a social
experiment. They held a fake casting call with young women and men, and asked them to do
things like a girl. The results were captured in real time. Therefore, there was no way of
holding focus groups to test reactions to a video beforehand, as the video was not created until
the casting call was held.
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Planning
The planning focused on the video that would be created to drive the campaign. While
there are small mentions of goals, objectives, strategies and messages, the campaign primarily
focused on the tactics they would use. They also did mention the target public of millennial
women aged 13-34, but they did not recognize any secondary or intervening publics. Below, I
have derived goals, objectives, strategies, messages and publics based on the summary of the
campaign.

Goals:
To foster popularity and brand loyalty through an emotional connection to Always
To be recognized as the top global provider of feminine care products to millennial
women
To boost and create advancements in women empowerment and confidence

Objectives:
Drive 2 million video views within 3 weeks of the video being released
Generate 250 million media impressions during the course of the campaign
Using the hashtag #LikeAGirl, increase Twitter followers by 60% by the end of the
campaign
Engage at least 10 celebrities to send tweets with #LikeAGirl during the course of the
campaign.
Respond and engage with 30% of the content shared on Twitter and Facebook to
maximize social sharing.
Earn at least 1,000 media placements over the course of the campaign.

The objectives for the campaign were never labeled and the only one that was included,
did not include time frame and therefore did not hit all the SMART criteria. If Always and
MLSGROUP had created SMART objectives, it would have been easier draw conclusions and
trace them back to their original objectives. Because their campaign focused on measuring
engagement, specific objectives are crucial to later evaluating the effectiveness of the campaign.

Strategies:

Transform like a girl from a negative phrase to an inspiring, powerful one

Emotionally connect Always to the target audience through use of pathos
Partner with celebrities and other influencers to drive campaign
Place Always as an advocate for women empowerment

The summary only labeled one strategy, but it is important to create multiple strategies that flow
from objectives and will help achieve them.

Messages

The big idea of this campaign was to take the insulting phrase, Like A Girl with its
negative implications and transform it to an empowering message that would unite young
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women across the globe. The emotional appeal of the campaign would engage their target
audience and create an inclusive space for conversation and inspirational posts. With this,
Always would maintain its status and reputation as the leading FemCare provider, while
reaffirming its dedication to helping the confidence of young women.

Primary Message:

Always is dedicated to inspiring and empowering women to have confidence in

themselves and their abilities

Secondary Messages

Changing Like A Girl from a phrase with a negative and damaging connotation to one
that means powerful and amazing.
Continuing, but also enhancing the legacy of Always, a company devoted to supporting
womens confidence.

These messages directly related to the goals and objectives of this campaign. They also were able
to use their known history as a supporter of womens confidence during puberty, while taking it
to new heights with the phrase, Like A Girl to empower women and reinforce the importance
of confidence.

Only one public was identified for this campaign, but it is important to think of all of the
other possible affected audiences, in order to ensure the campaign is tailored to all the
individuals who may be affected or who could have influence.

Target publics

Primary Publics Secondary Publics

- Millennial women aged 13-34
Subset: Young women going through
puberty
Intervening Publics
- News Media (who can share the video and write
articles on the campaign)
- Bloggers
- Celebrities (who feel inspired to share message)
- Parents of millennial women
- Young men
Moderating
- Those that P&G have a partnership with
(Olympic Athletes, celebrities, etc.)

Although these were not all identified in the summary, the campaign did an outstanding job
ensuring the campaign would reach all publics. While it was most obvious the campaign was
aimed at young women, they included young men in the video in order to change their
perception of Like A Girl, too. This is important because the campaign aimed to instill
confidence by ensuring young women would stop putting themselves down, but it is also crucial
to provide that message for young men to not make fun of girls. In addition, by creating such an
emotionally intensifying campaign, I can imagine that parents would feel impacted and continue
the message that Always created by empowering their children.
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Implementation
The implementation of the campaign largely focused on the video. The video was a social
experiment, conducted in a real time and resulted in a very important message. The video,
produced by award-winning documentarian Lauren Greenfield, depicts how both men and
women of different ages interpret the phrase Like A Girl.

The video started with directions to do various activities Like A Girl. These individuals
were still young women and men, but they were older than the second group of participants,
probably in their upper teens or low twenties. The activities included running, throwing, and
fighting, and each participant responded in a very weak manner, making Like A Girl an insult
and disadvantage. The below snapshots from the video demonstrate what the individuals did with
the directions during the first part of the video.

The photos above are how participants responded to being asked to run like a girl (left) and
fight like a girl (right).

Then, younger girls around 10 years old were asked to perform the same activities. These
girls ran, threw, and fought with confidence and showed the director they were powerful, as
depicted in the photos below. The time period between the two groups of participants is when
puberty occurs. Therefore, this video confirmed MSLGROUPs research findings that
confidence plummets during puberty. Now, Always would be able to address this message in the
rest of their video and change perceptions.

What does it
mean to run
like a girl?

It means run
as fast as you
can.
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After asking the older girls why they chose the action they did, and how Like A Girl is
an insult and an insinuation of weakness, Greenfield offered them a second chance to do things
Like A Girl. As shown in the photos below, their reactions were different this time. In fact, the
girl on the left said, Ill run like myself, rather than the societal idea of Like A Girl.

This video sparked a movement that would extend way further than this initial video. In
addition, the video would become a Super Bowl advertisement, reaching more than 110 million
people. The budget was primarily allocated for the video advertisement, and it was well worth
the resources as the Super Bowl reaches such a large audience. Social media would become
another huge platform for this campaign, as young women around the world tweeted what they
do #LikeAGirl. And, even celebrities joined the movement.

Below is MSLGROUPs strategic campaign:

Leverage research data: MSLGROUP used tangible insights and data from the
Research Now study to bolster the campaign credibility and news value and develop and
drive content and messaging across program assets & tactics.
Introduce hashtag: To reverse the meaning of the phrase, we introduced the social
hashtag #LikeAGirl as a rallying cry for the mission to change. The hashtag invited
participation and engagement for girls to let the world know what inspiring things they
were doing "Like A Girl."

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Video launch: Leveraging trade media's ability to spark extensive consumer/business

media coverage and its role as promoter of buzz worthy creative content, the Always
#LikeAGirl social experiment video was strategically announced through an exclusive
with Ad Age. The video was unveiled via a PR launch on June 26th on Always' YouTube
site. Before the video's launch, MSLGROUP pre-seeded it with key influencers and
bloggers, asking them to share it on their social platforms to help spark early word of
mouth and begin viral spreading that would fuel traditional media coverage coinciding
with the launch.
Strategic media outreach: Following the launch, we reached out to online and broadcast
media, capitalizing on the surge of female empowerment movements. This approach,
combined with influencer seeding, ensured continual robust coverage across traditional
and social media categories, driving consumer and media buzz.
Engaging celebrities: We engaged celebrities including Vanessa Hudgens and Bella
Thorne to post tweets on the campaign, chosen for their high social reach and relevance
to our target audience. These sparked additional organic celebrity tweets from Sarah
Silverman, Tyler Oakley, Maria Shriver, Cher, Kristen Bell, Chelsea Clinton and Melinda
Gates, all sharing our video and message. Additional celebrities besides the ones
mentioned are shown below.
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Real-time news desk: MSLGROUP actively monitored and engaged with #LikeAGirl
conversations across Facebook and Twitter in real time to amplify and maximize social
sharing.
Global campaign: Based on initial success in North America, the campaign was
expanded to 20 markets.

The use of a variety of channels was extremely beneficial to the overall implementation of the
campaign. The hashtag spread on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, with the video disseminating
through those platforms, in addition to its original YouTube page and of course the Super Bowl
commercial. The messaging was consistent throughout platforms, using #LikeAGirl as the
theme, allowing young women around the world to feel connected through the use of this
creative hashtag.

Creativitys Role in the Campaign

The research helped shape the theme and messaging of the campaign, but the creativity of
these aspects is what captured the attention of the publics and made this campaign so successful.
Imaginative, original, and out-of-the-boxthese are three qualities of creativity and also three
characteristics that accurately describe this campaign.

One indicator of a creative public relations campaign is a cause/emotional appeal. This is

the foundation of the campaigna social cause and a dedication to empowering women. The
video itself used pathos very heavily, invoking feelings of empowerment and inspiration. I
personally cry every time I watch this video, mostly because I love the message and I want
women everywhere to embody the messages put forth in the video. I am part of the target
audience of millennials, so it is a good reflection of how other women may have felt watching
the video.

The hashtag itself, #LikeAGirl, is one reason the campaign spread quickly. By taking a
phrase that is typically used as an insult and shaping it into a positive, empowering message,
people caught on very quickly and shared the message all over various media outlets. The
creative play on words sparked conversation, spreading the message and igniting a movement.

Evaluation
The campaign was a success, as #LikeAGirl became a trending hashtag on social media
and the video went viral. The message of the campaign sparked a worldwide breakthrough in
female empowerment and what it means to do something like a girl. What started as a small
social experiment quickly grew into a trending social conversation that spread around the world
and surpassed the brands wildest expectations (PRSA, 2015).

Always clear purpose, combined with the emotional impact on the audience, elicited a
very memorable message and campaign. From a public relations standpoint, the company met its
goals and surpassed objectives, thus allowing Always to enhance its image and reputation in the
FemCare industry. At the same time, the campaign helped shift attitude on an important societal
issue.

Before going into each objective, here are the overall results:
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The video achieved 76MM total global video views on YouTube from 150 countries
(90% from the 20-country activation)
1 million+ people shared the video, 35,000 commented and user-generated content was
13%
The program achieved 4.5 billion impressions around the globe, including 1.7bn in the
U.S., 1.6bn in the UK, 418m in France, 302m in China, 148m in Germany, 63m in Brazil,
41m in Mexico and 32m in Turkey
More than 1,880+ earned media placements were secured around the globe, including: A
TV segment with #1 U.S. morning show GMA that resulted in a Yahoo posting #1 spot
for AdWeek's "Top 5 Commercials of the Week" for June 20-27; #2 Spot for Ad Age's
Viral Chart on 7/1 Coverage on top influential media sites including BBC, Huffington
Post, NYMag.com, Mashable, BuzzFeed & TIME
The program garnered more than 290 million social impressions and 133 thousand social
mentions with #LikeAGirl (99% positive/neutral) in the US alone #LikeAGirl trended on
Facebook from 6/30-7/1 and increased Always Twitter followers by 195.3%

The objectives for this campaign were both outcome and output. This is significant and
interesting, as the campaign was able to both increase engagement on social media platforms,
while also change attitudes on an important causewomen empowerment and gender equality.
We will take a look at the objectives in-depth to analyze how this campaign exceeded their
projections in order to meet the goals.

- Drive 2 million video views within 3 weeks of the video being released
Not only did the video achieve 76 million total global views, but also it was released as a
Super Bowl commercial, reaching over 110 million individuals.

- Generate 250 million media impressions during the course of the campaign
The program achieved 4.5 billion impressions around the globe

- Using the hashtag #LikeAGirl, increase Twitter followers by 60% by the end of the
campaign
Twitter followers increased by 195.3%, clearly surpassing the original objectives by over
3 times.

- Engage at least 10 celebrities to send tweets with #LikeAGirl during the course of the
campaign.
Celebrities played a large role in the social media aspect of this campaign. There were
well over 10 celebrities who helped by tweeting with the hashtag, or sharing the video to
their feed. These celebrities had a large follower base, so the #LikeAGirl message and
video spread quickly through these celebrities.

- Earn at least 1,000 media placements over the course of the campaign.
There were more than 1,880 media placements across the globe

In addition to the objectives, Always met all of its original goals. They fostered a sense of
empowerment in young women worldwide, while reinforcing their brand as a supporter of
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womens confidence. They successfully rebranded the word confidence and used it to maintain
their status in the FemCare industry. Always launched a campaign that surprised people in the
best way possible. After all, feminine care products are not something that get people talking, but
#LikeAGirl sparked more conversation than Always could have even imagined.

My Perspective
This campaign was extremely memorable, creative and well implemented, providing a
very important message to young women around the world. The research and originality of this
campaign ultimately lead to its success. Understanding the target audience is so crucial, as
appropriate messages cannot be created without thorough research on the publics. Always and
MSLGROUP partnered with ResearchNow and discovered everything they need to know in
order to successfully build messages tailored to their audience. The research on similar
campaigns also helped them to identify what they need to do to make their campaign stand out.
In this case, it was a video created in real-time that would appeal to the emotions of women
everywhere.

The lack of planning was the only weakness I have identified within the campaign. There
were no formal objectives, which would help Always when evaluating the success of their
campaign. The ones that I created were primarily based upon the results, so they were all
reached, but it would have been helpful if Always created their own objectives.

Through research, it is apparent that not all consumer products have this much success
when trying to link products to a larger message. It is very impressive that Always executed this
flawlessly; creating inspirational content that engaged millennial women and people everywhere.
Always did not try to tackle an issue that was unrelated to their brand. Some consumer brands
will weave a serious social issue into their campaign, just because it is a current, hot topic,
when it really has no connection to its products. With Always, using women empowerment is
something that relates to their products.

The campaign was compelling, authentic and creative, a perfect mix that allowed for its
high level of success. There have been more #LikeAGirl videos since the original one, which
demonstrates how much success the campaign had. Id like to see a new commercial again soon
so we can resurface the #LikeAGirl idea. I think it is important that this message does not fade
and that it is consistently brought to the publics eye, as it really is something so crucial for
young women.
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Sources

Always #LikeAGirl: Turning an Insult Into a Confidence Movement. 2015 Silver Anvil Awards.
Public Relations Society of America, 2015. 17 Oct. 2015.

Bharadwaj, S., & Vila, O. R. (2017, August 22). Competing on Social Purpose. Retrieved
October 18, 2017, from https://hbr.org/2017/09/competing-on-social-purpose

Fromm, J. (2015, February 9). Learning from the #LikeAGirl campaign: 5 steps brands can take
to start a millennial movement. Retrieved October 17, 2017, from
https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/marketing/2015/02/5-things-brands-
learn-from-the-likeagirl-campaign.html

Greenfield, Lauren. Always #LikeAGirl, Online video clip. YouTube. 26 June 2014. Web. 19
Oct. 2017

Vagianos, A. (2016, May 03). The Reaction To #LikeAGirl Is Exactly Why It's So Important.
Retrieved October 19, 2017, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/03/why-like-
a-girl-is-so-important_n_6598970.html