In September, Sunsilk ran a DOOH campaign in Liberty Chowk in Lahore, in the form of a 3D anamorphic billboard, measuring 165 x 45 feet, to advertise the brand’s new ‘Super-Mix’ line – a revamp of the original shampoos (Black Shine, Thick and Long, Hairfall Solution and Long and Healthy Glow) with “vitamins, oil and protein”, and in slightly different packaging.

The L-shaped 3D billboard, created by martech agency Oztech, depicted a shot of Dananeer Mobeen’s ‘voluminous’ hair, followed by the four variants of the Super-Mix line. The highlight of the display was the pink-coloured, Thick and Long variant popping out of the billboard in a swing motion. According to Usman Siddiqui, CEO, Oztech, the aim of the campaign was to “create a feeling of awe with the audience and engage their curiosity rather than make a call to action.” 

Liberty Chowk was selected as the location after research was conducted by Oztech to determine which location would get the most eyeballs and the probabilities of Sunsilk’s target audience – millennial women between 15 and 45, from SEC A, B and C – viewing the ad.

“Liberty Chowk is choked on weekdays, mainly by men coming or going to work. However, on the weekend, families and women are the majority that passes by the location.” 

Once the location was finalised, the agency conducted an evaluation of the location and designed a blueprint which was then handed over to the creative team to develop a storyboard. Once the idea was finalised, multiple options for the animation were proposed before one was finalised. In addition, a 3D mock demo of the animation was created to convince the brand the idea was powerful enough to go ahead with. 

Siddiqui explains that given that technology is new, there was a rigorous on-ground deployment testing system in place. They tested the billboard over a three-day time frame from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., “because designing in the boardroom and implementing it are two different things. We had multiple teams operating the hardware and setting up the right angles, and once this was done, we deployed the final display.”  

The display was up for only three days because, according to the agency, even globally, DOOH campaign stunts, or any activation that is huge in scale and cost, run for a shorter time – for example, the visuals on Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Siddiqui adds that “on-ground coverage is always limited as the target for OOH campaigns is a finite number (15,000 or 100,000 max) and the maximum mileage is received in the second phase, which is creating awareness on digital media.” 

The billboard seems to be step two of the campaign, as a TVC, which showcases the ingredients and changes in the packaging range, was released in July and the campaign is now being covered on Facebook and Instagram through digital influencers and the brand’s official Facebook page, along with media coverage of the billboard itself via LinkedIn and TV channels. 

As OOH is difficult to track in terms of KPIs and lacks the technology to do so in Pakistan, the brand used social listening tools (e.g. analysing how many people shared the hashtag for the billboard). Although it is too early to say how the campaign has performed in terms of sales, the brand’s local and international teams are “happy with the results so far” and the campaign is still ongoing. A billboard will be launched in Karachi soon, perhaps followed by further digital awareness.