Shine On

Brandweek, March 27, 2000 by Adrienne Mand

Also, users create a password so that the site remembers each visit and keeps track of which activities are completed.

Drew Sievers, vice president and general manager at NOVO, says that unlike other projects, the site--which was done in compliance with the FCC's new guidelines on talking to kids 2-12 over the Web--is about education rather than selling: "The way we approach this is truly about extending the campaign. It wasn't about going in, targeting these kids, putting cookies on them and ... getting their habits. But the ability to make them interact with it to me is just amazing."

RESULTS

It's not often that Web designers or marketers get real, live, unsolicited feedback on their work. But that is exactly what happened when a NOVO employee overheard two teachers discussing the benefits of crestkids.com while eating in a Brooklyn diner. In its first week, the site was named a Yahoo pick of the day.

"It's got a really good buzz," Sievers says.

Kernish would not disclose what Procter spent on the project, other than to say it was comparable to past Web sites. Because the site just launched last month, traffic figures are not yet available. While the site has no ads and is not being promoted with banners, the URL was included in materials distributed in schools. (Crest uses fellow NOVO MacManus group agency DMB&B for its traditional, non-Web site advertising.)

Ultimately, Kernish says, use of the site could translate to moving Sparkle Crest and other flavors off store shelves--and without the site being "excessively branded."

"Would [aggressive branding] have been the right thing to do?" he asks. "I don't think so. If we do right by them, they'll reward us with their business."

The site's applications can also be downloaded to PCs and emailed to others, so viral marketing could lead to more healthy new teeth than ever seen in the history of the program.

"Before, first-graders were exposed to this for a couple days, maybe a week," Kernish says. "We've always gotten really, really good feedback. Kids that age love learning about their teeth."