Sanctuary Spa tells women to stop striving for perfection in first brand-focused campaign
Sanctuary Spa is launching its first brand campaign, putting five women aged 55 and over at its heart, in a bid to emotionally connect to the younger generation.
The spa product brand hopes that the senior women will leave a lasting impression on its youthful target audience by giving them advice.
The activity is based around a short feature film, featuring five women aged between 55 and 82 and is produced by Ridley Scott Associates. It is accompanied by the slogan #LetGo.
Speaking to Marketing Week, Sanctuary Spa’s global marketing and new product director Jacqueline Burchell said that the brand wanted to talk to their target audience in a way “that was much more meaningful than before.”
“We are on a brand mission. We want women to watch the video and think: ‘This made a difference to me’, and share it with their friends and family. We want 1 million people to see this film,” she said.
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt
The brand decided to feature five women over the age of 55 within the film, as they would be best placed to relay the brand message.
“These are the women who could tell the story and say it in the most authentic way. They’ve lived it, they’ve done it and got the t-shirt,” said Burchell.
“These women are our target audience too, but we felt that they could give the message of letting go in a much more authentic way.”
Competing with Dove and P&G
Female empowerment in advertising seems to be all the rage, with other brands like Dove and P&G hoping to inspire female customers with positive brand messaging.
But Sanctuary Spa believes that its campaign is different from its competitors.
Burchell explained: “Lots of other brands are saying ‘yes you can do it’ and ‘be the best’, but this type of messaging can add even more pressure.
“We’re saying that it’s okay not to be that person. Women need to be feminist, be incredible, go out and exercise. While those things are important, you don’t need to think about those things all the time.”
Mobile first
The film is accompanied by a three-month press campaign, run by creative communications agency Southpaw and starts in September.
Besides using social media to spread the video, the brand will be spending money on video seeding. It will also do mobile targeting.
“We’re connecting to wi-fi hotspots, which means people can be prompted to watch the video on the train when commuting home,” added Burchell.
“We’re spending money to make sure the film is seen in the right places. It is the biggest campaign that we’ve ever done as a brand,” she said.
Continuing momentum
Going forward, the brand wants to build on its renewed messaging.
“I truly believe that this is the start of a long-term strategy. The brand will change the way it talks and communicates on the basis of this message.”
The brand will relaunch the #LetGo campaign around Christmas time, and is hoping to continue the momentum into next year.
“I would love for our customers to see us as a brand that they can’t do without and that understands them,” Burchell concluded.
