Contagious: Insight & Strategy, Vagina Academy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPxD6phbPmk
Brazil is one of women’s intimate health brand Canesten’s key markets, but it’s taboo to openly discuss vaginal health, with one in four Brazilian women ashamed to even say the word ‘vagina’. To overcome this barrier to getting treatment, the Bayer-owned brand established a new global brand purpose: ‘To help young people to set themselves free from shame and discomfort.’
On the basis that education is the key to eradicating shame and stigma, Canesten worked with agency Analogfolk, London, to launch a digital ‘school’ on TikTok called Intensivão Da PPK (Vagina Academy) in February this year. Through this online learning hub, Canesten offered 28 unconventional and engaging interactive lessons over a five-week course, delivered by well-known Brazilian influencers and experts on vaginas, psychology and body positivity.
For example, body positive influencer Hana Khalil (@hanakhalil) gave a lesson on what clothes to wear to take care of the vagina, spoke about the importance of using a condom, and shared 20 facts about vaginas while doing her makeup. Medical professional Claudia Milan (@sosperineo) taught users about the chemistry of the vagina while dressed as a vulva, and explored the colour spectrum of vaginal discharge through art.
Canesten also enlisted a group of ‘students’ – young Brazilian TikTok content creators – to normalise shame-free discussions about the vagina for other young Brazilian women and increase awareness of the campaign. The ongoing educational programme has now rolled out in Italy under the name Vagina Academy. According to the agency, the UK will launch their take on it later this year, followed by Australia via several social media platforms, such as Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube, to allow young people easy access to engaging class content and live streamed seminars.
Results / The Intensivão Da PPK TikTok channel received 44 million video views, was followed by 210,000 Brazilians, and a TikTok brand uplift study revealed a 5.2% increase in people exposed to activity who said Canesten is helping reduce intimate health taboos for women.
Contagious Insight /
Cultural barriers / Last year, Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, introduced abstinence-based sex education to help lower teenage pregnancy rates. As Luciene Tognetta, professor of educational psychology at the Paulista State University in São Paulo state told the Guardian, ‘This is like going back 40 years.’ As various studies have shown, abstinence-only education is not linked to a reduction in teen pregnancies and in some cases has the opposite effect – without a comprehensive sexual education on how to practise safe sex young people lack the knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe and healthy. All of this is a breeding ground for shame, stigma and harmful misinformation – all ultimately a barrier to seeking help and getting treatment.
Doctor, doctor / By activating on TikTok, Canesten circumvented the government’s censorship of sex education and delivered vital, factual information in a digestible format that its target audience are familiar with. Some 60% of Brazil’s TikTok users are women aged 16-25, and the platform has become something of a trusted source when it comes to health information. That’s partly because the sheer numbers of users make it an ideal platform to disseminate information to a large group of people, points out this study from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, while the bitesized format (usually accompanied by music and dancing) appeal to the millions of young people who turn to #TikTokDocs to learn about their health, reports Dazed.
Trusted source / While it’s largely a positive trend, it comes with a risk of non-evidence-based theories, rumours and false information – and this is why Canesten’s choice of credible, qualified and entertaining experts is so crucial. The Intensivaõ Da PPK works because it speaks to its target audience in their own language, through a format they love and trust. Last year, The Black Country Living Museum, a small mining museum in England, embraced TikTok to reach new audiences, and did so by understanding and speaking the language of its audience, to bring its history up to date. And in 2016, feminine hygiene brand Libresse partnered with two young South African YouTubers, rather than medical experts, to create a series of short, fun and informative videos to educate people about female health in a way that felt accessible. Similarly, Canesten worked with respected TikTok influencers to deliver the educational content in their own unique ways. Rather than showing up as an advertiser on the platform, the brand gave its ambassadors creative freedom to communicate the content authentically and in a way that resonated with the target audience and earned their trust and attention.
