Dettol educates consumers about Swine Flu

The antiseptic solution brand, Dettol, uses search engine marketing to educate consumers about Swine Flu, and thus, boosts traffic to its website

If you search for keywords such as 'Swine Flu', 'H1N1', 'Swine Flu symptoms' and 'hygiene' on Google.com, you are likely to see a sponsored link on the search results page, with the headline, 'H1N1 Flu (Swine)' and the description – "Dettol kills 99.9 per cent bacteria and Flu viruses. Learn more now!"

This is Dettol's search engine marketing (SEM) campaign, which started around July 20 to educate consumers about Swine Flu. Dettol has used about 20-25 Swine Flu related keywords to promote its search ad.

A click on the ad redirects users to Dettol.co.in, wherein a sub-section, H1N1 Flu guide has been created. The guide carries various frequently asked questions on Swine Flu. For instance, "What is swine influenza and influenza A (H1N1)?", "If someone develops flu symptoms, what should they do?" and "How can washing my hands help to protect me?"

The SEM campaign seems to be an endeavour by Reckitt Benckiser to leverage the rising number of searches on Swine Flu, to build a strong brand association and create awareness on how Dettol can help people maintain personal hygiene.

However, the company claims that the activity is purely an effort to educate consumers, and is not meant for boosting the sale of its antiseptic solution.

"We have used both print and online mediums and also public outreach programs to educate consumers about Swine Flu and guide them about the precautions which are required to fight Swine Flu. The SEM campaign is part of the same initiative," says Chander Mohan Sethi, chairman and managing director, Reckitt Benckiser (India) in an e-mail response to afaqs!.

Sethi adds, "We are also conducting a series of Doctor Conferences, in association with the Global Hygiene Council, to raise awareness on prevention measures and readiness regarding Swine Flu."

As for the impact of the search marketing campaign for Dettol, the traffic data results extracted via ViziSense.com, an online audience measurement agency, reveal that the number of unique users visiting Dettol.co.in has increased by three times July 20-August 12, as compared to unique users on the site prior to the start of the campaign, that is, between July 1-20.

The majority of the traffic that landed on Dettol.co.in during July 20-August 12 came from Delhi and Maharashtra.

Digital media agency, Zed Digital handles Dettol's SEM campaign.