• Nearly 60,000 online searches on the ‘Find a Dentist’ page - a 223% increase*
• More than 150,000 visitors to the Denplan Website - 158% increase**
• Over 26,000 visits to the #Doitforyourselfie microsite in October

• 1 million people reached on social media, using #doitforyourselfie
• The advert was viewed over 200,000 times on social media
• The advert was viewed for 123 hours on Twitter

• The advert reached over 20 million consumers across the UK
• On average people saw the advert four times

• 90% of Denplan’s member dentists agreed with the statement: “I am proud that Denplan are encouraging people to love their teeth”

Thanks for reading as always, let me know your thoughts on this campaign and how it was received by your patients?

Denplan has been at the heart of dental care for nearly 30 years and this October we have launched our largest ever national TV campaign, with a TV ad that is being aired for three weeks on a host of popular channels.  You’ll be able to find out lots more about this campaign at Denplan’s Stand (M25) at the BDIA Showcase this week.

In nutshell, the ad plays on todays’ selfie-obsessed culture by using humour to dramatise what happens when people lack confidence about their teeth whilst taking a selfie. Denplan believes it’s a concept that many of us can relate to as Denplan’s research with YouGov revealed just how popular selfies are today… a staggering 5.6 million selfies are taken in an average day by adults online.  Furthermore, nearly three quarters (74%) of adults have worried about how their teeth look in photographs.*

There is a fun interactive element to the ad with the incorporation of a hashtag (#doitforyourselfie) encouraging people to generate and post their own selfie via Twitter, Instagram, or via www.doitforyourselfie.co.uk.  Visitors to the Denplan stand will have the opportunity to take their own selfie and upload it there and then to the doitforyourselfie.co.uk gallery, as there will be an interactive selfie wall on the stand. By uploading a selfie, participants will automatically enter the #doitforyourselfie competition to win £2,000 of UK holiday park gift vouchers and an Iphone 6s**

Richard Ward, Head of marketing at Denplan says: “The ad has moved away from the typical clinical or educational advertisements that could be for any number of dental products. Instead, viewers will see a memorable, impactful ad using humour to engage them. The aim of the ad is to make everyone feel proud of their smile, and to highlight the importance of preventive care and regular dental visits and it encourages patients to seek advice from a Denplan dentist.

“Our intention with the ad is that it will also capitalise on the unique strength of the Denplan consumer brand which will work in partnership with Denplan’s member practices own brands to help them stand out in a competitive market. We believe the ad will provide dentists with the ideal opportunity to talk to their patients about the benefits of joining Denplan and drive more patients into their practices.”

As an example of the marketing support Denplan provides for its member practices, every practice has been sent a #doitforyourselfie pack which contains a range of marketing tools to help practices make the most of the campaign, including some eye catching background posters and a selfie stick so that practice teams can encourage patients to take a “post check-up selfie” and enter the #doitforyourselfie competition.

If you haven’t seen the ad yet, don’t worry as you won’t be able to miss it at the BDIA Showcase!  You can come and view the ad on our stand, where our friendly Denplan consultants will also be available to talk to you about the wide range of services we offer. There will be a private seating area where you can have an in-depth chat with a Denplan consultant.  Please do come along and learn more about our wide range of dental plans for adults and children, which enables patients to spread the cost of their private dental care through a fixed monthly fee. Denplan supports regular attendance and preventive care, reducing the need for clinical intervention and helping patients to maintain healthy teeth and gums for life.

*Source: YouGov survey for Denplan. Survey was carried out online with 2077 adults, September 2015. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+)

** Competition open to Denplan patients and non-Denplan patients aged 18+. Closing date, midnight on the 4th November 2015. Full terms and conditions apply and can be found at denplan.co.uk/selfieterms

On Wednesday the 7th of October, GDPUK were invited to the launch of Denplan’s new TV advert which will air on our screens from Saturday night (10th Oct) and will run for approximately 3 weeks.

The campaign demonstrates Denplan’s huge investment and commitment to dentistry and the dental practices that they work with. An impressive £1.2 million has been spent on this campaign.

After a short consultation period, Denplan have used the advertising agency “brothers and sisters” to design the advert. Established since 2008, they have a number of famous campaigns in their portfolio including the Thierry Henry advert that aired this year which can be viewed below. Great advert, especially the part when he joins Alex Ferguson and Brian Kidd on the Old Trafford turf!

The Denplan advert

So what does the advert entail? It shows a young man taking a selfie on a day out but everytime he smiles, he snaps his horrendous teeth. These teeth are obviously quite extreme to get the message across and were created by the special effects team at Fangs Fx. (If you click on the link, it gives you a great idea of what they are capable of!) So the bloke starts coming up with ways to cover his teeth, eg putting his cat in front of his mouth or putting his hand in front of his teeth. The producers behind the advert have gone for something that will make the viewers smile and also gets people interacting, which seems to be the current trend for TV adverts, as exposure is limited with the way we all watch TV these days. Let us know what you think, when the advert airs over the weekend? Does it make you smile?

The aim

Denplan would like to increase brand awareness, plus of course help Denplan’s member practices stand out in the competitive market of attracting / retaining patients. Practices have been sent a large amount of marketing material that will be used to engage with patients, so in conjunction with the advert, it will provide excellent opportunities to talk to their patients and forms a part of their practice marketing.

Denplan conducted some selfie research which gives further credence to the campaign. A YouGov survey revealed that a staggering 5.6 million selfies are taken in an average day by adults online which equates to an incredible 2 billion plus per year!  Three quarters (74%) of adults have worried about how their teeth look in photographs and a third of adults (33%) have smiled but purposely not shown their teeth due to being embarrassed by them, so selfies and smiles was an easy place for Denplan to focus their efforts. 

The Impact

So from a dental perspective, what impact will this bring on UK Dentistry? A few thoughts to consider:-

1. Obviously there will be a huge impact for Denplan dental practices but will other dental plan providers also receive a boost? I believe it gets people thinking about their teeth and their dentist, so its a positive piece of marketing for all dental practices.

2. It is fantastic to move away from traditional tv dental advertising and instead Denplan have embraced a modern and fresh approach…. Everyone at the event agreed that this was a brave move and the small crowd were certainly positive about the message that Denplan are hoping to achieve.

3. The use of social media and a hashtag #doitforyourselfie taps nicely into a younger, celebrity obsessed crowd but if it gets the public visiting the dentist on a more frequent basis and talking about dentistry in a positive light, then surely this is a good thing? Dr Roger Matthews (Chief Dental Officer) of Denplan mentioned that motivation is key with patients and he believes that running this campaign could be a great way of motivating patients to visit their dentist on a regular basis and that is obviously the overall aim of the campaign.

4. Dentists are often negatively portrayed in the media but I believe it is refreshing to see a slightly humorous take on the Dental world but with a positive message that people in Britain our proud of their smiles and possibly the work dentists have done on their teeth? This will hopefully be demonstrated over the next few days, as the public share their selfies on www.doitforyourselfie.co.uk. Already a number of selfies have been uploaded!

Unfortunately I can't provide a copy of the advert just yet but I will update this blog with the advert once it has had its premiere. Over the next few days we will be keeping a close eye on the microsite, to see whether it captures the public imagination and the general reaction from the dental community on social media. We certainly hope it does capture the imagination and as stated previously, it achieves the positive message that Denplan are striving for. Please let us know what you think and how the advert will be received?

** Blog now updated**

The advert is due to be shown at 15:28 on ITV1 on Saturday afternoon.

#doitforyourselfie

www.doitforyourselfie.co.uk