How Condoms Win Friends & Influence People

In a country where the topic of sex is taboo even among the younger generation – China – incredibly Durex is now one of the most powerful brands. In an environment of media censorship, how has Durex got people to open up and start talking about sex? The answer lies in China’s virtual world.

I spend my time shuttling four weeks in the West, two weeks in China, and I have been fascinated by the developing story of Durex in China.

With Twitter and Facebook blocked in the country, Sina Weibo provides a hugely popular homegrown
micro-blogging platform. Posting 10 updates a day and hosting three online events each month, Durex’s official Weibo site now boasts 854,412 followers.

According to social business research firm CIC, Durex is regarded as the most popular brand on Sina Weibo. Since joining the micro-blogging site in 2011, Durex has been growing its followers at five times the average rate of the top 300 brands on Weibo. With tens of thousands of Chinese businesses fighting for brand loyalty on Weibo, what has Durex done to set itself apart?
First, it created “Little Dudu”, a playful character who shares love stories, sex education and health information on Durex’s website and on its social properties. In doing so, Durex is creating a safe and accessible online destination for Chinese people to chat about topics that are not usually openly discussed.

Second, its posts are entertaining and humorous. For example, after torrential rains hit Beijing one June with flooding in many parts of the city, Durex posted a photo of condoms used on the feet of runners, as protection against the rain. The post instantly went viral, and within three days, it had received over 90,000 retweets and thousands of comments.

Third, Durex organizes events for its followers, which encourage fan participation and engagement. On February 14, the company threw a huge Valentine’s Day party for over 200 couples in China. The celebration was streamed on Weibo and Durex made 19,000 new virtual friends overnight.

"Social media is all about making friends and engaging people. As a brand, we have realized how critical it is to engage with our friends," Ben Wilson, marketing director of Reckitt Benckiser, says.
"Weibo is the place where people who buy condoms spend a lot of time," Wilson says. "What we do is to connect lots of people, who are passionate about the brand, so that they will ultimately choose Durex when it comes to buying. We don’t use Weibo to force consumers to buy our products. We instead use it to build friendships," he says.

Although online censorship in China is normally geared towards political issues, companies such as Durex do need to walk a fine line between being bold and upsetting the government. On November 7, 2012, this photo of Michelle Obama and Ann Romney was posted on its official Weibo site with the title “The difference between Obama and Romney is…”

Chinese authorities took the photo down, and a Durex representative said in a statement to Huffington Post, “While our agency partners are encouraged to be very relevant and where appropriate a little edgy, this crosses the line. We don't condone it and apologies if it has caused any offence – this was not the intent. We have spoken with our partner on this and about how to prevent any such future incidences.” However, before the post was taken down, the humor did successfully connect with many Chinese social media users.

As the Chinese and a growing number of schools are recognizing the need for better sex education, Durex and its parent company Reckitt Benckiser hope to play an even more vital role. According to Aditya Sehgal, North Asia Regional Director of Reckitt Benckiser Group, even with the existence of the one-child policy, the condom usage rate is still very low, at less than 10%. This compares with a usage rate of over 40% in the Hong Kong market – or as he sees it – over five times as much potential for market growth.
Durex has come a long way quickly in China, and in addition to condoms, it is now also promoting lubricant and a line of sex toys. With the company trying to get people into the habit of safe sex young, as they first become sexually active, it has focused most of its Chinese marketing resources on social media, events, distributing samples and youth-oriented networks such as MTV. Its success has been its powerful content, using positive humor and entertainment to attract interaction from followers.

A traditional “one size fits all” approach to marketing rarely works for global brands looking to crack China, and Durex has been no exception. With media censorship and prohibitively high advertising prices in China, Durex needed to find a China-style approach that would win in the market.

The Durex mission in China is to “inspire Chinese consumers to have great sex” and, for Reckitt’s Aditya Sehgal, the core philosophy behind Durex’s digital marketing is all about “making friends”. He believes that an approach of “making friends” is far more effective than a traditional approach of “selling goods”. By focusing on being friends with their Weibo fans, Durex builds an empowering connection with them that results in long-term brand loyalty.

With its success in China, Reckitt Benckiser can look to export the innovative approach behind its Durex marketing to what it terms its other “power brands” and “power markets”. It can also play a key role in educating Chinese people on the importance of good sexual health.
Durex will want to stay friends not just with consumers, but also with the Chinese government. There is a huge prize if it can show that it can balance being a socially responsible partner with achieving commercial success through edgy and innovative social marketing.

A big part of my job is advising global CEOs on how they can build trust, enter the Chinese market in the right way, and scale up their businesses successfully across this massive country. A Western brand doing it well? Reckitt Benkiser's power marketed condoms are the ones to watch in China.