ASIA-PACIFIC – MALAYSIA, AUGUST 30, 2012 – Men now have their own online content destination – ‘Locker Room’ on MSN.com.my. Armed with a tagline “For Bros That Know”, the site has been launched by Catcha Digital in collaboration with Mindshare, Unilever, and Unilever’s male grooming brands, Axe, Clear, Rexona, and Vaseline.
Locker Room is a leading edge digital initiative by Unilever that taps into minds of men and the fast-growing male grooming segment. The new channel is the result of a close collaboration between Mindshare, Catcha Digital, Microsoft, and Unilever after focus group discussions and consumer connect sessions run by the Mindshare team revealed original insights that ‘brotherhoods’ strongly influence the opinions and motivations of men.
Hugo Verkuil, marketing director at Unilever, said, “The Locker Room is another milestone for Unilever in setting the pace in innovating the way we engage the modern consumer who are always connected online with their friends, family and their interests. This will be our biggest multi-faceted digital initiative after the launch of our women’s channel. We are using digital branded content, social tools and a dash of wit to help us make the connection with our male consumers.”
To resonate with the busy, urbane, and upwardly mobile young male, content will be delivered daily. Readers can expect compelling and informative articles, conversation-ready snippets, insightful interviews with role models and heroes, and viral videos designed to be shared amongst one’s male social network.
The site carries three key content segments: Adrenaline, Style and Got Game. Adrenaline covers all things extreme, dangerous and sure to fire up the adrenaline from extreme sports and football to adventure holidays and tales of human endurance.
Style encompasses fashion, grooming and men’s health and is designed for the professional male who takes their appearance and personal presentation seriously.
While Got Game reflects the adage “behind every man is a woman”; all about the ladies it will feature interviews and galleries on female personalities, advise on sexual health and tip on getting ahead in the mating and dating game.
“We are excited at the possibilities that we are creating through this partnership between brand, media agency and publisher to create a digital channel for men. One out of every five male internet user in Malaysia is on MSN.com.my and this makes the portal a strong platform to engage Unilever’s target consumers in a highly contextual environment,“ said Diwa Tharan, head of product and innovation at Catcha Digital.
Shankar Rajagopal, director of client leadership at Mindshare said, “We are pushing the envelope in the digital space by connecting consumers closer to the value and attributes of the four Unilever brands subtly woven into the content through videos, polls, quizzes and contests in the Locker Room. A good experience in a trusted content environment drives conversations or earned media and this integration of Unilever brands will help drive that.”
Mindshare also put together a comprehensive Search Marketing strategy, along with online display ads and in-store support, to build awareness for Locker Room among millions of men all over the country. The impact of Locker Room on the brand health of the four brands will be measured through a customized research, commissioned through Millward Brown.
Locker Room, the first-ever branded channel exclusively for men in Asia-Pacific is now live on MSN.com.my/Lockeroom.
