How HelloFlo aims to educate women and girls with a laugh

Get honest, in-depth coverage of media, marketing and TV, delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for the Digiday Daily Newsletter here.

Almost a year after its entree into the feminine-product market with a gut-busting video about a Napoleonic young girl called “The Camp Gyno,” HelloFlo is back with another ad called “First Moon Party.” In this one, a different girl lies about getting her first period, and hilarity ensues.

The video has garnered more than 2 million views in a day, but HelloFlo is hoping for more than laughs this time around.

The company is expanding its mission to become a resource for educational information on women’s health through branded content that teaches women about their bodies. True to brand form, the copy will include words like “blood” and “vagina” instead of the flowery, ambiguous language that has dominated discussions of women’s health in the past.

Screen Shot 2014-06-19 at 5.56.02 PM

If you’re not familiar with HelloFlo, its main product is a subscription service that each month sends customers a box of products used during a woman’s period: Tampons, pads, liners and the like — all specific to the customer based on her “flo” (and yes, that’s what they call it).

HelloFlo has just added “First Period” and “Postpartum” care packages, which include things like tampons, liners and nursing pads, as well as fun little extras like hair ties and candy. But while the brand has been known for delivering women the equipment they need during their periods, now HelloFlo is moving beyond the boxes into education, an arena that CEO and founder Naama Bloom says is in dire need of “euphemism-free talk.”

Screen Shot 2014-06-19 at 5.28.03 PM

“The educational expansion comes in response to requests from educators, women’s health groups and parents for educational material that speaks honestly about the subject,” Bloom told Digiday.

Toward that end, HelloFly is now developing a downloadable lesson plan and has plans for Vine-length videos, too. Currently, visitors to HelloFlo.com can read up on women’s health topics from menopause to postpartum care.

It’s a marketing approach that puts women’s health first and bets that education might be a path to purchase.

https://digiday.com/?p=78905

More in Marketing

At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Mastercard joins a pack of consumer brands flocking to Formula One

For marketers looking to align their brands with F1’s expanded appeal to audiences, the Las Vegas Grand Prix is providing a slip road into the sport.

Why PepsiCo and EA are expanding their partnership into mobile: A Q&A with PepsiCo vp of global sports and entertainment partnerships Adam Warner

The planned, multi-year nature of PepsiCo’s integration into “EA Sports FC” reflects that both PepsiCo and Electronic Arts are playing the long game as they look to step up the presence of ads inside and beyond EA’s portfolio of sports titles.

Key takeaways from Digiday’s 2024 Gaming Advertising Forum

Now that gaming has gone from a buzzword to a regular presence in brands’ media mix, marketers are more closely scrutinizing the value and ROI of their investments in this channel — and the platforms are rising to the challenge. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from this week’s Gaming Advertising Forum.