Close Up: Promoting Oral Health through Emulation

The hallmark of successful brands is in both their creativity and sensitivity to developments in their market segment. These involve the ability to not only meet the expected level of quality in product delivery but their high level of consistency in relationship with the target audience.

These are part of the attributes that Close Up toothpaste is exhibiting with its ongoing ‘brush day + night campaign’. The brand, in partnership with the Nigerian Dental Association is presently on a nationwide Social Mission Project, designed to enlighten the public and to save our society from the increasing effect of poor oral hygiene. The new campaign which is built around the power of emulation is designed to sensitize parents on the need to encourage their children to brush day + night.

The general knowledge is that children are motivated by what they see their parents do, and with the understanding that we can bring about a behavioural change with children more easily than adults, which they, in turn can pass down to the generations to come. The brand is therefore encouraging parents to cultivate the habit of proper oral hygiene in their children by building on the power of emulation: they should brush with their wards, especially at night.

Fact from the World Oral Health Report reflects the growing rate of poor oral culture among the Nigerian public. It was discovered that the dentist to population ratio in Nigeria is quite low: about 2 dentists to 100,000 people. Also, over 83.5% of all the children in a research carried out in rural and sub-urban Nigeria had never visited the dentist despite the fact that most of them believed it is necessary to visit the dentist. Also, the percentage of the population that brush twice or more a day is about 45%.

All these point to the conclusion that oral health education programmes need to be designed in a way that will target children, and by association their parents, ensuring that they brush two times a day to prevent dental caries, improve their oral health and self confidence in general. This should also afford them the opportunity to get free checks by dentists who would further educate them about proper health care habits.

Impact of poor oral health conditions include sick hours missed from school, economic impact of doctors’ bills and man hour loss from illness. Individual’s social activities are also affected.

The Close-Up Brush day + night campaign has taken up this challenge. Close Up, a household name in the Nigeria Oral Care market segment, in partnership with the Nigeria Dental Association has over the years been involved in Oral health initiatives. This new initiative aims at not only educating the public on the dangers and ills of poor oral health, but also involves a schools’ program designed to spread the ‘Brush Day + Night “message to over 270,000 children across the country in its first year. Also the Nigerian Dental Association together with the Close Up brand will visit over 18 Local government areas in the six geo political zones of the federation to cover the rural communities. It will ensure that through the schools program and community activations, the message reaches over 500,000 people across the country within the period.

The Brush day + night initiative will run for five years over which time it is believed that a substantial proportion of Nigerian Parents and children will be reached and good oral hygiene behaviour would have been established.

Close-Up toothpaste is therefore encouraging parents to join in this noble mission to reinforce the importance of Day and Night brushing with their children so that collectively oral health diseases can be eliminated.

The Close Up brand, with its consistency over the years in terms of quality delivery, is well positioned as a reliable brand that can help to effectively check dental related illnesses. According to Onome Odili,  manager of Oral Care, Unilever Nigeria Plc “The composition of Close Up toothpaste enables consumers to have complete oral health. The sodium fluoride in it gives strong teeth, its micro whiteners whiten the teeth, the active gel reaches every part of the mouth, removes germs and gives fresher breath always.”