P&G’s Whisper attracts 40,000 users with counting-sheep app

Humphrey Ho (何俊轩), new business operations director with the Shanghai office of the agency responsible for the initiative, Leagas Delaney, said the brand wanted to focus on the reality of problems young women face during their periods.

"As our key target audience is the 20-to-30-something, mobile-savvy and westernized generation, and our insight is that many of them still like to grab their phones when they go to bed, we took a spin to the traditional method of counting invisible sheep, and encourage users to activate the mobile app before going to bed," Ho said.

Once the app is activated, cute and cuddly sheep begin to jump across the screen, and a counter keeps track of the number. If the user touches the phone, the counter resets. A leaderboard on Facebook shows who counted the most sheep on Facebook, and that person receives a free product sample.

By contributing to a good night's sleep, the app is meant to subtly underscore the product's selling point of superior nighttime absorbency, which also promotes worry-free sleep, Ho said.

Ho reported that within 10 days of launch this month, 40,000 users had participated and more than 150,000 sheep had been counted.

P&G Whisper is Hong Kong’s top nighttime feminine-hygiene product. The brand has 30,000 Hong Kong Facebook fans and 40,000 in Taiwan.