Dive Brief:

• Colgate's Hum electric toothbrush line is teaming with digital platform Obé Fitness to help people build healthy habits, according to a press release. Beginning June 11, Obé will host "Fitness Friday" workouts in the Hum by Colgate app, showing how users can get their heart rate up in two minutes, referencing the recommended time for tooth-brushing.
• Hum users can rack up "smile points" by brushing twice daily and redeem for rewards like a 30-day free trial to virtual fitness classes on Obé Fitness or product purchases through Hum's in-app store.
• The collaboration between the two tech-powered brands seeks to celebrate people for the small steps they take during daily routines, as well as encourage consumers to continue building healthy habits that can improve their overall wellness. This partnership begins as Colgate launches a sonic brand identity to convey its core values of optimism and confidence, per details emailed to Marketing Dive.

Dive Insight:

Parent brand Colgate-Palmolive is incentivizing consumers to purchase a Hum smart toothbrush by offering a 30-day trial of Obé's content for live and on-demand fitness classes. Virtual fitness apps like Obé have surged in popularity in recent years, especially amid the pandemic as many gyms and fitness studios shuttered temporarily. Health and fitness apps saw a 67% jump in global installs in the first two months of the pandemic compared with a year earlier, per a study by app tracking company Adjust and fitness app Gympass.

The weekly programming also aligns with Hum's broader goal of encouraging regular dental hygiene by gamifying mundane routines like brushing teeth with the promise of earning points that can be redeemed for product discounts and content.

The Obé partnership marks the second tie-up Colgate has struck for Hum since the onset of the pandemic, when some consumers avoided visiting the dentist. The smart toothbrush line teamed with meditation app Headspace to offer weekly programming and free trials to the app's subscription service for guided mediations and mindfulness exercises. The collaboration sought to get consumers "to observe and reflect on their thoughts" during daily routines like tooth-brushing.

Colgate in August 2020 began selling the Hum smart toothbrush with the promise that it would improve dental habits by sensing a user's brushing style and offering customized analysis in its app. Now, the brand is linking itself to an audio logo in order to stand out in the oral care sector by "owning the white space" within sonic branding, per the announcement. The audio tactic is becoming an increasingly important way for brands to differentiate themselves in crowded markets by providing a way to integrate the sound within marketing creative across channels and boost consumer recall.

For Obé, the offer of weekly fitness classes in the Hum by Colgate app could help to introduce its offerings to new consumers and drive conversions to its paid subscription service. The fitness startup has placed a greater emphasis on partnerships, like the one with Hum, to drive growth over the years. It has teamed with athletic clothing brand Athleta and weight loss company WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers, as well as nonendemic brands like Samsung and HBO Max.