country it is 5.7%.
Because oral care habits in Turkey are still far
behind those in developed countries, Unilever
has undertaken a mission to “create a better
future,” and to this end, is working hard to raise
consciousness. As part of the powerful global
collaboration between Signal and the World
Dental Federation (FDI), it runs oral health
development projects in 27 countries with
national associations such as the Turkish Dental
Association (TDA). Taking account of the fact that
education starts from childhood, it develops social
responsibility projects that extend from children to
their families.
Children share what they learn with their
families and learn as they grow. In this way, they
grow up with more sensitivity and awareness
of personal care. The goal of the project, which
began in 2004 and is still underway, is to bring
about a positive change in the oral hygiene habits
of 50 million people by the end of 2020.
Achievements
Market
2014 Nielsen data shows that TL 650 million is
spent in the oral care category in Turkey each
year. A breakdown of the category shows a
market of TL 412 million spent on toothpaste,
190 million TL on toothbrushes and TL 52 million
on mouthwash and dental floss.
One in three people in Turkey do not brush
their teeth even once a day and does not practice
the necessary oral hygiene. The average daily use
of toothpaste is 1-1.5 tubes per year, much lower
than in developed countries. Toothpaste is present
in only 75 out of 100 homes and unfortunately
unhygienic sharing of toothbrushes between family
members is also observed. One of the results of
this is that toothbrushes are present in only 45 of
every 100 homes. While the yearly per-person
toothbrush use should be one every three months,
in our country the replacement frequency is once
per year, far behind the expected frequency.
Mouthwash is used in 3 out of 100 homes and
dental floss in only 1 out of 100.
The deficiency in the personal oral care in our
society, combined with the lack of routine dental
checkups, means a higher number of cavities,
fillings and tooth extractions, especially among
children. While the rate of cavities, fillings and
extractions in Europe is around 1.3%, in our
SUPERBRANDS
When fluoride was discovered in America in 1915,
Signal was the company to introduce Unilever
toothpaste with fluoride. Signal, Unilever’s oral
care brand for 80 years, entered the Turkish
market in 1984 and introduced the first twocolored toothpaste. Bringing a great innovation
with its previously unheard-of red and white
striped toothpaste, Signal became a favorite oral
care brand for people of all ages. In 1988 it put its
toothbrushes on the market as well.
From the day it was introduced, Signal
has been a trusted, expert brand in
oral care. Always focusing on consumer
expectations and creating products
according to their needs, it has
led the way in many “firsts” in the
market.
Today, Signal aims to bring oral
and dental care to the highest
point possible with its toothpastes:
Expert Protection, “Sensitive
Expert” for sensitive teeth and
“White Now” which whitens
instantly in a single brushing as well
as its toothbrushes, mouthwashes
and kids’ products.
Signal’s goal is to meet all of its
consumers needs with products that
will make them feel better. In 2012,
inspired by mouthwash and dental
floss, Signal developed its Expert toothpaste. In
2013, it introduced the first and only toothbrush
that facilitates the dentist-recommended
vertical brushing style with its “Vertical Expert”
toothbrush.
A leader in the whitening sector, Signal
introduced “Signal White Now” in 2009, the first
and only toothpaste that whitens teeth instantly.
Redirecting the category and creating a completely
new segment, the Signal White Now family was
joined in 2014 by White Now Gold, with a tree
times more strength formula. In 2015, Signal
went on produce another entirely new product,
White Now Men, the first toothpaste in the world
formulated especially for men.
Signal’s goal in Turkey is to use the projects
it supports and the new products it introduces
to the market toward creating maximum public
awareness of oral hygiene and contribute to the
improvement of oral care.
History
Unilever’s oral care brand Signal, manufactured
throughout the world for 80 years now, entered
the Turkish market with its toothpastes in 1984,
and introduced a new and different product, the
first red and white striped toothpaste. These
striped toothpastes were their first specialty to
capture the attention of consumers and quickly
became a very popular item. In 1998, Signal brand
toothbrushes entered the market.
With its toothpastes in sensitive, whitening, kids’,
essential care and advanced care categories, its
tooth brushes and mouthwash products, Signal
today is recognized as a trustworthy, innovative
and expert brand in oral care.
Assuring the best oral and dental care for
everyone since the day it was introduced, Signal
places special importance on children and
young people in order to help raise healthy new
generations. In addition, as oral care habits in
Turkey are still far behind those of developed
countries, it carries out intensive informational
efforts in order to achieve Unilever’s goal of
“making sustainable life a common value.”
Based on the Turkish proverb, “Green wood
bends,” it has been engaged in the “Brush Day and
Night Project” conducted in 12 countries with the
support of the World Dental Federation and the
Turkish Dentist Association. Through the project,
educators visit schools and explain to students,
parents, teachers and families how brushing
one’s teeth twice a day is not difficult but fun.
Oral and dental screenings, conducted
with the help of volunteer dentists affiliated
with the Turkish Dentist Association, provide
training on proper oral care with the help
of product kits and brochures, as well as
informing teachers
about the protection
of oral and dental
health. Through these
projects, Signal reaches
approximately 35.000
children. Throughout
the world, it works to
positively change the oral care habits of 50
million people by the year 2020.
Product
In keeping with its goal of raising oral care habits
to the highest possible level and the importance it
places on R&D, Signal develops products in order
to meet the differing needs of consumers. With
40 products including 18 different toothpastes in
advanced care, sensitive teeth, instant whitening,
kids, essential care and whitening categories, 18
toothbrushes, 4 mouthwashes, all developed with
the latest technology at the Signal Research and
Development Center, Signal helps people get
more enjoyment out of life.
Signal’s Expert Protection toothpaste was
developed with the inspiration of dental floss and
mouthwash. Containing microgranules known
to help clean between the teeth, Signal Expert
Protection also contains zinc for effective gum
care, fresh breath and good oral hygiene. Effective
in places where toothbrushes cannot reach, Expert
Protection, Fresh Naturals and Pro Complete
mouthwashes protect against cavities and provide
complete oral protection.
Signal’s revolutionary Vertical Expert toothbrush,
facilitates the vertical brushing style recommended
by dentists with the help of fan-like bristles set at
an 80° angle in order to penetrate between the
teeth. The brush cleans plaque more effectively
than brushes with perpendicularly-cut bristles.
Signal Sensitive Expert, efficient in cleaning
sensitive teeth, soothes sensitive teeth and
provides long-term protection against sensitivity.
Taking a sensitive approach to sensitive teeth,
Ultra Reach Sensitive and a specially designed soft
toothbrush reaches even the hardest-to-reach
teeth with its extra long neck and compact head.
An expert and trusted brand in oral health
and dental care, Signal now leads in the tooth
whitening segment with Signal White Now, which
provides a whitening effect in a single brushing,
White Now Gold with its revolutionary blue light
technology and triple-strength formula, and White
Now Men, effective against smokers stains and the
first toothpaste in the world especially for men.
Recent Developments
Bringing healthy smiles to Turkey, Signal studied
the Turkish people’s smiling habits in a Turkish
Smile Study conducted on the occasion of World
Smile Day, October 3, 2014.
Conducted by the Estima research company
in twelve provinces throughout the country on
people of different socioeconomic groups aged
18-65, the study revealed that one in three people
in Turkey are not comfortable with their smiles.
In our country, where one in three people do not
brush even once a day, 63% of people believe that
smiling does not become them because they do
not like their teeth.
According to the study, we smile and make
others smile less than we did in the 80’s and
90’s. Despite the digital age, we still feel more
comfortable among our families and friends. The
Turkish people’s devotion to and love for their
families (59%) emerges once again in the answer,
“we smile mostly within the family.”
White Now and White Now Gold, which Signal
introduced to the market as the leader in the
whitening category, were followed by White Now
Men, the first toothpaste designed especially with
the special needs of men in mind.
Biologically, men’s teeth are at least
one to two times yellower than those
of women. In terms of personal oral
and dental care, men throughout the
world behave differently from women.
Women see oral care as a part of their
makeup, while men have a more difficult
time dealing with yellowing and stains
from routine habits like smoking and the
consumption of tea, coffee and wine. In
view of this needs, Signal White Now
developed the first toothpaste especially
for men, White Now Men.
With its blue light microparticles,
revolutionary blue light technology and
a double-strength formula, Signal white
now man eliminates tobacco, tea, coffee,
wine and other stains while providing
fresh breath all day long with its citrus,
menthol and mint aroma.
Revolutionary with its whitening effect
in a single brushing, Signal White Now
Men was developed in response to a
study of Turkish men’s dental and oral
care and smiles, which revealed men’s
hesitance when it came to smiling.
According to the results of a study
conducted on 1009 men and women
by the ICM research company, Turkish
men hesitate to smile. According to
women, a great smile is one of men’s
most powerful attributes. 40% of
women taking part in the study thought
men were less aware of their smiles. Eight out of
ten men in the study were not happy with their
smiles, and two out of three men thought their
teeth were yellower than those of women. One of
the largest issues among Turkish men was to have
whiter (62%) and unstained (25%) teeth.
Smiling turns out to be one of the most sensitive
issues for Turkish men. Receiving the message
since childhood that “real men don’t smile,”
Turkish men believe that smiling is not becoming
of men. One study showed that 40% of men do
believe that they should not make their feelings
obvious or smile too much, a behavior they learn
from their fathers, friends or the media.
On the other hand, over half (51%) of Turkish
women say that men who smile are more
trustworthy, two out of three (63) say that they
find men who smile more successful than those
who do not, and 48% say that men who smile
appear more masculine.
Bringing smiles to the faces of Turkey, Signal
brings confident smiles and brilliant white teeth to
the center of our lives.
Promotion
Turkey’s oral care brand for confident smile, Signal
believes that a healthy, confident smile is a top
priority for our self-expression. Always building
its communication upon empathy, it calls out in a
proactive, warm and friendly style to keep smiling
its central focus.
Making efficient use of every communication
channel, Signal promoted its revolutionary
men’s toothpaste Signal White Now Men in an
advertising campaign that featured actor Engin
Öztürk.
In the “Her şey #1GülüşüneBakar” (a smile
changes it all), Öztürk alludes to Turkish men’s
troubled relationship with smiling that comes from
growing up with the taboo against “real men”
smiling and plays the role of a man who gets
himself out of difficult situations with his brilliant
white teeth and irresistible smile. Öztürk thus gives
Turkish men the hint that an irresistible smile will
make their lives easier.
The digital ad campaign became interactive
with “Live Tweet Day,” held in Turkey for the
first time. Managing the Signal Turkey Twitter
account on Live Tweet Day, Öztürk answered
requests sent by Signal Turkey followers with the
“#1GülüşüneBakar” hashtag with simultaneously
shooted videos, and shared the secret to an
irresistible smile. With the #1GülüşüneBakar
hashtag, Live Tweet Day, where Engin Öztürk
both smiled and made others smile, became a
trending topic on Twitter.
Brand Values
Providing better oral and dental care for everyone
since it first came onto the market, Signal places
high importance upon children and young people
in order to raise healthy new generations.
Applying the innovation and technology
developed in its Research Center to its products,
Signal has a share in the raising of these healthy
generations.
Because personal oral care habits in Turkey
far behind in keeping with Uniliver’s mission
of “creating a better future, every day,” works
tirelessly to raise awareness of the importance of
good oral and dental care. Its goal is to raise the
level of tooth brushing habits and lower the rate
of cavities and lost teeth.
www.signalturkiye.com
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
Signal
›In 1915, Unilever was the first company to introduce toothpaste with fluoride.
›In 1984 Signal became the first brand to
introduce a groundbreaking innovation in the market, red and white striped toothpaste to Turkey.
›In 2009, developed Signal White Now, the first toothpaste that whitens instantly in just one brush.
›In 2014, it introduced Signal White Now Men as the first toothpaste manufactured especially for men.
›Screening the teeth of 35.000 children every year, Signal provides training on oral and dental health.
SUPERBRANDS