Many brands offer products that can ladder up to a higher-level benefit. A good online banking service can make people feel more confident about their financial choices. A reliable, comfortable diaper for babies helps new mothers feel that they are doing the right thing for their newborns. Really good food and service at a fine restaurant can kindle romance (and maybe another newborn). These are the “higher-level benefits” that many of our brands aspire to reach, and we can only hope to reach them by understanding how our products and marketing fit into the overall experience of people’s lives.

One of the best illustrations of this comes from my team on the Fixodent brand, which just launched an impressive new meaningful marketing program. I know, I know: The denture-adhesive category probably doesn’t seem like it would offer the richest source of new insights, but it is a great example of how by starting from scratch and really getting inside our consumer’s mind (and life), we were able to uncover now-obvious insights that inspired a new, meaningful marketing approach.

Most of you probably picture denture wearers as a fit, smiling, well-dressed, gray-haired couple roaming a beach with a golden Labrador retriever; after all, that’s the message we’ve been served by advertisers for decades. Because our business objective was to win over new buyers, and, by helping them early in the process, win their loyalty for life, we felt we needed to test this cliché and make sure that’s who we were really talking to—and revisit what more we might do for denture wearers.

We began by conducting new research that focused on people who had recently gone through the process of being fitted for their first pair of dentures. From our first consumer interview, we were stunned to learn that the dental surgery and denture-fitting process are, in fact, very frightening, and that our target audience was quite different from whom we had imagined. Despite improvements in cleaning products and dentistry, and fluoride in water, some people are losing the majority of their teeth by age 35; they are often completely unprepared to deal with the reality of dentures and—whether age 35 or 65—feel a great deal of embarrassment about it. Many, in fact, suffer in silence with tooth pain for some time, lacking the funds to undergo measures that can correct problems before it is too late. When lower-income people are eventually forced to visit a dentist, often due to excruciating pain, many are sent to a “chop shop” where their full set of teeth is pulled and dentures are fitted in a matter of hours (a process that really should happen over a few weeks for the least amount of suffering and the best fit). Unfortunately, some dentists at the bottom of the market see the denture wearer as “the end of the line”—a customer who will never return—so the level of education and service tends to be basic, at best.

Even after people are fitted with dentures, they frequently feel ongoing shame and embarrassment. One woman in our research said that she had never let her husband of 40 years see her without her dentures on. Another sad fact that we learned from denture wearers is that they often stop smiling in photographs. This struck a personal chord with me, as I remembered that my grandfather, who wore dentures, always spurned the camera for this reason.

Through our research process, we narrowed our focus to a single, invaluable insight: Denture wearers feel like they have nowhere to turn for help and advice in this embarrassing and painful experience. We saw opportunities to be a reliable source of information that could be accessed without embarrassment, a place where they could learn about everything from preparing for oral surgery to handling the discomfort afterward. And we saw a crystal-clear opportunity for the Fixodent brand to present this solution—to add value through its marketing.

The result of this insight is Denture Living, an online resource for new denture wearers that provides specific information for visitors depending on where they are in the denture-wearing process (pre-wearers, new wearers, and experienced wearers). Helpful features include a guide to prepare visitors for discussions with their dentists, and a calendar that annotates just what new wearers might experience during their first month.

Denture Living also includes real stories from real people who have gone through the process, and offers a message board where visitors can ask questions, including ones that they are too ashamed to ask elsewhere. After only a few weeks, we are already seeing some intensely personal stories being shared in these boards. Information for friends and family is also provided, so that they can be informed and lend their support.

The site puts a priority on information and solutions, while clearly presenting Fixodent as the trusted source of the guidance. In addition to making a positive brand association for the new denture wearer, the site provides a platform for product news and promotions. Instead of simple beach scenes of smiling 60-somethings, the Fixodent brand is bringing real solutions to people who need the help the most. And let’s face it: If a denture-adhesive brand can uncover applicable insights, any brand can.

I am extremely proud of this work by our agency and client team. Congrats on a very meaningful marketing program, gang!