Colgate 12 Month Case Study
The Brief
The Brief
Colgate Palmolive partnered with We Are SNS, a leading social media agency, to fundamentally evolve Colgate’s social media content model. The brief was clear: to transform content creation into a faster, more scalable and more cost-effective without sacrificing quality, creativity or brand integrity.
The core objective was to turbocharge social media content production by delivering three times the monthly volume. This required a complete refresh in strategy around the end to end content from in-house assets through to creator partnerships.
With our support and recommendation, we shifted the content strategy to be highly UGC focused, ensuring an authentic feel across Instagram and TikTok. This shift to a UGC focus was a responsibility We Are SNS managed across Palmolive and Sanex too.
The evolution was driven by the need for greater scale and impact. The existing approach limited creator scalability, relied on overly engineered briefs that constrained creativity, and required high production budgets, slowing turnaround times. Colgate needed a new way of working that allowed creators to move quickly, tell authentic stories and deliver content that felt native to each platform.
What We Did
UGC
Influencer
TikTokS
Social
The Approach
We Are SNS rebuilt Colgate’s UGC creator strategy from the ground up, introducing an agile, creator-first operating model designed for volume, speed and cultural relevance. The new approach prioritised simplicity in briefing, empowering UGC creators to bring their own voice and perspective to each piece of content while remaining aligned with brand guidelines.
By shifting from high-production, centrally managed assets to a shoot-and-share creator model, creators were able to unlock a significant increase in content output, faster speed to market and deliver final assets without incurring additional production costs. Over the year, this approach enabled us to deliver 869 assets, exceeding our target of 70 assets per month.
Content was developed with a platform native mindset, designed specifically for how audiences consume Instagram and TikTok. Strong hooks within the first few seconds, emotional and relatable storytelling, and authentic product integration became central creative principles. Rather than forcing trends, the focus was on responding quickly to culturally relevant moments that naturally aligned with the brand.
Colgate soon recognised our creative ability to make impactful content, which then soon led us to creating an additional 60 assets for the launch of Colgate Purple Serum, which was for paid boosting, performance marketing projects, as well as reactive editing support for key moments, such as the Bluey x Colgate toothpaste launch at Boots in Westfield.
The Results
At the start of the UGC campaign, Colgate and We Are SNS set a goal to reach 12.7M people across Instagram and TikTok. In 12 months, the partnership achieved:
- Total audience: 31.6 million (18.9M above target, +40% over-performance), highlighting the impact of creator-led storytelling at scale.
Instagram results:
- Reach: 4+ million (more than double the target)
- Engagements: 6+ million
- Average engagement rate: 144%
TikTok results:
- Post views: 27.8+ million
- Interactions: 147,000+
Operational efficiency:
- 92% of contracted content approved for posting
- Content output exceeded plan by 6%, showing strong alignment across creators, agency, and brands.
Looking Ahead
As the partnership moves into Q1 2026, Colgate is well-positioned to build on a strong foundation of scalable processes, trusted creator relationships and a content engine designed for speed and relevance. Throughout the first year, We Are SNS encouraged Colgate to step outside its comfort zone, engage more deeply with organic content and use social listening to better understand the evolving social landscape.
For insights into some great creator partnerships, check our blog on the ‘Top 4 UK UGC creators to collaborate with in 2026’
If you’re ready to unlock creator partnerships that deliver million-plus reach and meaningful engagement, let’s talk.
