ohne Reveals Our Hidden Google Search History
ohne, the period care, sexual wellbeing and women’s health start-up is on a mission to break down taboos. Its new out-of-home campaign which runs nationwide from today and is expected to reach 2.6 million people, aims to shine a light on tabooed women’s health issues which are often left behind during the ‘health’ month of January.
Their biggest campaign to date, based on Google Keyword Research taken from January to November 2022 in the UK, highlights the millions of questions women Google about their bodies and the lack of helpful information, support and products available for common women’s health issues. The search terms featured in the creatives include ‘Am I dying or am i on my period’, ‘Why can’t I orgasm’ and ‘Itch or thrush’. Each creative includes a scannable QR codes guiding users to ohne.com, with a free gift with purchase added to users’ baskets relating to the symptom featured on the creative; including lube, probiotics or a healing patch for period pain.
To support the campaign, ohne conducted YouGov research in 2022, that revealed that only 3% of the UK are able to recall learning about gynaecological issues like endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, and adenomyosis at school, despite endometriosis affecting 1.5 million people in the UK.
With over a quarter of Brits (26%) aged 16 and over, and half (50%) of those over 55 stating that they were not taught about sexual and reproductive health at school, ohne believes that the gender health gap starts with a lack of proper education. And whilst, 57% of those who currently or previously menstruate(d) were taught about sex at school, only 2% were taught about what to do if sex is painful or about lubricant.
With this campaign, ohne aims to encourage an honest conversation about the gender health gap and highlight the lack of education and information available to women about their own bodies. Often, people suffering turn to the internet for answers, with over 9 million searches for period-related support in 2022 alone.
There is growing pressure for knowledge and genuine representation of women, which ohne has kept at the heart of this campaign. To aid in education for all, ohne has purchased 144 google search terms; from the 16th of January 2023, those taking to the internet for answers will be directed to the dedicated landing pages, where each symptom is unfolded and people are directed to support.
Leah Remfry-Peploe, CEO and co-founder of ohne along with Nikki Michelsen, says, “There are literally billions of searches from people questioning their bodies – in fact, over 70% of Google search queries that start with the words “is it normal” pertain to the female experience. As a team of ten women, we wanted to highlight that the mainstream support, products and education available to us is quite simply not good enough. We want people to know that their not alone in their searches, and instead of sending them down a rabbit hole, welcome them into our community”
Since 2022, ohne, has been expanding its portfolio to stock over 24 mission-led brands, providing innovative products and a community to help people understand and look after their sexual, menstrual, and gynaecological health. ohne always encourages people to seek professional medical help but wants to give people a platform where no symptom is overlooked or is too taboo, giving women the confidence and knowledge to be unashamedly clear about their lived experience.
