Our primary target consists of women ages 25-40. Many in this group are working mothers who lead busy lives. Family is their priority and keeping a spotless home is one of the many things they need to do on a normal day. They like to maintain their lives in order and pay attention to details. When cleaning, they focus on the final outcome of the products—performance is key.

Although the Clorox brand is already known as a powerful cleaner, Clorox Gel is its most premium offering due to the added benefits of the gel formula. Unfortunately, sales began to struggle due to increased competition from cheaper private labels. Moreover, research showed found that people were using Clorox Gel far less than they should, partly because it’s a thicker liquid that most consumers only use for particularly rough or hard-to-reach stains.

We needed to reaffirm the brand’s reputation as the most precise and powerful cleaner and encourage existing users to use it more frequently and thoroughly.

The Idea: Clorox UV - a device that transforms our bottle into a handy cleaning tool that reveals grime invisible to the naked eye. It’s a striking innovation that strengthens Clorox’s position as the category’s leader—enhancing what is already the most powerful cleaner on the market.

Through key influencers and social media sharing, the idea became viral and ignite consumers’ connection with the brand.

We explored various design options. Since altering the original packaging was not at option, we went with a design that closely follows Clorox Gel bottle and is intended to coexist harmoniously alongside it. It was also crucial to design a reusable product, one that could be easily detached and reattached when switching bottles.

Just as important was arriving at an ergonomic design that was easy to hold yet powerful enough to illuminate a large enough area. After several tests, we decided that 72 UV LEDs was the struck the right balance: providing the needed illumination while keeping the device to a manageable size and weight. The product currently runs on 3 AAA alkaline batteries, which can power the product through months of regular use.

Clorox UV is designed to resolve both issues at once. First, UV is exclusive that adds value to Clorox Gel in a tangible way; it also strengthens the brand’s positioning as the most powerful cleaning agent, building on a proud tradition of innovative products from the company. Second, UV helps increase usage frequency by giving consumers a more complete picture of everything that needs to be cleaned. Not only does this help the brand sell more product, it benefits consumers who wish to have a cleaner home as well and gives a competitive advantage in a category filled with cheaper generic alternatives.

We had more than a 1,000 users registering daily at the www.cloroxuv.com to see if they could get their own device. Due to the overwhelmingly positive consumer response to the promotional model, the device is now being produced for the mass market and will soon be sold in stores.