In March 2020, as fear of COVID-19 and government lock-downs spread throughout the world, something unexpected happened: People began stockpiling toilet paper.

As the shortage became widespread, Cottonelle quickly worked to restock the shelves so consumers could get the essential items they desperately needed. But as an industry leader, we knew we had to do more. We needed to quickly leverage our category’s unexpected spotlight to activate and connect communities in need, as well as restore a sense of calm across the country.

We set out to counteract hoarding with humanity by asking people to #ShareASquare. This nationwide program encouraged people to share extra rolls of toilet paper with others in their community who needed it (while we worked tirelessly to make more).

To keep the kindness rolling, we partnered with United Way—donating 1MM rolls of toilet paper, $1MM, and an additional $1 for every #ShareASquare post on social media—ultimately transforming a basic consumer product into a symbol of hope and care, and connecting millions of people in just a matter of days, one roll at a time.

As COVID-19 became more and more of a threat, a feeling of hopelessness and lack of control overcame the public. As panic set in, many around the world went into survival mode—which resulted in hoarding, and a global shortage of toilet paper.

With the pandemic impacting every household across America, we wanted to reach anyone who had extra toilet paper—not to position Cottonelle as a toileting solution—but to position our product as a means to care for your neighbor and community. This was a unique opportunity to transcend our usual targeting methods and credibly and meaningfully speak to a much broader audience.

Timing was of the essence and we needed to quickly communicate with people in order to make an impact, so our go-to-market plan needed to be swift and focused on channels that could be activated quickly, leveraging our existing media buys.

On March 22nd, we launched with a single timely post via brand-owned channels and within Kimberly-Clark’s internal communications. Employees took to their own social platforms to start spreading the word and sharing the love.

Later that week, we officially launched the landing page and announced a partnership donating $1 million to United Way. Additionally, for each consumer who interacted with the #ShareASquare campaign, Cottonelle donated incremental funding to United Way to encourage program participation and amplify its impact.

Toward the end of that week, we launched our paid media across Facebook & Instagram and leveraged our existing TV buy for a new video to help spread the campaign nationwide.

In week two, we increased paid media on Twitter as well as Premium on-line video and launched our influencer partnerships.

On April 7, Jimmy Kimmel featured #ShareASquare on his show which further increased traction.

By seizing this critical moment in time, we were able to provide more than just household items—we fostered community support and hope, when both were in short supply.

Cottonelle saw massive positive response as a result:

- Our message of spreading kindness and helping others reached 223.7 million people nationwide, with a majority coming from earned channels

- We saw a 40% lift in share of voice in social media

- We increased our Instagram followers by 24%

- We achieved 70% positive social engagement

- We increased traffic to cottonelle.com by 35%

Cottonelle seized this unique moment in time to not just elevate the brand but to make #ShareASquare a nationwide movement and showcase that (in the words of Jimmy Kimmel) ‘squaring is caring’!