“Who wants to touch a sanitary napkin?”

We didn't want to just make an ad. Our idea tapped into the behavior of the young HK girls, the Hello Kitty Generation. Our solution came in a very cute small package: a collectible SOFT PLUSHY TOY that was made out of the same material of our product, Kotex Comfort Soft.

Our Idea: The most huggable bear. A cute soft bear, made from the same material as our sanitary towels.

We wanted to reframe the category conversation from “who wants to touch a sanitary napkin?” to a softness that begs to be hugged day and night.

“Please don’t show me a sanitary napkin,” words that shouldn’t be said out loud.

Our goal was to encourage our consumers to feel the softness and comfort of our pads but we were also aware that it's quite difficult to feature a real sanitary pad at retail.

Our solution was very simple. We worked with a well known Hong Kong illustrator, Daryl Cheung, and turned his famous bear character “Bac Bac” into a plushy SOFT TOY.

By turning a sanitary pad into an adorable SOFT TOY we were also able to work around sensitive issues and be more aggressive at retail. Additionally, we created Kotex Comfort Soft gift capsule with “Bac Bac” that was delivered to our targets (including KOLs & young girls)

In a category that lacks excitement, the campaign had cut-through and opened ways for girls to experience sanitary pads in an open, engaging and fun huggable way.

Upon campaign launch, Comfort Soft has quickly become the talk of the town and the results exceeded all our expectations and KPIs:

• 46% growth in value share from pre launch 5.2 share to 7.6 post launch (Source: Niesen Scan, YTD Dec 2016)

• For the first time became the category leader by overtaking Whispers Pure Skin (Source: Niesen Scan, YTD Dec 2016)

• More than 67,000 hearts and likes just on Facebook

• Recieved a 11,150 requests for “Bac, Bac“ which exceed our expectations by 223X.

• 35% above our KPI for the thematic video viewership on Facebook, Youtube and Kotex Page

• 88% above target of having people spend time on our campaign site: target 45seconds – actual 1:25 seconds.

A simple idea of letting consumers touch, hug and share our product, we created an unconventional shift in the category.

“A sanitary pad that begs to be touched, hugged and shared”

How do we bring a brand to life when the topic of sanitary pads is better discussed behind close doors as it can be a bit of a cultural taboo. Our solution came in a very cute small package that made Hong Kong looked and touched twice – a genuine interaction that is rare in a very conventional category.

To help drive conversion, we knew the importance of leveraging shopper behavior, and just as importantly having the support from the retailer. It was simply not enough to talk and communicate our idea but had to be relevant at the most important channel: point of sale.

Our idea pushed the boundaries of the brief because we identified Point of Sales as the most important point of execution. We had to entice our target to literally stop, touch and ultimately buy Kotex Comfort Soft.

The huggable bear became the focus of all our marketing activy with the single objective of reinforcing the comfort and softness that can only be Kotex Comfort Soft.

It’s downright impossible to start a conversation that begins with “Wow, did you notice the new feminine sanitary napkin!!??“

The category is stable, brand choice is usually passed from mother to daughter and young girls (18-24) tended to stay brand loyal.

Kotex, the #2 player in the market, introduced an upgraded product, Kotex Comfort Soft, to take share from P&G’s Whisper White Skin with the key benefits of comfort and softness.

However, we had one big problem. Comfort and softness were the benefits that defined the category. How do we make consumers believe we have the most comfortable product? And just as importantly, how do we get them to switch to Kotex Comfort Soft?

With a total budget of 7.7 million HKD (around 1 Million USD) we were tasked to break through the clutter and differentiate Kotex from its competitors.