The Campaign

Let’s face it, tampons aren’t really a topic of conversation. So how could we reach 14 to 24 year old girls to tell them about the new U by Kotex Designer Series Tampon Range? We started with a simple insight. Women have tampons rolling around in their handbags, popping out at inconvenient times. We tested the insight with a focus group. As they started sharing stories of when this had happened to them, laughing and building on the comedy, we knew we had found a way in. We coined the situation “Missile Moments” and developed Punk’d style filmed content, inspired by these stories, which we knew would appeal to the target audience. We didn’t stop there. This multi-pronged campaign included online influencer partnerships, an online media exclusive, content amplification, and put 10,000 samples into the hands of the target audience via experiential partnerships. Not only did the campaign achieve 8 million impressions with media, but reached over 530,000 on Facebook and contributed to a 73% increase in the brand’s Instagram account fans. With no advertising to support the launch, the campaign plan and film were shown to powerful retailer, Woolworths, and helped to convince them to increase their stocks of the new product nationwide from 50% to 75%.

The Brief

U by Kotex is a trusted brand, but tampons aren't something that women want to talk about. For the U by Kotex consumer, social media is their mecca. In their world, you are what you ‘like’. We needed to make it socially ‘ok’ for girls to share the U by Kotex story on their social platforms, and create a brand story which resonated strongly, to prompt them to take action and engage with the brand. Trial is a key purchase driver, so we also needed to get the new product into consumers’ hands while increasing brand consideration.

Results

The Missile Moments campaign helped convince Woolworths to increase stock across 75% of stores nationally A Yahoo 7! Lifestyle editorial reached over 8 million people The Missile Moments film has achieved 22, 643 views to date, 525 shares, 559 likes and 271 comments, and was given a 4.77/5 positive overall viewer rating The Facebook campaign reached over 530,592 people, generating stand-out engagement for the brand with 1,756 likes, 923 comments and 104 shares. The Facebook page saw an increase in more than 150 fans in just over 30 days Influential Instagrammer partnerships achieved a reach of 126,549, with 4757 likes, 154 comments, and a 3.43 engagement rate (against a 3.2 average) The @UbyKotexAU brand audience on Instagram increased by 73% 10,000 samples of the new U by Kotex Designer Series Tampon Range were put directly in the hands of women at relevant events Nike She Runs and Fashion Weekend.

Execution

We launched a film, “Missile Moments” on the U by Kotex Australia Facebook page. Filmed in a Punk’d style, the film shows three scenarios where female actors have tampons fall out of their bags at inconvenient times. In a park, at a café, and in an interview. Hidden cameras captured the reactions of the unsuspecting public. The moral of the story? Avoid “flying missiles” with the new U by Kotex Designer Series Tampon Range with re-sealable pouch. A survey supported the story, revealing strange items women have in their handbags, breaking on Yahoo 7! Lifestyle, one of Australia’s most popular websites. A partnership with five online influencers saw them post images of the new product on Instagram, driving to the @UbyKotex Instagram account. Continuing social media momentum, we launched a 30 day competition to win a clutch via the U by Kotex Facebook page, linking to the survey results.

The Situation

U by Kotex had a new tampon to launch with a new bright packaging design and re-sealable pouch. The problem is, girls don’t want to talk, or think, about tampons. They make their purchase on auto-pilot, and if their current brand works for them, they will stay with it. But the competition is fierce, and the launch was not supported with advertising. So how could U by Kotex get women to talk about, try and buy the new product? We knew that we had to tell a story which the target audience would want to hear.

The Strategy

Simply, we listened to the target consumer. We heard their stories of tampons shooting out of handbags, heard their laughter and saw shared camaraderie. We recognised a ‘safe’ space to talk tampons. The stories of flying tampons were coined “Missile Moments”. We developed relatable and engaging filmed content inspired by our target consumers. In each story, a female actor has her own missile moment, while secret cameras filmed people’s reactions. From a girl walking through the park, dropping tampons, to the men who reacted to tampons falling out of their interviewer’s handbag. New U by Kotex was offered as the solution to avoiding ‘flying missiles” thanks to the new re-sealable pouch. We drove recognition of #missilemoment by partnering with influential Instagrammers, further spreading the word about the new product. And we distributed 10,000 samples at Fashion Weekend and Nike She Runs, offering added credibility to the new product.