Kleenex to partner with Mars medication brands

Kleenex, as the facial tissue market leader, is always looking for new ways to bring additional consumers to the category and has partnered with Mars in response to research that shows that tissue usage amongst cold and flu sufferers is low – as much as 65% of consumers who buy cold and flu remedies do not buy facial tissues.

The joint promotion is a huge opportunity for all three brands to provide consumers with emotional and functional relief throughout the cold and flu season by placing the products front of mind, at tills in store.

Martina Jezdikova, Kleenex Brand Manager at Kimberly-Clark, said: “Every year millions of people suffer from cold and flu but there’s a huge, untapped number of people currently not using tissues as part of their recovery. In teaming up with two other major cold and flu brands there is an opportunity to grow the whole category substantially.

“Convenience and impulse is very important in unlocking this growth potential. Simply by putting pocket packs at tills we have seen sales uplifts of up to 500%. People always need tissues when they are out and about but very few actually have them to hand.”

The partnership will deliver on and off-shelf activity and distribution of all three brands is expected to increase in 1,000 independent stores, 1,000 pharmacies and almost 300 cash and carries around the UK.

Impulse and pharmacy retailers will benefit from this incremental opportunity as Kimberly-Clark and Mars are offering free joint merchandising units to stores listing all three brands throughout the cold and flu season, which runs from October to March.

For the first time, cash and carries will also be offered a free case of Kleenex pocket packs when they buy any three cases of Lockets and Tunes.

Kimberly-Clark and Mars envisage the partnership as the start of a long-term alliance which will be extended into 2009 and beyond.