28 Feb 2008


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Kleenex

Kleenex

Kimberly-Clark

Top 100 Grocery Brands

Source : Checkout Nielsen Top 100 Grocery Brands
Position: 73
Kleenex, the number one tissue brand since its launch in 1925, grew strongly last year and moved one place up the Top 100 Grocery Brands league to 73.

Kleenex

Sales rose 9.1% to £87.1m driven by a raft of npd and innovative marketing.

Kleenex brand manager Rebecca Hirst says: “For a brand like Kleenex to stay at the number one position since its launch, Kimberly-Clark invests heavily in product development, innovation and advertising.

"By working with our retail partners to develop the category's strategy and investing in in-depth consumer research, we identify the solutions that will inject value for retailers and excitement for consumers.”

According to Nielsen, Balsam tissues led the growth but Family and Anti-Viral variants also performed well.

But it was a series of marketing initiatives and product launches that really blew the Kleenex brand forward in 2007.

It kicked off with a global ad campaign for the brand called 'Let it Out', which included a 60-second TV ad – a first for Kimberly-Clark Europe.

The ad featured real people, rather than actors, and the soundtrack reached number 32 in the i-Tunes rock chart.

The company also created a space on MSN for people to let out their emotions online.

The spend was in excess of £5.7m and the campaign is now back on air this year with a new edit, supported by radio ads and sampling.

Kleenex also joined forces with sister brand Andrex to support Red Nose Day last year and produced over 10m Red Nose Day Blow £1 Kleenex packs.

In November the brand turned its attention on primary schools with its Sneezesafe programme, designed to teach 4-6 year-olds “good tissue habits” to help prevent the spread of colds.

It followed research, commissioned by Kleenex, which revealed two thirds of parents send their children to school with a cold and 35% wrongly believe it's a good idea to be exposed to colds because it builds immunity.

On the product front it launched Kleenex Ovals, a range of four design-focused tissue boxes to appeal to consumers who are looking for stylish accessories for their homes.

There was also a tie up with the Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille and a kids' range featuring characters from the movie.

And the brand produced an exclusive pink tissue box to support Asda's Tickled Pink campaign, supporting breast cancer charities.

Kleenex also honed its pocket pack strategy based on insight the UK market is 80% boxed and 20% pocket pack, and people who buy both are worth twice as much to the category as those who buy only one format.

“Insights also tell us that people want and need pocket packs but they won't go specifically to the relevant aisle to the find them,” says Hirst.

“By positioning pocket packs at the checkout, at the lunchtime food area, on garage forecourts and in express shopping stores we have been able to increase our market share by over 10% since last year by driving impulse purchase.”

Hirst adds that in one retailer Kleenex has seen growth of more than 500% due to siting at till points in all stores.

“For retailers it's a win/win strategy – it's a low interest category with high profit potential.”

For 2008 Kimberly-Clark plans more of the same including “a significant ad spend” and “the biggest ever npd plan for Kleenex”.

In addition, the Kleenex brand in the UK is the first of Kimberly-Clark's global product ranges to become Forest Stewardship Council accredited with the FSC logo on pack from January.

2007 £87.1m
2006 £79.9m
yoy change 9.1%

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