Tending to Toilet Tissue Turf: Cottonelle Q&A

Toilet tissue is not something people tend to spend a lot of time thinking about. Many shoppers just grab a familiar-looking package off the shelf and toss it in their carts, and because price promotions are so common, there is not a lot of brand loyalty.

Cottonelle Ultra has improved sales with integrated marketing tied to promotions. Its latest promo, “One Little Switch,” drives consumers to an in-pack code using humorous messaging to equate a consumer’s relationship with his toilet tissue to a personal relationship that’s gone stale. (Read more about the “Switch” campaign).

Cottonelle senior brand manager John Stanwood talks to Promo about the $9 billion product category and why it’s so challenging for marketers.

PROMO: How are sales?
STANWOOD: The brand had a very strong back half of 2010, which had a lot to do with our “The Great Debate” promotion breaking through with consumers. So there is a lot of excitement with the brand coming into 2011, which gives us a lot of positive thinking about the “Little Switches” promotion.

PROMO: How did “The Great Debate” work?
STANWOOD: It asked people to vote online whether they “rolled over or under” when using toilet tissue. The winner (rolling over) was announced on new packaging to draw attention to product improvements (softer and stronger).

PROMO: Has there been an influx of budgetary support?
STANWOOD: Historically, we have strongly supported the brand. As it continues to perform we absolutely want support to drive the business.

PROMO: What drives that support?
STANWOOD: A lot of it is the sales performance, and we think our brands have the potential to be strong players in their categories, and that plays into the decision-making. If the brand shows a potential to show well—which a lot of that is supported by sales growth—and if you continue to bring forward competing advertising campaigns, it can only help your case.

PROMO: Are consumers brand loyal?
STANWOOD: You’ll find that consumers purchase different brands at different times during the year. It has a lot to do with the low-involvement nature of the category. Promotions tend to impact how consumers are buying, and that gives us the opportunity to sway consumer purchase habits. It is a very challenging category to compete in.

PROMO: How has your retail marketing changed over the past few years?
STANWOOD: We’re leveraging the packaging a little differently by putting communications in-pack and contributing at shelf advertising where we have self- and floor-talkers. We’re also doing a lot of shopper marketing, particularly over the last four years, to create programs at retail that are creating a lot of excitement. All of that put together really helps us at the moment of truth at shelf.

PROMO: How has your overall marketing strategy changed?
STANWOOD: We’re integrating all of our tactics more so now than ever before. We’re leveraging packing, in-store and shopper marketing with all the other channels like TV, print and digital.

PROMO: Have your responsibilities changed?
STANWOOD: It’s our approach to create more compelling advertising that is fully integrated: That’s one of the biggest charges that we have as a brand. It’s continuous improvement. Once you think you’ve reached the mountaintop there’s something more that you can do. It’s about using your marketing dollars most effectively.

PROMO: What keeps you up at night?
STANWOOD: Our understanding of the consumer: We have got to understand our consumer target so that we can deliver great product and compelling messaging that lives up to the brand promise. So it’s what is the consumer thinking, and are we reaching them properly.