Clorox Wipes Appear in Macy’s Windows

A stroll past Macy’s famous windows in New York finds a rather unique display: a home setting showing off Clorox Disinfecting Wipes.

This is the first such partnership between the iconic retailer and Clorox that aims to showcase the redesigned packaging as not your traditional looking cleaning product, but rather something that should be displayed and used around the home on an everyday basis.

“We were really trying to think about something that would be unexpected, because the product itself is unexpected, said Lisa Partnoy, the marketing manager for the brand. “People would normally not think about displaying a cleaning product.”

The theme of the window displays tie in to the New York store’s spring campaign, Welcome Back Color, and its home store. The windows along the 7th Avenue side of the Herald Square store display a home kitchen scene with a backdrop of spring colors recreated to match the colors of the wipes eight new packaging designs.

“Bright and happy,” is how Amy Kule, the group vice president of national events and partnership marketing for Macy’s, described it.

In addition to the New York store, the promotions, all part of an annual $50 million budget, are underway this month at Union Square in San Francisco and State Street in Chicago. And while the product is not sold in Macy’s, samples can be had at the information booths at the entrance of the stores, and Macy’s in-store TV loops an ad. An ad is also running on the Jumbotron outside the Macy’s in New York.

The deal with Macy’s includes messaging about the new wipes and a supporting contest in March bill inserts to more than 5 million Macy’s credit card holders. The product is also featured in a home store direct mail piece hitting 8 million homes this week. TV, print ads and some retail coupons also support the launch.

The contest is underway through March 15 where people can submit their own designs for the Clorox Disinfecting Wipes packaging that will culminate with the winning design considered for a future package. The winner will also receive a $1,000 Macy’s shopping spree and a chance to work alongside the Macy’s window designers. The Redesign Clean Contest can be found online. One of the judges who will help select 10 finalists is Kelly Edwards, the co-host of HDTV’s hit show “Design on a Dime.” During the first two weeks of April, visitors to the site will vote for a grand-prize winner.

The product redesign debuted in January and the wipes sell for about $5 at Walmart, Target and Safeway, although distribution is still building. The wipes come in two scents—lemon fresh and fresh scent—and eight designs, created by three design firms. Extensive consumer research conducted by Clorox helped determine when a consumer would choose to place a cleaning product out in the home as part of the décor versus tucking it away in the closet with the rest of the cleaning products. It’s all about combining style with home décor, Partnoy said.

The designs were tested with consumers, as were packaging aspects that addressed dispensing concerns. The wipes are dispensed one single sheet at a time from a wide-mouth canister.

A new design is expected to debut each January.

“The idea is to constantly be looking at what the trends are in home décor to make sure that we’re staying relevant with our designs,” Partnoy said.

Macy’s hosts numerous brand partnerships and agreed to the deal with Clorox immediately.

“It made sense because what they want to promote is readily used by our customer,” Macy’s Kule said.