Toilet training is notoriously tough– as difficult for the parents as it is for the kids, or at least so most parents would claim. For the last two years Kimberly-Clark’s Pull-Ups training pants brand has offered help in defusing some of the drama, with TV spots and Web videos featuring the “Potty Dance”, a fun video of a dance kids and parents can do together at that certain moment in the day. Or hour.
Last year Pull-Ups upped the ante by enlisting the help of Ralph Covert, founder of the popular kid-oriented band Ralph’s World, to promote the song. The company also rolled out its branded iGo Potty iPhone reminder app
This year the stakes are even higher. Pull-Ups is not only re-enlisting Covert for TV spots but is offering a month-long promotion involving online and social platforms, Potty Dance kits available in selected retailers, and a program of in-home parties teaching parents and kids how to make the transition easier. The whole campaign will culminate in a live streamed “Potty Dance” performance by Ralph’s World on March 5 from the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, along with subsequent concerts in other metro venues.
“Moms don’t really want to get started with training because they don’t anticipate that it will be fun with a two-year-old who’s flexing their independence,” says Peter Sawin, marketing director for Pull-Ups at Kimberly-Clark. “So we created this ritual, a dance that’s kind of an engagement mechanism for the process.”
The previous two Potty Dance promotions were fully integrated campaigns using TV, print and online, but Sawin says the company added an experiential component last year by staging about 5,000 in-home events for moms through House Party. “Our notion was that this was a perfect opportunity to do what our brand is about—get Mom and child together to get them started on the potty training journey in a fun, festive atmosphere where the music’s playing and the kid can be around other children to build interest.”
Right after last year’s campaign, Sawin says, Kimberly-Clark saw a very large increase in the number of parents who got started immediately on training their children—which led to the decisions to make the campaign bigger in a number of ways. For one thing, this year the brand has booked 10,000 in-home parties, again through House Party.
The live streaming event with Covert’s band is meant to bring the content to the masses who can’t attend an in-home party. Parents and children can surf to the www.Pull-ups.com Web site on March 5 at 10 a.m. EST for an hourlong musical show with Covert and guests.
A landing page for the Potty Dance campaign, specially refreshed by agency Blast, includes a video player, countdown clock and various helpful online downloads: a progress chart for moms, a printable picture of an electric guitars for toddler-sized dancers to jam on, and a printable “Big Kid in Training” door hanger to avert privacy issues when the training beings in earnest.
Parents and kids can also customize an avatar and play an interactive Potty Dance game on the Web site at http://www.pull-ups.com/na/swf/pottydance/pottydance-dance-game.html, complete with a leaderboard for winners and a very generous scoring system.
The Web site also serves as a link to the community gallery for the House Party events, where parents can post photos and videos of their in-house potty dancers. Other social elements on the page include links to Pull-Ups’ official Facebook page and Twitter account, a feed of the most recent Twitter posts, and a request for an email reminder of the streaming event.
The site also offers to let parents know when and where they can buy the official Pull-Ups Potty Dance kit. The kit, developed by K-C shopper marketing agency JWT/OgilvyAction, will be available at Walmart and Babies ‘R Us stores and will include a Potty Dance mat, an inflatable guitar, a Potty Training Success DVD and a book of coupons for Pull-Ups products. The package, slated to appear on shelves in March, will retail for $18.99.
“We heard last year that moms got started on potty training sooner after the house parties last year because that’s where they received all the material they needed,” says Sawin. “So this year we’re getting those materials out into stores for moms who can’t get to one of the parties.”
Finally the Web site also offers outward links to iTunes, where parents can download the free iGo Potty smartphone app, a fun application that reminds kids when it’s time to go with a flushing ringtone and rewards them for performance with games and collectible badges. Visitors to the site can also collect a point in Kimberly-Clark’s shopper loyalty program by clicking through to an access code they can then enter at www.EnjoytheRide.com.
Shopper marketing for the Potty Dance campaign will consist of FSIs offering a $2-off coupon for Pull-Ups training pants.
The campaign will also extend to social media, with an ongoing discussion about the training process on the Pull-Ups Facebook fan page (11,200 likes) and the Pull-Ups Twitter feed (about 1,000 followers) featuring a panel of experts and mommy/ daddy bloggers. The company’s PR agency Edelman is also reaching out to inform influential bloggers about the campaign.
“Social is a great space in that it fits so well with what Pull-Ups has been about since we started the brand,” Sawin says.”That’s helping making potty training easier. There’s not one right way to do it, so Pull-Ups is about making sure that mom has all the tools and resources needed to make it a rewarding journey with her unique, specific child.”
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