By Tom Nightingale

CPG giant Kruger Products recognizes the importance of Chinese Canadian growth, as its efforts to reach that population over the years have shown. And with a new campaign for its Scotties tissue brand, the company is hoping all it needs is love.

The brand is looking to invest more in marketing that resonates with the Chinese community and boost Scotties’ profile within that population as it “continues to grow in importance,” says Oliver Bukvic, marketing director for Scotties. “Scotties has a long heritage in Canada but it isn’t a brand that is as known to newcomers. That’s why we continue to really focus in on important segments.”

The new “Love, Scotties” campaign, led by Toronto-based multicultural agency Ethnicity Matters, is designed to connect with Chinese Canadians on a more emotional level than the brand’s previous multicultural campaigns, says Bukvic.

“There was an introductory campaign focused on Chinese New Year and the last spot was focused on a family gathering… Where we’ve gone with this latest creative is much more emotive,” he says, adding that the new campaign also brings to the fore product themes, like versatility and multi-use.

For the “Love, Scotties” campaign, that concept of versatility is applicable not only to the product line but also to the titular emotion of love. And so the campaign was designed to cover all aspects of that emotion, from parental to romantic. “I think one of the challenges is how to connect with a range of consumers, and what we decided to do is to have three different pieces of creative so that we can showcase love in different ways,” Bukvic adds.

Each of the three 15-second TV spots is designed to signify a particular emotional bond. One shows a mother wiping her young child’s face. A bride dabs away her father’s tears of pride. A shy young lover offers a kiss on a tissue. By showing three different types of relationships (lovers, friends, family) in three different emotional scenarios, Scotties is also able to demonstrate its multi-faceted appeal.

As in the past, the focus for the media plan will be on TV and digital spots. The three ads will be broadcast on top Chinese stations such as OMNI and Fairchild, specifically targeting areas of heavy Chinese population like Ontario and the Greater Vancouver Area. Bukvic adds that Kruger could look to broaden the channel scope down the line, depending on the success of the pre-roll that was designed to extend the campaign’s exposure.

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