Kruger is launching a new product in its SpongeTowels line, bringing with it refreshed messaging and additions to its promotional efforts.
The product, called SpongeTowels UltraPro, is stronger and more absorbent, according to Kruger. Its launch coincides with a redesign of the brand’s packaging and some new messaging.
“If you think about how to launch a new product, we’re doubling down from almost every angle,” says Susan Irving, chief marketing officer with Kruger.
The new packaging does away with Spongie, the brand’s onesie-clad mascot, while adding a new made-in-Canada badge. Pushing the brand’s point of origin was vital because it’s “what sets us apart,” Irving says, but the removal of Spongie had more to do with connecting to contemporary consumer sentiment.
“Spongie, as we call him, did phenomenal things for the business. But as COVID hit and Canadians wanted to experience real-life moments, he just didn’t fit,” she explains. “And then when we moved to ‘Absorb Life’ and this new product, we really wanted to present a premium look for our product … and it needed to deliver on where we wanted to take the business.”
“Absorb Life” is a new platform for SpongeTowels that debuted in June, taking a more emotional perspective on the idea of “messes,” and when the new UltraPro packaging was first teased to Canadians.
But in addition to the new packaging hitting store shelves, SpongeTowels is supporting the launch with new “hard-hitting functional ads,” Irving says. Some more tactical, features-and-benefits messaging is the kind of thing needed to convince consumers to try a new product, and are meant to compliment the brand-focused approach it debuted two months ago.
Further spots featuring celebrity influencers including chefs Roger Mooking and Stefano Faita and former HGTV star Kate Campbell will also support the launch. And, of course, Kruger will also be doing a fair share of promo and retail efforts to reach people where they shop and drive consideration.
“We’re then going to be doing national sampling across Canada, leveraging Amazon and a lot of our ecommerce partners as well as direct-to-consumer,” says Irving. “And we’ll be doing some sampling in-store, where people will also see displays, shelf-toppers and blade signs.”
The campaign will roll out over TV, digital and social media. Broken Heart Love Affair and Ethnicity Matters provided creative support for the launch, while Wavemaker handled media buying and planning and Strategic Objectives handled the PR.