Back-to-School is the second largest season for facial tissue purchasing and merchandising, as most kids are required to purchase tissues as part of their school supplies. Puffs had to break through all the competitive messaging with less spending and media support. The package design had to create strong appeal and elicit that visceral "I’ve got to have it" (purchase-now) type of response. Our key strategy was to use home décor and kids’ trends to develop engaging, yet simple designs for a quick and easy "get" at shelf.

After extensive ideation, trend immersion and in-person feedback sessions with 5th and 6th grade classrooms, we gained valuable insight into what kids are facing as they embark on a new school year: mixed emotions – and a lot of personalities mashing together at once.

The big idea of “Face it!” rose to the top of the class and led to the creation of playful monster personifications to express those diverse personalities.

The new designs were so well-liked by our buyers, that we obtained incremental distribution with three of our key retailers. The strong Back-to-School packaging designs resulted in an 18% increase in shipments versus the previous year.