While period stigmas exist in all countries, they differ in nature. In some markets, such as Australia, they are quite subtle and primarily manifested in women feeling embarrassed, whereas in other markets, they manifest more explicitly in society. For instance, in Russia, even the word menstruation is considered dirty and we had to find language nuances to express our point of view clearly. The ?itself also carries different meaning in different countries, and thus it was crucial we charged it with our intended meaning: to champion women’s progress.

We relied heavily on spokespeople, and we selected them by market to ensure credibility. For example, in China, we leveraged a movie star, but this wouldn’t be authentic to audiences in Australia, Russia or Brazil, so instead we focused on bloggers and micro-influencers.

We took on the stigma and expressed our brand point of view, that periods are natural and don’t limit women, through a globally relevant brand idea: Period or not, she can.

Under this message, we partnered with film stars, bloggers, micro influencers, directors, athletes and regular women to celebrate the multitude of achievements accomplished by women every day, whether on their periods or not, to hammer home the message that periods don’t limit women. We leveraged in-depth local understanding to ensure this message was brought to life at the right touchpoints to ensure maximum impact.

The idea was woven through the very fabric of the brand

To ensure everything we did – from manifesto to packaging – would communicate our point of view, we integrated the ?into our logo. To give it meaning and relevance, we also featured it prominently behind women achieving greatness, and in positive words signaling progress.

An inflection point for Kotex to connect with her

Most girls, upon having their first period, rely on mom for advice, including on products, and consequently stick with mom’s brand. Given Kotex was not the market leader, that typically meant a competitor. To win, we needed to identify another inflection point where she would be open to reconsider her brand choice. We found this point between the ages of 18-29, when her life changes significantly as she leaves home for college, gets her first job and lives more independently.

A reason for her to engage

Our challenge was in getting them to care about and engage with a fem care brand. We knew from analyzing competitor communication that the idea had to be related to periods, but also that period blood itself made many women uncomfortable. By leveraging behavioral economics, we identified a universal tension that we could tap into and take on in a way that would be meaningful to women without making them uncomfortable: periods are still associated with strong stigmas and taboos, and while often subtle, they cause women to feel resentment and frustration. We saw an opportunity to partner with women to change this.

In 2018, the program was launched in full in Australia, Brazil, China, Russia, South Africa and Turkey. In the markets where we do have accurate Nielsen data, the growth is significant and verified:

Australia

Market share grew from 30.2% to 32.1% in a year, ensuring Kotex (under UbK brand) overtook the former market leader Libra, cementing its position as the new market leader.

Brazil

Brazil was the one market where Kotex (under Intimus brand) was already the market leader, but the brand further consolidated its position growing share from 35 to 35.8%.

Russia

Coming from an underdog position, the brand grew its share from 7.3 to 8.5%, a 16.5% growth in share.

South Africa

The brand grew from 14.2 to 15%, a 6% growth in share.

(While we don’t have accurate data for China and Turkey, all indications suggest the brand has seen growth in these markets).