DALLAS, June 4, 2007 Nearly 2 million targeted subscribers to Reader's Digest and Every Day with Rachael Ray will find something very unexpected in their June issues a full-page, custom-printed sheet of Viva brand paper towel inserted into the magazines by Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB). Some 737 miles of the category's most cloth-like paper towel was used to roll out this first-of-a-kind print advertising initiative enough paper towels to reach from Chicago to Philadelphia.
The print ad includes a six-page advertising insert, which sandwiches a sheet of Viva paper towel between advertising copy that highlights the product's unique softness and strength. A $1.00 coupon is incorporated into the last page of the advertising insert to spur trial of the product. The promotion is targeted to consumers who enjoy cooking and home entertaining including 800,000 Every Day with Rachael Ray readers and 1 million segmented Reader's Digest subscribers.
"Viva is so incredibly soft and strong, even when wet, it's more like a paper cloth than a paper towel," said Dave Wears, Marketing Director for the Viva brand. "This innovative marketing approach is designed to break through the typical clutter of print advertising and enable consumers to experience the Viva brand difference firsthand."
The print promotion builds on K-C's efforts to ignite sales and volume growth for the Viva brand through its first major national print and television advertising efforts in nearly a decade. In addition to the towel insert, Viva brand 30-second television spots are running on numerous cable channels, including The Food Network, Fine Living, The Travel Channel, Home, and many more.
"Throughout 2006, Viva paper towels achieved double-digit volume growth as a result of sharing the Viva brand story with consumers," Wears said. "The launch of this unique towel-insert advertising program is designed to build on this momentum, as well as elevate the recognition of the Viva brand towel's cloth-like attributes and help continue to fuel rapid growth of the brand."
The logistics of incorporating an actual sheet of Viva brand towels with advertising in 1.8 million magazines required the efforts of K-C team members from marketing, research and manufacturing, as well as staff from these publications. The 2.8 million square feet of Viva brand towels used to produce the insert would cover approximately 50 football fields.
Kimberly-Clark worked with creative agency Anthem Worldwide, a Schawk Strategic Design Company, to develop the six-page advertising and paper towel insert. The paper towel insert is unique because it puts a sheet of Viva brand paper towels directly into the hands of targeted consumers. With no over-wrapping or packaging required to be opened in order to touch the towel, consumers can feel the difference of the Viva brand paper towel while reading the context of the brand's advertising message. For this reason, K-C has applied for a patent for the novel paper towel insertion.
"Part of K-C's growth strategy emphasizes further building consumer awareness of our brands and growing sales of category-building, premium products like Viva brand towels," said Wears. "This new campaign combines precise market segmentation with innovative marketing that enable the brand to enter into a meaningful dialogue with consumers."
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion peoplenearly a quarter of the world's populationtrust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 135-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.