Amanda Chesser

Comm483
Oct. 18, 2015

2014 Marketing Consumer Products: U by Kotex and

Generation Know
Creating a Movement of Women to Spread the Word about Vaginal
Health
Situation Analysis
In 2013, the U by Kotex brand of Kimberly Clark launched a campaign
designed to spark conversation
and bust myths surrounding
vaginal health. The campaigns
research indicated that a majority
of young women ages 14-22
faced an overload of
misinformation about vaginal
health, or felt the issue was too
taboo and meant to be kept
private.
When it comes to seeking
information about a topic as
daunting as their womanhood, U
by Kotex found that these young
women were likely to turn to the
Internet for answers. As a result,
myths and untruths recycled
through generations and
plastered across online message boards left many girls confused and
uneducated about their vaginal well-being.
According to initial research (Schick, 2012):
More girls are turning to online sources (63%) than their
mothers (43%) for information on or questions about vaginal
health
More than half (51%) of girls say its hard to separate myths
from facts when it comes to vaginal health
Seven in 10 (71%) of girls feel expected to keep vaginal health
issues to themselves
Almost two-thirds (63%) of girls say they didnt learn enough
about vaginal health in school

Research also indicated this generation was ready for change

(Schick, 2012):
Roughly eight in 10 girls (82%) say its time society changes
the way it talks about vaginal health issues
Nine in 10 (91%) girls say its time for all girls to become more
educated about vaginal health and a similar proportion (91%)
agrees learning more about their bodies empowers them to
make healthier decisions
Seven in 10 (70%) girls want to pass along vaginal health and
period care knowledge to help and empower others

The U by Kotex brand, known for its bold attitude and unconventional
style, used this knowledge as an opportunity. With the help of public relations
agency Marina Maher Communications LLC and marketing research firm
Harris Interactive, U by Kotex set out to end the cycle of misinformation by
inspiring young women ages 14-22 to adopt a fearless attitude and change
the way they think about vaginal health and their bodies. U by Kotex
encouraged these women to join Generation Know, a new generation of
women armed with facts about their bodies and comfortable with their
periods and vaginal health.
To be successful, U by Kotex had to create an environment where
women could access information and ask questions without shame,
embarrassment or judgment. However, instead of the brand encouraging
women to get involved itself, it turned the challenge over to real women, and
leveraged social media and word of mouth to spread its key messages to
young women.
The integrated campaign spun with an angle that shouted real. This
approach was effective, because the target publics, aka real young women,
could trust a transparent campaign that didnt sugar coat information for the
sake of maintaining a societal status quo. The messaging and branding of
the campaign, with its bold colors and blunt messages, was fearless in itself,

and further encouraged young women to be just as fearless in embracing

their vaginal health. U by Kotex had to tune out the outdated and
conventional imagery of happy periods, and redefine the feelings
associated with periods to feelings that radiated confidence.
I strongly suspect that U by Kotexs Generation Know campaign was
designed after conducting a thorough SWOT analysis. This is most evident
in analyzing the teams choice to use social media and online avenues to
their advantage to reach young females, a target public who often looked to
the Internet to receive information on the taboo topic. A SWOT analysis
probably also influenced the campaigns bold messaging and loud product
packaging, which starkly contrasted the preexisting, dull and dainty
marketing used by previous feminine products. These attributes aligned with
U by Kotexs overall confident-empowerment theme, reinforced the
campaign and made it more effective because it violated consumer
expectations.
The additional and underlying purpose of the U by Kotex Generation
Know campaign was to forge an emotional bond with young consumers
to boost product sales and improve positive brand sentiment. The
campaign united young women and provided them with the resources and
support to be educated about their bodies and to make healthy choices. In
this respect it created the grounds for a coalition of young, educated and
healthy women who make the conscious, healthy decision to buy Kotex
products.
Research
U by Kotex
commissioned marketing
research firm Harris
Interactive to conduct
primary research to inform
the campaign. The firm
created The Generation
Know Report, an
electronic survey gauging
girls knowledge about sexual
health and comfort obtaining
and sharing information.
In the survey, U By Kotex revisited old survey questions from its 2009
Break the Cycle survey to identify any changes in attitudes, and developed
new survey questions to identify current attitudes and behaviors among
young women.
Researchers developed survey questions to provide insights on:

Girls understanding of myths and misperceptions surrounding

vaginal health
Who girls discuss vaginal health issues with
Where girls obtain or would like to obtain health information
How girls share information with their peers or other girls

Researchers conducted the survey online over 22 days. They surveyed

1,056 U.S. females and 516 Canadian females, all age 15-34. Researchers
weighted the sample data to be representative of the population of
females residing in U.S. and Canada on the basis of region, age, gender,
education, household income, race/ethnicity and propensity to be online.
The Generation Know Report survey was a form of primary formal
research. It contained both open-ended and close-ended questions, and the
results were quantitative and qualitative. Its extensive findings measured
females attitudes and behaviors, and influenced the messaging executed by
the campaign. The survey was representative, effective and allowed
researchers to compare subpopulations by region and age.
Noteworthy findings spanned four major categories: (1) problem
recognition, (2) knowledge and information sources, (3) comfort levels and
communication, and (4) knowledge and empowerment.
Some major findings of the survey include:
Most girls felt misinformed and
confused about their vaginal health.
Nearly two-thirds of girls would like
to know how to better take care
of their bodies.
More than eight in 10 girls (82%)
believe women and girls should
share their knowledge and
experiences regarding vaginal
health with one another.
Nearly nine in 10 (89%) girls agree
they have the power to join forces and redefine how they see
themselves.
Overall, the Generation Know Report successfully generated insights
on the attitudes and behaviors of the target population. Findings especially
helped U by Kotex select which platforms they used to spread their
messages to young women.
A weakness of the campaign was its online nature; a females ability
to access a computer (which is often associated with socio-economic status
and education) may have skewed survey answers a particular way. The
survey was also only administered in English, which may have negatively

impacted the results by not accounting for non-English speaking

consumers residing in North America.
In addition, supplementing the current research with focus groups and
content analysis would further strengthen the campaign by helping U by
Kotex understand why females adopt a particular attitude or preference
about receiving information on vaginal health, and not just account for
the existence of an attitude or preferential behavior.
It is worth noting that while previous U by Kotex research focused more
on measuring attitudes related to B2C experiences, this research and
campaign was more concerned with measuring attitudes and behaviors
related to C2C experiences. This is evident in the surveys objectives
(above), which emphasize the process of information exchange. This may be
because the factors associated with the exchange of information relating to
vaginal health (such as product referrals) may indirectly affect a female
consumers decision to choose (or not to choose) Kotex in the feminine
hygiene aisle.
Planning
The planning of this campaign could be improved. First, there was no
explicit campaign goal that informed the objectives, strategies or tactics.
However, if I had to guess, I would say that U by Kotexs goal was to
establish itself as a leader of positive social change in womens health,
and the leading provider of feminine care products for confident,
healthy women.

Target Audience and Analysis

o The campaign defined its primary target as women ages 14-22.
According to campaign research, these target women:
Were not afraid to speak their minds, share
opinions or ask questions (about everything but
periods)
Want to make a difference in life and in their
communities
Value brands that empower them
Are eager to get the facts to talk confidently, but
were didnt know where to get information she
trusts.
o The campaign may have strengthened its impact by targeting
the mothers and/or guardians of women ages 14-22 as a
secondary audience. By encouraging these caregivers to
embrace conversations about womens health with their

daughters, the team could reinforce the campaigns key

messages from a different angle.

Key Messages:
o Although the campaign never explicitly states key messages,
these are the messages they seem to be projecting:
Young women should feel confident discussing and
seeking information about their vaginal health and bodies.
Learning about the body empowers young women to
make healthier decisions.
Young women should shamelessly share and pass on
their knowledge and experiences to other young women.
o These messages are compelling because they establish an
inspiring group identity, which makes women feel like they are
not alone in feeling bashful and confused about their vaginal
health. The messages go further to inspire women to form a
coalition and inspire action by helping other women realize that

they too, are not alone, and can take control over their vaginal
health.

Campaign Objectives:
o The campaign only had two explicit objectives, which were NOT
SMART:

(1) Persuade women to engage with U by Kotex through

Generation Know, social media and positive word of mouth
This is a process objective. Although relevant, this
objective is not specific enough, and it does not
indicate which subpopulation of women it will target,
nor give any indication of how many women it aims
to reach. It also uses terms that are very vague, such
as positive word of mouth. What is word of
mouth, and how can it be conceptualized, let alone
measured?
Because this objective is so vague, its attainability
is debatable. How can it be attained if its meaning
is trivial?
This objective is missing parameters for
measurement. How many women will it reach? How
much engagement and what type of engagement is
it aiming for, and how will successful engagement
be defined? How will U by Kotex determine if targets
were successfully persuaded, or persuaded enough?
This objective is not time-bound. How long will the
team have to implement the campaign and engage
these women?
All of these flaws make it difficult to evaluate the
effectiveness of the campaigns performance.
Because this objective is not specific, measurable or
timely, the team will not be able to determine if it
failed, achieved or surpassed this objective.

(2) Boost product sales

This objective is an outcome objective, but it is also
very weak. It is not specific- boost sales of whatany particular Kotex product, or all Kotex products in
general?
It is not measurable. Boost product sales by what
percentage, compared to what time market? Boost
revenue or profit by exactly how much?
It is not time-bound: Boost sales during what time
frame- an economic quarter, a month or a year?

Campaign Strategies
o The campaign mostly utilized a digital grassroots strategy, in
which it let young women spread the word about vaginal
health to their peers organically. This was designed to increase
comfort and relevance of the topic among young women, and

disseminated key messages from a source (female peers) more

likely than the brand to be perceived as trustworthy.
o Explicit campaign strategies included:
(1) Engaging high profile ambassadors to generate
program awareness and drive traffic to
GenerationKnow.com
Tactics:
o U by Kotex created Generation Know.com,
an online destination to get and share facts,
learn from experts and create or join social
change projects.
o Partnered with high profile spokespeople
including Khloe Kardashian, Kat Graham
and KeKe Palmer. Spokespeople discussed
the importance of vaginal health knowledge,
sported the Generation Know bracelet and
used their personal heavily followed
twitter handles to generate more excitement

about Generation Know.

(2) Create content and educational events to give

digital native target audiences compelling Generation
Know content to share.
Tactics:

o Bust a Myth: U by Kotex encouraged young

women to print out an online kit of vaginal
health myth-busters and post them in public
places.
o Change the Dialogue: Young women wrote
letters to their little sister, regardless if they
have one or not, to send a positive message
about womanhood to the next generation.
o Break the Silence: Young women pledged to
have a conversation about vaginal health on
and offline.
o Generation Know Bracelet Giveaway: Each
woman who subscribed to the website was
eligible to receive a Generation Know bracelet.

(3) Credential Generation Know with trusted health and

lifestyle experts and a cause partner that resonates
with target.
Tactics:
o Created an expert panel consisting of
OB/GYN, psychologist, researcher and
millennial experts who spoke at media and
consumer events
o U by Kotex partnered with Girls For A Change
nonprofit organization and held educational
trainings in major cities: Atlanta, Chicago,
Colorado Springs, Hartford, Miami and New
York.
o For every young woman who joined Generation
Know, U by Kotex donated $1, capped at
$50,000, to its cause partner Girls For A
Change.
Planning analysis
o The overall big idea of female empowerment behind the
Generation Know integrated campaign was strong and effective.
The campaign leveraged bold and blunt messaging that violated
consumer expectations, which made its messaging overall more
effective (Expectations Violation Theory). It also effectively used

blogs, social media and an interactive website to reach young

women on an individual level and utilized media and events
promotion to elevate the campaign and its message. It targeted
young women online, in mainstream media, as well as in schools,
campuses and dormitories. While the campaign could have
benefited from stronger objectives, its overall design was
thoughtfully crafted.
Implementation
The implementation of the campaign was executed impressively,
especially considering how disappointing the campaigns explicit objectives
were.
The campaign effectively utilized traditional, nontraditional, controlled
and uncontrolled communications channels. It received coverage on major
media programming, including The Wendy Williams Show, E! News, Good
Morning America, People StyleWatch, Her Campus, US Weekly and Life &
Style. These placements further ensured the depth of campaigns
messages.

The campaign also remained consistent in its messages and

branding, and upheld the U by Kotex brand and reputation established by
previous corporate campaigns, such as the U by Kotex 2009 Break the
Cycle campaign.
The bold messaging not only worked to empower young women, but it
also garnered the campaign more public attention. In 2013, the campaign
ads faced pullback from television networks that requested the spots get

reworked to avoid the use of the word vagina. The campaign also faced
trouble securing a permit to film in Manhattan, New York, after being told it
could not shoot that particular content in a public space (OLeary, 2013).
Ironically, these hurdles confirmed U by Kotexs research findings: that
vaginal health is seen as a societal taboo meant to be kept private. This
ultimately worked somewhat in favor for the brand, because its dedication
and persistency to the cause demonstrated to consumers that it was
committed to providing transparency.
Although the campaign was effective, it may have been more effective
by supplementing online efforts with targeted media relations at popular
teen publications, such as Seventeen Magazine, Teen Vogue and
Cosmopolitan. Since many of the readers of these publications are the target
public of the Generation Know campaign, media placements in these outlets
may have increased the awareness and effectiveness of the campaign.
Evaluation
Because the campaign did not have strong objectives, it was difficult
for U by Kotex to measure the actual success of the campaign. This
was a downfall of the campaign.
However, the evaluation did reveal the following campaign successes:
Engagement and Word of Mouth:
This was an output evaluation.
o A 200 percent increase in U by Kotex social mentions
o A record number of website visits (nearly three
million), including:
438,000+ bracelet requests
260,000+ asked questions
Nearly 100,000 watched Generation Know videos
online
o It educated 2,000 North American young women
during 10 training sessions.
o It generated more than 770 million earned media
impressions/
Boost Product Sales:
This was an outcome evaluation.
o In Q1 2013, U by Kotex experienced a nearly 18 percent
sales increase versus Q1 2012 and an increase in
positive brand sentiment.
I was very disappointed with the evaluation of this campaign,
especially considering how successful its implementation was. Like the
objectives, the evaluation criteria were too vague. It did not specify the time
frame of the campaign, or give any indication of the specific actions taken by
women who participated in the Generation Know projects.

In addition, the evaluation of product sales gives barely any indication

of the campaigns impact on sales, or how it measured the supposed
increase in positive brand sentiment.
There was no post-survey to measure any change in attitude in how
young women perceive their vaginal health, nor was there any indication of a
behavior change in how young women share information. A post-campaign
evaluation and assessment of the campaigns promotional events would help
U by Kotex gain a more comprehensive understanding of the implications of
its Generation Know campaign and highlight future growth opportunities.
My Perspective
This case won the 2014 Silver Anvil for Marketing Consumer Products
because it exhibited a strong and effective big idea that challenged
conventional perceptions. It created a group identity and mobilized a
group of young women by shifting the conceptual scope of vaginal health
from an individual level to a societal level. In short, it not only marketed a
brand, it marketed a societal movement.
The award stood out for its messaging, and for its well-executed
implementation. U by Kotex successfully aligned itself with influencers
such as brand spokeswomen, medical experts and a cause partner to raise
awareness for an issue that it framed as bigger than the U by Kotex brand.
The spokeswomen embody the boldness of the U by Kotex brand, and some,
such as Khloe Kardashian and her sisters, continue to serve as a U by Kotex
ambassador to promote education about vaginal health.
The award entry was well written, but was hurt by weak evaluation and
objectives. This campaign made me realize the importance of creating
measurable objectives because it provides a tangible way to evaluate the
campaign after its implementation. Before analyzing this campaign, I did not
realize how interdependent the two are.
One of the biggest strengths of this campaign is its alignment with U
by Kotexs consistent bold and empowering brand. This cross-campaign
consistent branding allowed U by Kotex to implement Generation Know
successfully after its 2009 Break the Cycle campaign, because the
messaging of the two campaigns support one another. It also allows U by
Kotex to implement similar future campaigns within its unconventional
framework. For example, U by Kotex is currently implementing a bold
campaign entitled Save the Undies, which upholds its unapologetic and
distinct brand, to promote the sale of feminine pads.

U by Kotex strove to make Generation Know the first generation of girls

with a real understanding of vaginal wellness, the first generation
comfortable with asking questions and gaining the spreading knowledge to
help challenge the way society thinks about feminine health. Like the brand,
the campaign was bold, effective and loud, which earned it the 2014 Silver
Anvil for Marketing Consumer Products.
Works Cited
Get a free "Generation Know" charm bracelet from U by Kotex. (2013,
January 11). Retrieved October 19, 2015.
Girls for a Change. (2013). Retrieved October 19, 2015.
Horn, J. (2013, April 5). Youth Report: Kotex adds forum to its Real Talk
platform. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
O'Leary, N. (2013, February 25). The Straight Talk Menstruation Ad That's
Causing Quite a Stir. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
Schick, V., Krost, C., Roberts, T., Lifshitz, A., & Smit, W. (2012). The
Generation Know Report: A Study on Vaginal Health. Retrieved October
19, 2015.
U by Kotex Debunks Myths With New Campaign. (2013, January 7). Retrieved
October 19, 2015.