CINCINNATI: Hoping to spur sales of its new Pampers Rash Guard diapers, Procter & Gamble is hitting the road with a seven-city PR campaign.
CINCINNATI: Hoping to spur sales of its new Pampers Rash Guard
diapers, Procter & Gamble is hitting the road with a seven-city PR
campaign.
The program, coordinated with agency of record Fleishman-Hillard, will
feature prominent New York pediatrician Dr. Paula Elbirt as well as
local pediatricians in the target markets of San Francisco, St. Louis,
Phoenix, Detroit, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Tampa.
P&G introduced Pampers Rash Guard earlier this year as a premium-line
extension of its Pampers disposable diaper line. While a small launch
campaign accompanied the introduction, the primary PR push has now begun
in earnest.
’We’ve never done anything to give parents reasons to use Rash Guard,’
said Tami Jones, PR manager for P&G baby care. She declined to discuss
the campaign’s budget.
Winter was seen as an ideal time to launch the primary campaign because
of the onset of the cold and flu season, Jones explained. Cold- and
flu-stricken babies are more likely to develop diarrhea, a major cause
of diaper rash.
According to Jones, the decision to use a well-known spokesperson was an
easy one. ’An expert really lends credibility to a product like Rash
Guard,’ Jones said, noting that P&G is hoping to position the diapers as
a healthcare product. The Rash Guard diapers apply a hypoallergenic skin
care protectant to the child, which is activated by increased body heat
and movement.
Jones said P&G’s web site and toll-free hotline figure prominently in
its PR plans. The campaign’s success will be judged both on sales and on
the volume of hotline calls.