How do you pull off a social campaign with a few pennies and tons of creative energy?
Independent agency Five by Five certainly has something to say about that. Despite having a limited campaign budget, the agency has crafted a campaign for Regina Blitz aimed at repurposing the "messy" moments of family life, taking away the stress to only show the fun bit.
For this Behind the Idea, we've had a chat with art director Mark Livni, who has detailed the key aspects of such an ambitious campaign below. One thing is certain: we will keep using the term "happimess" a lot from now on.
What was the brief?
Blitz had lost customers following a recent price increase, but many of those customers had stopped buying kitchen roll altogether rather than switching to a competitor. The brief was to bring back those lapsed buyers by reminding them of their need for Blitz. We all make messes that need cleaning up, after all.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming session go?
We started by diving deep into the category. Yes, we know it’s 2020, but it turned out mums are still the primary grocery shoppers in the UK and also the ones who do a lot of the household cleaning. In fact, according to Mintel research from 2018, 66% of UK mums with kids under 18 say they take sole responsibility for cleaning around the house.
But we also found that mums think cleaning is stressful (48%) and exhausting (65%).
Most kitchen roll brands focus on cleaning up messes and how easy it is too clean if you use their products, but we held a creative workshop with the client to look at getting away from that obvious messaging. We realised that if mess equals stress, it would be better to focus on something a bit more positive, like the fun times you have actually making the mess in the first place.
A lot of mums’ lives revolve around their children, and that led us to the concept of ‘Happimess’.
Tell us more about the concept. Why was it the right choice?
Happimess is built around the human truth that having family and children around you brings happiness in daily life. Our hero content showcases everyday family moments that every parent will recognise.
The idea of the campaign is to focus on how parenting isn't always straightforward, but messy moments can make the best memories, from runs in the mud to finger painting to messy play. That then leads to the fact that Blitz is always on hand to help clear up so you needn't worry about making mess in the first place.
What was the production process like? What was the biggest challenge?
As budget was limited, we had to rely a lot on stock photography. As a result, the greatest challenge was to find suitable imagery to do our campaign justice.
We spent days searching the image libraries and with some creative photoshop work we now have a bank of images that we can use all year round. The images had to show that a mess isn’t just about stress and annoyance, but can also be about joy.
What’s the main message of the campaign and why does it matter?
Happimess' message is that family brings happiness, that kids bring joy, and that if their happiness creates a mess then it’s a wonderful memory, not just something to stress about cleaning up afterwards. Regina is positioned as part of those lovely family moments, alleviating the stress of cleaning up household messes.
Why will the final assets resonate with consumers?
They’re completely relatable. The primary audience is mums and every mum knows what it looks like to see your child having fun and being happy in a way that causes a mess. In fact, most parents will attest that that’s sometimes the only thing that seems to make them happy!
What is one unique fact about the campaign that will help it cut through?
Having a genuine insight into why people need to use Regina Blitz is what ultimately allows the campaign to cut through.
Quite simply, people want to have fun and make a mess. That could be experimenting with a new BBQ recipe or teaching the kids how to paint; with the fun comes the inevitable mess. Once you remove the fear of making a mess (because Blitz makes it easy to clean up the spills) you are able to make a "happimess". Giving consumers that permission to feel free to make mess and spills is what makes this campaign cut through.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
We started planning for the Happimess campaign in January 2020. The first assets went live in May 2020, comprising social, PR, influencers, print and web.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
The aim is to attract lapsed buyers back into the category and increase brand awareness in a positive, playful and energetic way. Given that all too much kitchen roll marketing focuses on the clean-up, we wanted to associate Blitz with the wonder and happiness that precedes it.
How satisfying is it to see it out there after so much hard work?
We’ve worked closely with brand owner Sofidel for many years, so it was a terrific opportunity to take on the challenge of devising a new creative campaign for Regina Blitz.
We hope we have created a message that really resonates with parents, that mess can actually be a good thing. Cleaning up often follows a child smiling and laughing, and those memories are priceless.
