Landing an 'A' Launch

In a competitive retail landscape where manufacturers vie not simply for shelf space but for display opportunities, circular inches and retailer data, Kimberly-Clark has a surefire way to stand out. They call it the "A" launch – a large brand commercial initiative around a new product or product improvement, for which particular retailers offer their highest level of support.While winning that coveted retailer engagement is no simple matter, Kimberly-Clark has developed a track record of turning big initiatives into "A" launches over the past three years. "An 'A' launch typically needs to be about a big idea that can shape the future category landscape for the retailer and the consumer," says Jeff Tabor, director of corporate strategy at Kimberly-Clark. "The launch may be critical for us in terms of achieving our goals, but it needs to be such a good idea, grounded in such good insights, that when we take it to the retailers they see it as their own. That win-win opportunity turns it into an 'A' launch."Kimberly-Clark's first identifiable foray into the world of "A" launches was in 2010, with the debut of U by Kotex, one of the most successful CPG launches that year. That U by Kotex campaign reinvented what was an older brand and fundamentally changed the way feminine products are marketed – based on research that Kimberly-Clark had commissioned that showed the vast majority of women wanted to take the shame and secrecy out of how society talks about menstruation. The new product line was marketed to a younger demographic (teens ages 14-17) that wanted to talk openly about their periods and receive "get real" information."We had consumer insights that dramatically changed the status quo of this category," says Tabor. "When we engaged retailers they saw it as such a big idea that they were right there with us. It was the key that unlocked a new door, a launch where everything was on the table in terms of what we could do in the retail landscape."Since the success of U by Kotex, Kimberly-Clark has had several other "A" launches take off, including Huggies Slip-On diapers in 2011, which offered moms a new, innovative way to change diapers. In 2012, there were three initiatives that fit the "A" launch designation: The innovative new features of Depend Silhouette; the introduction of a U by Kotex super-premium tampon-line extension; and a line of Poise products designed to help with menopausal relief.The CPG-Retailer ConnectionSo how do you determine whether a product launch has what it takes to get to "A" launch status? How do you know retailers will respond with full support? Kimberly-Clark found that while you can't guarantee an "A" launch – it has many top brand priorities that never make it to "A" launch status – there are both internal and external efforts that are essential in order to move toward that designation.Internally, says Tabor, the CPG needs to gather a highly collaborative, cross-functional group that gathers the best insights to help the brand move forward, with a long upfront timeline, to work with retail customers. It will likely involve a host of different teams and agencies. "It doesn't just affect shopper marketing and sales," he says. "It's also about planning with supply chain folks to make sure we're building in distribution; it involves working with our agencies; and with retail operations to align back to the brand and channel strategy teams. Finally, e-commerce is also a very important piece."Translating a marketing idea into an "A" launch also involves examining the idea through an external, retail lens, and presenting it in a way that retailers can see the big opportunity in front of them, says Blake Boulden, a director of shopper marketing at Kimberly-Clark who works on strategic specialty retail for drug and dollar store customers. "That means building in the category story. For Huggies Slip-Ons, for instance, it was about how are we going to build the basket with mom. It's not just about trading up to more premium products – ours – but how we were going to help the retailer build mom's basket and bring that retailer her valuable shopping trip."Kimberly-Clark knew through its research that moms wanted a more intuitive changing experience for their active babies, which is what really created the Huggies Slip-On product proposition in the diaper category. But the company also knew, through its retailer relationships, that capturing mom's loyalty and valuable shopping basket was key. "So we translated those two things into the idea of Huggies Slip-Ons resetting that entire category segment," Tabor says.The bottom line, adds Richard Moulton, Kimberly-Clark's director of shopper marketing for Walmart, is when Kimberly-Clark sets a goal to get an "A" launch designation, it's about the vision – getting the retailer to see it as big as it could be. "That's why it's so important to get the category story into this," he says. "We can't just think about 'A' launches internally, we have to take it to that next-level positioning where we're not just focused on the internal benefit of the product launch for our business."Not Every Launch Is an 'A'Not surprisingly, "A" launch success breeds desire for more "A" launch success because of the avenues it can open and access it can provide. "After U by Kotex, everyone's hair stood up – every brand wanted every launch to be an 'A' Launch," says Boulden.But not every launch can be an "A" launch, Tabor emphasizes. "It depends on the initiative – not everything is appropriate," he says. "That's where we have to make choices, and it goes into not just what is the opportunity for Kimberly-Clark, but also what is the opportunity for the retailer? Where is the category growth or growing basket?"Kimberly-Clark has worked hard to train brand teams internally about what makes a great "A" launch through the communication of four "PICK" principles: planning, insights, customer-aligned strategies, and "kick-butt" shopper marketing. "It was meant to make it simple, fun and easy to remember," says Tabor. "If we do these things well, these don't guarantee an initiative will be an 'A' Launch, but it helps us put our best foot forward with the retailer."Setting the intention to get more "A" launches, however, can lead to more success. "The key is corporate leadership and how they connect the dots across the board," says Moulton. "It's how we go out early, showing the customer ideas, get our feet wet and re-loop it back into the design process."And once a top strategic retail partner is on board, it's likely that the rest will follow. "When a program starts to show that it has 'A' launch potential, you can really see the momentum start to build with our retail partners, and they generally all want to have a seat at the table as the program comes to life," Tabor says.'A' Launch LearningsWhile an "A" launch is never guaranteed, Kimberly-Clark has gleaned a variety of insights from its "A" launch experiences so far. These are five of their favorite "A" launch-related learnings:Plan with a long lead time in mind. "The idea of engaging with retailers early on was key for our U by Kotex campaign," says Moulton, indicating that an "A" launch can take from 18 months to three years from start to finish. "It gives us a lot of time to incorporate feedback and insights from key retailers. When they see some of these launches from the very beginning, 1-3 years in advance, it allows them to have a continuous feedback loop. It's not really a question of whether it's an 'A' launch at that point – it's already built into the process."Go beyond sales and marketing. The entire organization needs to be engaged, with moving toward the "A" launch designation a top priority. "The team needs to be fully integrated, with the supply chain hitting on all cylinders," says Tabor. And the devil is in the details, he adds. "The difference between hitting expectations or exceeding them is around the small stuff – all teams need to be aligned to the same goal so you can move the product to the retailer and the shelf as quickly as possible, when marketing turns on and when promotions happen."Be flexible and adapt to changes. With compressed timelines and necessary retailer or brand adjustments, there are always surprises, says Tabor, who recalls the time the final Huggies Slip-Ons display had to be ready for the customer before the brand creative was finalized. "We had to invent a new way to complete the display without the final creative and apply the creative along the different part of the process," he says.Build a new experience with retailers. "As we partner on these 'A' launches, retailers are learning how powerful they can be. And as the CPG, we are also getting better," says Moulton, who believes the shared experience base that is developed goes a long way when talk begins about future launches. "Thanks to the results of U by Kotex, for instance, retailers get excited about new launch possibilities," he says. "You can start to build momentum and get support from customers."Consider any category for an "A" launch. It doesn't have to be in a "sexy" category to be an "A" launch, Tabor says. "One of our most empowering learnings was that if you create the right solution set with a retailer and see a big idea together, every one of our categories can have an 'A' launch. As long as we have the right lens and are thinking about the customer, if it puts the retailer in the right position for their shopper, or if it helps margin, or it helps frequency – that's what's important."

Landing an 'A' Launch

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