With this example from Dot Boom, Kleenex encourages consumers to "Let It Out". Read on (and watch) how this campaign aims to connect with consumers on an emotional level. The result is a campaign that is both ageless and without cultural boundaries. Check out the comments for what happened later when Greenpeace decided to take Kimberly-Clark up on their offer.
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"Have you ever laughed until you cried? Had a tear-filled hello or goodbye?" In a recent multichannel marketing campaign, titled "Let It Out," Kleenex brand asks real-life consumers to share what gets them a little choked up. And more importantly, it shows that when those tears start to flow, Kleenex tissues will be there.
For this campaign, Kleenex released a series of television commercials that featured man-on-the-street encounters with real people in metropolitan settings. Prompted with very few questions, these everyday people delve into personal issues, such as the death of a loved one and relationship troubles, ending with the subjects (and probably many of the viewers themselves) in tears.
The online component is an entire "Let It Out" section on the brand's website. An intro video, featuring snippets from many of the different commercials, delicately introduces users to the campaign, primarily through close ups on people dabbing their eyes with tissues, wiping their noses on their sleeves, and apologizing for letting their emotions take over. Accompanying text reads, "It's time to LAUGH until you CRY. SCREAM until you spit. Show your LOVE and show some tears. SING at the top of your lungs. Jump for JOY. And when tons of STUFF stuffs up your nose, BLOW it loud and blow it proud. It's time to let it out."
From there, users can explore other people's stories and "Experience the Release." The site gently eases users into the experience by encouraging them to "see how others have let it out" in eight categories: Laugh, Cry, Love, Sing, Joy, Stuff, Blow, Scream. As they are browsing, users can click on a Kleenex tissue box icon to give a tissue to a user whose story moved them. And if a user feels moved to share his or her own story, Kleenex reassuringly asks, "Are you ready? Go ahead and let it out. You'll feel a lot better."
This user-centric experience shows that it's OK to cry every once and a while. It creates an emotional connection with consumers and the Kleenex brand by assuring consumers that emotions are nothing to be ashamed of, exemplified by the real people featured in the television commercials and on the website. In the intro video, a line concludes, "Turns out, all it takes is a good listener and Kleenex tissues." With this campaign, it looks like Kleenex became both.
