Is There Money in the Can?

Picture yourself walking around outside of an event... Have you ever asked yourself, "Is there a way to make money with those Port-O-Johns?" Highly doubtful. Well, there is indeed money to be made out there. Have you ever considered pitching a toilet paper company?

When it comes to marketing the "bathroom experience", Charmin stands head and shoulders above the rest.

The chain followed up a Potty Palooza marketing campaign by offering New Yorkers an ultimate city bathroom experience. For the second consecutive year, Charmin rented out a NY City storefront and opened up 20 bathrooms to the general public from November 19th to December 31st. The paper products company marketed its pop-up location with themed bathrooms (themes from Wall Street to Molly Shannon). To complement its flush service, Charmin incorporated a retail component where consumers had the opportunity to purchase branded t-shirts, boxers, and bears.

Charmin's activation on-site also included:

• Enabling visitors to write about their experience via Bear Mail (Charmin postcards) that doubled as coupons
• Consumer interaction wiht other Procter & Gamble products (which were incorporated in the display)
• Hosted a wedding reception on-site, drawing numerous media impressions (the bride wore a dress made of toilet paper - a wedding contest run through a cheap-chic-weddings.com sweepstakes)
• Plasma televisions were featured throughout the footprint
• Brand ambassadors wore branded shirts, shook pom-poms, and danced
• Two giant Charmin bears were featured on display for photo op purposes

Results of the program were measured by polling consumer preferences (on types of toilet paper - Ultra Strong vs. Ultra Soft) through giant voting machines and flush-o-meters on-site. Consumers were rewarded with coupons for their active participation.