• by Karl Greenberg , March 1, 2012

For a second year, Kimberly-Clark's Kleenex brand is running a program directed at the Hispanic market in which kids are enlisted to be "Atrapa Estornudos," or Sneeze Catchers. Actually, it’s slightly different this year because the company is talking more directly to moms, and dangling a chance to win a gift card worth hundreds of dollars and a year’s supply of Kleenex brand facial tissue. Central to it is a national sweepstakes at www.atrapaestornudos.com.

The idea the first time around borrowed the tactic used by toymakers: reach parents through kids. Ken Champa, associate brand manager for Kleenex brand said, in a statement, “By engaging her kids, the first year we were able to turn a large number of Latina moms into Kleenex facial tissue users. Now that she’s more aware of Kleenex brand’s benefits, we also want to speak directly to her in a more adult voice."

Thus, Kleenex is holding Latino-market events in stores nationwide. The company says there's also a new adult-voice landing page on the Sneeze Catchers Web site that goes into the product's technical aspects for will also be devoted entirely to moms, helping explain how moisture-retaining Sneeze Shield technology works. A toll-free phone number has also been set up to help mom learn more about the program.

Supporting the effort, which ends at the terminus of cold and flu season (late April) is a large Spanish-language TV, radio, PR, grassroots and digital strategy that the company says is (like last year) aimed at enlisting Hispanic children to sign up to become Sneeze Catchers. Again, kids who sign up get a free kit with games and activities about proper cold-related hygiene practices. The company sweetened the pot this year with a Kleenex branded bag, branded t-shirts for kids and adults, and an "official Kleenex brand Certified Sneeze Catcher ID" card.

Last year the company also launched a product called "Kleenex Cool Touch" tissue, which cools on contact with the skin, per the company, and is designed to soothe inflammation caused by, say, blowing one's nose.