• by Karl Greenberg , April 13, 2015

Sun Products' Snuggle brand of fabric softener is launching a new national campaign called “Crescendo” to promote the brand's new scent, Fresh Spring Flowers, which is also new to the premium tier of the category. It is also a brand campaign that takes the mascot Snuggle Bear outside of the laundry room to cavort with family with young kids to “Make the world a softer place.” Premium conditioner like Snuggle, per the brand theme, is an extra. The effort, via Lowe Campbell Ewald NY, includes TV spots that debut on national TV starting April 13. 

The positioning has been steady over the past several years, says Bibie Wu, VP at parent Sun Products. “This strategy is consistent in terms of how Snuggle Bear can be a catalyst for family moments.” An exception to the brand creative was last year’s launch of the Snuggle Scent Boosters product, where the creative was a CGI fantasy-world animation of the mascot in a scent factory. “For us, one of the benefits of the bear as equity is that we can focus both on new products like Scent Boosters and extensions, and still get a halo effect because of what he stands for,” she says. “Fresh Flowers is built off of the flagship, so for that we have really focused on storytelling on warm, rich family moments, and bringing that to life in a vignette format.” 

There is one TV spot for the campaign, though for the larger brand campaign, there will be more TV ads rolling out, per Sal Taibi, president of the New York office of Lowe Campbell Ewald. Wu adds that the ad is running on day parts, cable, primetime and other network placements. “We are doing strong social campaigns both organically and promoted to generate awareness and interest.” 

Wu tells Marketing Daily that, while Snuggle vies with brands from the likes of P&G, Dial, and Henkel, there is growth opportunity. Fabric conditioning is, after all, optional. And that means an on-brand pitch to sentiment and lifestyle can work well as an ice-breaker. “You have to wash, but you don't have to soften, so the penetration is not as high. But Snuggle can take advantage of that.” She says Snuggle differentiates, in part, by having the bear symbolize not only conditioning, but also emotional benefits. “And it helps that there is so much equity in Snuggle Bear.”

“When you think about it, this brand and the bear have been around for 31 years but we are finding ways to keep it relevant,” says Taibi. “We also test all the ads and this current one had some of the highest purchase intent scores we have had in years.”