• by Tanya Gazdik , May 9, 2017

Kimberly-Clark is expanding its U by Kotex line to include products designed to ensure a period doesn’t get in the way of a workout. 

According to a 2017 U by Kotex survey, nearly three-fourths (72%) of women fear leakage while working out on their period and over one-third (33%) are embarrassed to take feminine hygiene products out of their gym bags. New products, including U by Kotex Fitness Tampons with Fitpak, a case to “protect your protection,” U by Kotex Fitness liners and ultra-thin pads were designed specifically for bodies in motion. 

The brand has enlisted Jessamyn Stanley, a yogi and body positivity advocate, to help launch the line. Stanley has an Instagram audience of 283,000+ followers because of her ability to approach honest and authentic conversations, says Kade Applegate, brand manager for U by Kotex at Kimberly-Clark.

“Jessamyn is no stranger to honest conversations and we were excited for the opportunity to bring her authenticity to this project,” Applegate tells Marketing Daily. The intent of this program is to open an honest dialogue about working out on your period and break stigma around that conversation, he adds.

The new product line will be supported with paid social support, earned media efforts, print and TV creative featuring Stanley. Print ads will appear in health and wellness titles, including Seventeen, Essence, Latina, Us Weekly and InStyle.  A website page features product information, a free sample offer and a downloadable “Playbook” with exclusive workouts, recipes, tips and more from various health and wellness experts.

Agencies involved with the campaign include Organic, Mindshare, Kimberly-Clark Shopper Connect, Geometry Global, Ketchum and Rockfish.

The new products were informed by extensive consumer research and testing, Applegate says.

“Women have a lot of passion for, and many ideas about, how to make things better when it comes to periods, period experiences and the feminine care category, and U by Kotex is listening to these women by implementing activations and supporting innovation like U by Kotex Fitness,” he says.