No leaks here! As of 9:10 a.m. Aug. 10, the NFL
has its first official bladder leak partner: Procter & Gamble’s Always Discreet.
Marking the occasion, the brand is launching “Protect the Moment,” the largest campaign
in its 12-year history.
“Protect the Moment” features three moms of current major market NFL players (Elisha, mother of Grady Jarrett, Chicago Bears; Angela, mom of Brian
Burns, New York Giants; Katie, mother of Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles).
In one :30 spot, set in the stands during a
game, Elisha Jarrett tells an embarrassed woman next to her who’s peed her pants that she no longer misses a moment of her son’s games thanks to Always Discreet.
“Partnering
with the NFL was about following our consumer to a space she was super-passionate about,” Melissa Suk, vice president, North America adult incontinence for P&G, tells Marketing Daily.
“Nearly half of female incontinence consumers watch the NFL, the number one most-watched sporting event amongst our consumer target.”
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Suk also notes that nearly half of NFL
viewers are women, and that in the stands at games, that can pose a “real issue,” Suk says, being intensified by such elements as “not wanting to rush to the bathroom and miss a key
play, not being able to enjoy unlimited drinks and food while you watch all four quarters. Even standing up to cheer and sitting down are top physical actions that can trigger a bladder
leak.
“We really want to use game day at the ultimate test of how [that consumer] can have confidence and protection, and make it a meaningful platform to normalize conversations
about bladder leaks.”
The campaign includes widespread linear TV, streaming TV, social and digital elements targeted to women 45+.
The target widens for game watchers themselves,
both via TV and in-person (Suk notes that 60% of women of all ages experience bladder leaks.)
In that respect, national TV and digital ads will run during several prime-time NFL games, along
with on-site activations including tailgating experiences at select contests.
Always Discreet joins several other P&G brands as official NFL partners. They include another
female-targeted product -- Miele haircare -- along with such brands as Braun, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Old Spice, Tide, and Vicks.
In addition to Discreet’s own discrete NFL
activities, the brand also gets to participate in P&G multibrand programs with the league, Suk adds.
“Protect the Moment” represents two “big strategic shifts” for
Always Discreet marketing, Suk says.
First, she explains, “we’ve never gone this far leveraging partnerships with real women to tell our story.”
Second, she
continues, “we are making a very intentional choice to go with where our consumer is and be part of the conversation where she’s having it, versus expecting her to come seek us
out.”
“The goal for us is really to start a conversation, and to get women who experience bladder leaks to feel normal.”
In addition to working with the NFL on the
campaign, Always Discreet teamed with WPP’s Grey for creative. Dentsu’s MKTG for talent/partnerships), Futura for social and Publicis’ PG One and MSL for public
relations.
Always Discreet isn’t the first bladder leak products brand to leverage women’s sports fandom this summer. Earlier, North Shore Adult Diapers went heavily into local MLB baseball radio sponsorships.
As for leveraging real women in
marketing, actress Katherine Heigl has been touting Kimberly-Clark’s Poise brand, a key Always Discreet competitor, for the past couple of years.