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Right: a billboard from<br />
1976 eschewed <strong>the</strong><br />
kittens in favour of<br />
a nose. Below: new<br />
boxes push <strong>the</strong> Golden<br />
Kittens contest.<br />
event-marketing specialties such<br />
as a life-size kitten mascot and <strong>the</strong><br />
“Bathmobile,” a truck converted<br />
into a giant tissue roll. The Royale<br />
kittens entered <strong>the</strong> digital age,<br />
debuting on <strong>the</strong>ir own Facebook<br />
page, which now has over 120,000<br />
“likes.” “We realized that people<br />
would ra<strong>the</strong>r be fans of kittens than<br />
fans of a bathroom tissue brand,”<br />
says Francois Giroux, CD at Hawk.<br />
Giroux has worked with<br />
Royale since 2006. He says that<br />
in <strong>the</strong> early part of <strong>the</strong> 2000s<br />
<strong>the</strong>re was talk about doing away<br />
with <strong>the</strong> Royale kittens in a bid<br />
to modernize <strong>the</strong> brand. “The<br />
story I heard was that Hawk was<br />
instrumental in keeping <strong>the</strong> kittens<br />
a part of <strong>the</strong> brand, which was a<br />
very good thing,” he says.<br />
Giroux notes that <strong>the</strong> biggest<br />
shift in advertising since he began<br />
working on <strong>the</strong> brand is how <strong>the</strong><br />
felines have begun to interact with<br />
<strong>the</strong> humans who actually use Royale<br />
products. That marks a move away<br />
from simply focusing on <strong>the</strong> cuddly<br />
creatures <strong>the</strong>mselves to having<br />
<strong>the</strong>m represent <strong>the</strong> idea of softness.<br />
The 50th anniversary felinefocused<br />
contest makes sense<br />
given <strong>the</strong> role cats play in <strong>the</strong><br />
brand’s identity. MacIntosh, who<br />
joined Irving in 2007, says that<br />
<strong>the</strong> initial decision to tie kittens<br />
to <strong>the</strong> products’ softness was a<br />
stroke of brilliant strategy that has<br />
helped sustain <strong>the</strong> brand’s success.<br />
“The popularity of <strong>the</strong> kittens is<br />
incredible,” he says. “[They have]<br />
become such a recognizable icon<br />
that it’s easy for consumers to<br />
understand <strong>the</strong> brand’s positioning.<br />
They get it right away.”<br />
Hawk constantly conducts<br />
research on what consumers want<br />
to see <strong>the</strong> Royale kittens doing or<br />
not doing, like talking. “Maybe <strong>the</strong><br />
voice <strong>the</strong>y imagined for <strong>the</strong> kittens<br />
would not be <strong>the</strong> voice that we<br />
came up with, and that would turn<br />
<strong>the</strong>m off,” says Giroux. “You inherit<br />
a brand that’s well established<br />
and a brand icon that’s become a<br />
symbol of Canadian advertising.<br />
You don’t want to wreck it.”<br />
Looking ahead, Royale aims to<br />
capture more of <strong>the</strong> branded side of<br />
<strong>the</strong> tissue category, which makes up<br />
about 60% of <strong>the</strong> overall market.<br />
The brand also plans to release<br />
two new paper products this<br />
autumn. Those launches will serve<br />
to not only anchor anniversary<br />
marketing activities for <strong>the</strong> back<br />
half of <strong>the</strong> year, but also bolster<br />
<strong>the</strong> brand’s strategy of seeking<br />
growth in categories beyond facial<br />
and bathroom tissue, such as<br />
paper towels and napkins. “There’s<br />
deinitely opportunities for Royale<br />
to continue to grow in <strong>the</strong> Canadian<br />
marketplace,” says MacIntosh.<br />
March 2013<br />
51