2025 Winner
BronzeBest in Consumer Goods
Kruger Products
"Cashmere UltraLuxe Bathroom Guide"
Wavemaker
"Cashmere UltraLuxe Bathroom Guide"
Wavemaker
Luxury bathroom tissue brands traditionally competed on functional benefits like softness, creating a "sea of sameness." Cashmere, a leader in these attributes, faced a critical challenge: luxury isn't just product attributes; it's cultural credibility. Their goal was to overachieve on brand metrics, change consumer behavior, and drive sustained sales.
“Cashmere UltraLuxe” needed a fundamentally different approach. Their strategy addressed three challenges: luxury isn't claimed; it's awarded – the brand had to earn it. Consumers already value bathroom luxury; so the brand needed to define it on their terms. No standard existed for bathroom luxury – this was their opportunity to create one.
Research via social listening and digital ethnography identified high-end restaurant diners as a niche, influential audience. These tastemakers, eager to share luxury discoveries, informally judged bathrooms, often photographing and reviewing them on social media, but lacked a standardized system. They were natural amplifiers, crucial for earned media, and their tastes shaped broader luxury perceptions. This redefined Cashmere's audience.
Their "big idea": if major restaurant guides overlooked the bathroom, Cashmere, synonymous with soft, strong luxury, would set the definitive standard for luxurious restaurant bathrooms through a “Cashmere UltraLuxe Bathroom Guide”. This first-ever, star-rating restaurant guide-style ranking system developed simple, aspirational criteria, awarding one, two, or three 'fleurs' based on Cashmere UltraLuxe’s unique embossing pattern. This transformed Cashmere from a product leader to a cultural arbiter of luxury.
The agency’s media strategy meticulously connected a CPG product to high-end luxury, bringing the Guide to life. Mirroring their insight that luxury is awarded, they built credibility from the ground up. The agency used a multi-channel approach: earned and owned media with targeted paid amplification, scaling from tastemakers to everyday Torontonians, then to Eastern Canada.
They awarded fleurs to three inaugural Toronto restaurants, establishing an online hub. Teaser:15 and 30 OLV spots announced the Guide's groundbreaking concept.
To fuel the program, they engaged influential tastemakers, then leveraged them to solicit nominations from everyday Torontonians for award-worthy bathrooms. Local Toronto food and lifestyle influencers drove engagement, creating 'bathroom tours' and 'fleur reviews' of their inaugural awardees, actively calling for nominations and open dialogue, cross-promoted on Meta and TikTok.
This organic content and amplification (GTA-focused, some Ontario-wide) solidified Cashmere's role as arbiter of bathroom luxury among our Urban A35-54 audience, with contextual targeting in Luxury goods, foodie, restaurants, fashion, finance, top chef, and interior design.
Following nominations and judging, they awarded a second group of winners. The agency then scaled efforts, sharing results with a broader Eastern Canada audience (80% reach) through paid media (OLV, Social). Robust brand assets and influencer engagement drove mass awareness. This deliberate progression — from niche credibility to broader market penetration — was critical, establishing Cashmere as the ultimate authority on luxurious bathrooms.
The “Cashmere UltraLuxe Bathroom Guide” represented a true "first," leveraging Cashmere's authority to break market sameness:
The agency pioneered a novel approach by creating the definitive guide for luxury restaurant bathrooms — an innovative, previously untapped channel for a CPG brand. Cashmere uniquely owned a new cultural narrative.
As the recognized leader in luxurious softness and strength, Cashmere earned the right to redefine luxury in the broader bathroom experience. This strategic repositioning created a new market segment, leveraging existing brand equity.
Their phased media approach, building credibility among tastemakers before mass awareness, was an innovative, effective strategy rarely seen from a CPG brand. Designed as an "evergreen platform," it underscores long-term, transformative intent.
This campaign delivered exceptional business impact, validated by robust MMM data and brand tracking, directly addressing their objective of maintaining leadership and defining luxury.
The campaign achieved 43 million total media impressions, with an additional 29.4M earned — a testament to its virality. Product mentions exploded by 3,900% in two weeks. Digital OLV spots achieved exceptional VCRs of 94.47% (English) and 92.34% (French), dramatically outperforming the Canadian CPG benchmark of 70%. Our MMM study confirmed superior returns. Overall ROI was an amazing $2.87 versus a benchmark ROI of $0.45-0.75.
The campaign drove a remarkable sales lift for Cashmere UltraLuxe with a 21% increase in volume and 18% increase in tonnage versus 2022.
Despite market headwinds, the Cashmere Bathroom Guide drove a more than 0.6pt increase in brand desire, breaking through category sameness. The ultimate validation? "3 Fleur restaurant Danico" earned a star from the famous star-rating restaurant guide — a direct testament to the real-world impact and cultural authority they established.
The “Cashmere UltraLuxe Bathroom Guide” was a transformational disruption strategy, leveraging Cashmere's inherent category authority to redefine luxury, drive unprecedented business growth, and set a new, enduring standard for brand leadership in the premium tissue category.
“Cashmere UltraLuxe” needed a fundamentally different approach. Their strategy addressed three challenges: luxury isn't claimed; it's awarded – the brand had to earn it. Consumers already value bathroom luxury; so the brand needed to define it on their terms. No standard existed for bathroom luxury – this was their opportunity to create one.
Research via social listening and digital ethnography identified high-end restaurant diners as a niche, influential audience. These tastemakers, eager to share luxury discoveries, informally judged bathrooms, often photographing and reviewing them on social media, but lacked a standardized system. They were natural amplifiers, crucial for earned media, and their tastes shaped broader luxury perceptions. This redefined Cashmere's audience.
Their "big idea": if major restaurant guides overlooked the bathroom, Cashmere, synonymous with soft, strong luxury, would set the definitive standard for luxurious restaurant bathrooms through a “Cashmere UltraLuxe Bathroom Guide”. This first-ever, star-rating restaurant guide-style ranking system developed simple, aspirational criteria, awarding one, two, or three 'fleurs' based on Cashmere UltraLuxe’s unique embossing pattern. This transformed Cashmere from a product leader to a cultural arbiter of luxury.
The agency’s media strategy meticulously connected a CPG product to high-end luxury, bringing the Guide to life. Mirroring their insight that luxury is awarded, they built credibility from the ground up. The agency used a multi-channel approach: earned and owned media with targeted paid amplification, scaling from tastemakers to everyday Torontonians, then to Eastern Canada.
They awarded fleurs to three inaugural Toronto restaurants, establishing an online hub. Teaser:15 and 30 OLV spots announced the Guide's groundbreaking concept.
To fuel the program, they engaged influential tastemakers, then leveraged them to solicit nominations from everyday Torontonians for award-worthy bathrooms. Local Toronto food and lifestyle influencers drove engagement, creating 'bathroom tours' and 'fleur reviews' of their inaugural awardees, actively calling for nominations and open dialogue, cross-promoted on Meta and TikTok.
This organic content and amplification (GTA-focused, some Ontario-wide) solidified Cashmere's role as arbiter of bathroom luxury among our Urban A35-54 audience, with contextual targeting in Luxury goods, foodie, restaurants, fashion, finance, top chef, and interior design.
Following nominations and judging, they awarded a second group of winners. The agency then scaled efforts, sharing results with a broader Eastern Canada audience (80% reach) through paid media (OLV, Social). Robust brand assets and influencer engagement drove mass awareness. This deliberate progression — from niche credibility to broader market penetration — was critical, establishing Cashmere as the ultimate authority on luxurious bathrooms.
The “Cashmere UltraLuxe Bathroom Guide” represented a true "first," leveraging Cashmere's authority to break market sameness:
The agency pioneered a novel approach by creating the definitive guide for luxury restaurant bathrooms — an innovative, previously untapped channel for a CPG brand. Cashmere uniquely owned a new cultural narrative.
As the recognized leader in luxurious softness and strength, Cashmere earned the right to redefine luxury in the broader bathroom experience. This strategic repositioning created a new market segment, leveraging existing brand equity.
Their phased media approach, building credibility among tastemakers before mass awareness, was an innovative, effective strategy rarely seen from a CPG brand. Designed as an "evergreen platform," it underscores long-term, transformative intent.
This campaign delivered exceptional business impact, validated by robust MMM data and brand tracking, directly addressing their objective of maintaining leadership and defining luxury.
The campaign achieved 43 million total media impressions, with an additional 29.4M earned — a testament to its virality. Product mentions exploded by 3,900% in two weeks. Digital OLV spots achieved exceptional VCRs of 94.47% (English) and 92.34% (French), dramatically outperforming the Canadian CPG benchmark of 70%. Our MMM study confirmed superior returns. Overall ROI was an amazing $2.87 versus a benchmark ROI of $0.45-0.75.
The campaign drove a remarkable sales lift for Cashmere UltraLuxe with a 21% increase in volume and 18% increase in tonnage versus 2022.
Despite market headwinds, the Cashmere Bathroom Guide drove a more than 0.6pt increase in brand desire, breaking through category sameness. The ultimate validation? "3 Fleur restaurant Danico" earned a star from the famous star-rating restaurant guide — a direct testament to the real-world impact and cultural authority they established.
The “Cashmere UltraLuxe Bathroom Guide” was a transformational disruption strategy, leveraging Cashmere's inherent category authority to redefine luxury, drive unprecedented business growth, and set a new, enduring standard for brand leadership in the premium tissue category.
Credits
CreditsClient: Kruger Products
Susan Irving, CMO
Nicole Murray, Vice President, Marketing
Richard Holmes, Brand Manager, Bathroom Tissue
Anna Zhdanova, Associate Brand Manager, Bathroom Tissue
Media: Wavemaker
Alice DiGiovanni, President
Kristine Sherliker, Vice President Client leadership
Jason Black, Director, Media Planning,
Brandon Urbina, Associate Director – Programmatic
Ani Hajderaj, Account Manager -Social
PR: North Strategic
Danna Barak - Senior Vice President
Amy Yacoub - Senior Account Director
Amanda Swinhoe - Account Director
Vera Culic - Senior Account Manager
AGENCY
Agency: Lifelong Crush
Chief Creative Officer: Derek Blais, Christina Yu
Creative Director: Julie Martinson, Catherine Wong
SVP, Strategy: Geoff Gingerich
Art Director: Catherine Wong, Daniel Ong
Copywriter: Julie Martinson
Agency Producer: Demi Veselinovic, Terri Vegso
Production Coordinator: Rae Harder
Studio Director: Brad Kumar
PRODUCTION - FILM
Production Company: Lifelong Crush
Executive Producer: Demi Veselinovic
Director: Christina Yu
Content Director & Editor: Christian Byrne
Director Of Photography: Bob Lyte
Producer: Rae Harder, Demi Veselinovic
EDITING
Editorial Company: School Editing
Executive Producer: Tim Simpson, Yumi Suyami
Editor: Taylor McWade
Assistant Editor: David Ngandu
COLOUR, ONLINE
Colour/Online Company: DIVISN Post
AUDIO
Audio House: Eggplant Music & Sound
Executive Producer: Nicola Treadgold
Music Director / Composer: Adam Damelin
Audio Engineer: Peter Pacey
PRODUCTION - WEBSITE
Production Company: VML
Account Supervisor: Ronan Le Bourg
Project Manager: Jordano Zitiello-Finesso
Associate Creative Director: Corey Litvak
Business Analyst: Tomasz Kowalczyk