Using gamification to drive sales growth

Huggies® has been a trusted name in potty training since 1989 with its Pull-Ups® Trainers, designed for children around two years old. Looking to expand its product portfolio, Huggies® introduced Pull-Ups® Explorers, specifically designed for babies as young as nine months to support their early steps and adventures. Our challenge was to reimagine the brand and motivate parents to start using Pull-Ups® earlier in their child’s development—starting from their first steps.

A baby's first steps mark the beginning of a new adventure, filled with exploration, milestones, and new experiences. This pivotal moment was where we aimed to introduce Huggies® Pull-Ups® Explorers to parents.

To celebrate this journey, we created The Big Kid Game—an interactive experience designed to engage parents as their children reach key developmental milestones. We developed characters representing each stage: The Stand Up Kid, The Explorer, The Hotstepper, and The Potty King & Queen. To amplify this concept, we devised a through-the-line media strategy that would resonate with parents across multiple touchpoints.

To drive participation, we launched a social media campaign focused on capturing each Big Kid milestone. We developed Giphy stickers and fun filters for Instagram and Snapchat, allowing parents to easily share their children’s adventures with colorful, engaging digital enhancements.

We also produced video content featuring children hitting their milestones, which powered the campaign across the entire funnel—from awareness to purchase. By partnering with micro-influencers, we encouraged their followers to share their own children's milestones, expanding our reach and deepening engagement.

Our hero video ad, featuring a catchy song, ran across multiple platforms, including social media, online video, and broadcast TV. We amplified the campaign further with "sound-on" sing-along ads, boomerangs, and posts across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat.

To offer a tangible experience, we developed a physical Big Kid Game pack that parents could sign up for via the website. The pack included a poster, stickers, and a free sample, encouraging families to engage with the game at home. This activation allowed us to collect first-party data, enabling targeted retargeting via social media ads and email communications.

The Big Kid Game campaign successfully reinvigorated the Pull-Ups® brand by creating an engaging, interactive experience for both parents and children. By celebrating key developmental milestones, the campaign turned potty training from a stressful time into a positive, shared journey.

Brand awareness increased by 41%, and the campaign expanded Pull-Ups® reach into a younger demographic, introducing the brand earlier in a child’s development. The 26% year-over-year sales growth marked the best performance for Pull-Ups® in six years, showing that this strategy effectively resonated with consumers.

The multi-channel approach, which combined digital gamification, social media engagement, and influencer partnerships, not only boosted visibility but also created a community-driven sense of participation. Physical touchpoints, like the Big Kid Game pack, deepened consumer interaction and allowed for targeted retargeting, enhancing both engagement and brand loyalty.