Challenge

TOTO, the world’s largest toilet manufacturer, aimed to introduce their WASHLET bidet to U.S. and Canadian consumers in markets largely unfamiliar with the product.

With its premium price point, the WASHLET positioned itself at the higher end of an emerging category, making it a more complex purchase for consumers. The buying process required customers to consider plumbing and electrical needs, as well as visit kitchen and bath showrooms, further complicating the decision-making journey. TOTO needed a strategy to boost product consideration and simplify the customer journey, driving purchase intent. They turned to us to successfully navigate the intricacies of their product and target audience.

Solution

To address the challenges of introducing the WASHLET bidet seat, we conducted comprehensive research to identify the ideal target audience and selected specific markets with high purchase potential, using geotargeted and geofenced advertising to maximize engagement. Our layered strategy guided consumers from initial awareness to purchase, directing them to TOTO’s optimized WASHLET microsite, which provided a seamless user experience.

We tastefully depicted the experience of using a WASHLET bidet seat by filming the faces of those enjoying a WASHLET for the very first time. Close-ups of their surprise, amusement and pleasure fill the frames on spots that ran on HGTV, the Travel Channel and digital media, generating viewer curiosity. Good-humored messaging complemented video images and product shots to introduce the WASHLET in the heart of Times Square. Our robust social program leveraged organic strategies on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, fostering open conversations with celebrity influencers such as John Legend and Busy Philips, while paid social campaigns on Facebook and Instagram focused on WASHLET’s hassle-free, eco-friendly and heated-seat features.

Results

TOTO’s WASHLET campaign achieved remarkable success through ongoing optimization and strategic creative testing, consistently surpassing industry benchmarks in conversion rates and brand engagement. The results were striking: the Where to Buy conversion rate soared to nearly 30%, significantly higher than the typical 2% to 4% benchmark, while the Find a Showroom form submission rate approached 13%, highlighting strong consumer engagement. With more than 1 million online engagements, website visits averaged 2.4 pages viewed per session, and the video garnered over 135,000 YouTube views. TOTO successfully introduced the WASHLET to North American consumers, driving interest, engagement and purchase intent well beyond expectations.