Kleenex, the market leader in soft tissue category, took the whole market a step forward  when they claimed way back, “Don’t put a cold in your pocket”. It was simple and fantastic. With handkerchief, you blow your nose, keep it in your pocket, then blow some on it again. But with a piece of tissue, you are free to blow your nose and dispose it. Hygienic, simple, cost effective. A fantastic to position tissue against the handkerchief.  

But a lot has happened after that, with no significant value addition. Yes we have perfumed tissue and wet tissue to talk about. But these did not have the mass potential that earlier innovations had, because of the high price tag that comes with it. 

So the question remains, how can a tissue brand differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack? 

The answer might be as simple as adding a small quote, interesting facts, or adding a character on the surface of the tissue. 

This plays just like a fortune cookie. The beauty of fortune cookie is you have a cookie, along with a small, interesting line hat get exposed once you break the cookie. Small yet an interesting light-hearted moment. 

Now think about the tissue. When the tissues are inside the box, there is no way to know what quotes or line are written on that tissue. So every morning (Women during make up for guys for other reasons), you pull out a tissue from the box and there it is…written at the bottom a small quote, line or joke to tell you how your day will go. A small, insignificant yet interesting way to start your day. 

In low involvement categories like tissue, you have to create a real good story around the brand to survive in the “impulse buying” category. So this pocket tissues (Lets say fa or Bashundhara) can position themselves as “not just a tissue, but one that shares your laughter, sorrows and musings”. Now that will be one big emotional statement coming from a tissue brand. More sniffs. More tissues!!!