Transforming Vanish: A Digital Strategy to Drive Purpose and Growth

Challenge
Vanish sought to reposition itself as a purpose-driven brand with a mission to encourage people to love their clothes for longer and reduce the environmental impact of clothing waste, which contributes to 5% of global carbon emissions. While the brand had a strong advertising idea to support this mission, its digital channels—key to growth—were not fit for purpose and lacked the impact needed to drive engagement of its purpose-led positioning.

What I did
I developed a comprehensive digital transformation strategy to redefine Vanish from a functional stain remover in the back of the kitchen cupboard, to a customer-first brand with a focus on fashion, lifestyle, and sustainability. The strategy aimed to inspire customers through content and user-generated ideas that showcased the product’s effectiveness while promoting sustainable habits like loving clothes for longer.

Key actions included:
- Content Creation: Developing inspiring and actionable content across the website, e-commerce platforms, social media, CRM and product packaging.
- Digital Tools and Services: Launching on-pack augmented reality (AR) experiences and website tools to deepen engagement and generate additional income streams.
- Global Playbook: Crafting a suite of digital assets and a global playbook for markets to tailor and deploy the strategy based on their local needs.

The Results
The strategy received unanimous approval from Reckitt stakeholders and was showcased as a benchmark for digital transformation across other leading Reckitt brands like Harpic and Finish.

Vanish remains the number one global brand in fabric treatment and continues to evolve its “Love Clothes for Longer” platform through initiatives like its partnership with Autism in the UK and the “Find a Thrift Store” feature in Brazil.
The transformation reinforced Vanish’s position as a leader in purpose-driven marketing while expanding its relevance and appeal across key digital growth channels.