Cotton Inc. exists to promote the cotton industry, through technical services, information, and market trend analysis. It sought to create awareness and increase the use of cotton fabric products among college students.

If a campaign promoting cotton fabric and clothing is going to build excitement and attract the attention of college students, it had better be fun. That was exactly the mood surrounding a series of live events as “The Cotton Dirty Laundry Tour” kicked off a nine-campus tour of colleges across the U.S. The primary promotional item, a full-size cotton laundry bag, was given to every student who attended the event. Several game and contest type attractions during each event attracted crowds and generated participation. Students couldn't resist playing games such as “Wheel of Cotton” or “Pop A Shot” (shooting basketballs into an open washing machine). Additional promotional items - denim picture frames, denim printed notebooks, cotton baseball shirts and bandanas - just to name a few, were distributed at the event. Cotton Care facts, printed on the laundry bags, reflected literary references such as “Seize The Laundry Day” and “Weathering Brights.” This was an ambitious, multi-tiered campaign that required tremendous expertise in terms of coordination and planning. Promoting and staging a live event (nine live events) is not for the faint of heart, but the campaign was an overwhelming success.

Results: Student participation and reaction to the events was overwhelmingly positive with a dramatic spike in website hits following the tour. The company decided to repeat the campaign, increasing the tour from nine campuses to 14 the following year.