A new mobile application from Kimberly-Clark?s Pull-Ups Training Pants leverages mobile games featuring Disney characters and augmented reality to help moms and children stay motivated throughout the potty training process.

The Pull-Ups Big Kid mobile application can be used to scan content inside packages of Pull-Ups Training Pants to activate a 3D experience featuring Disney characters. Additionally, children can earn stars as they progress through potty training that can be used to unlock new games in the app.

?For the past 24 years the Pull-Ups brand has been dedicated to helping Mom and child work together to achieve Big Kid success by making potty training fun and easy,? said Peter Sawin, Pull-Ups brand director at Kimberly Clark, Neenah, WI.

?With moms spending more than six hours per day on her smartphone, putting all of mom?s favorite potty training tools together into one place ? the Pull-Ups Big Kid App ? fits perfectly with her routine,? he said.

?An all-new tool included in the app is an augmented reality enabled celebration to reward her Big Kid for a job well done, featuring Disney characters like Rapunzel and Mickey.?

Learning through play
Moms are typically heavy smartphone users who regularly engage with their devices to find coupons, making shopping lists and support a variety of family-related activities.

The Pull-Ups app targets the approximately four million moms pinpointed by Kimberly Clark who are expected to start potty training this year.

Additionally, with 74 percent of moms letting their children play with their smartphones on a regular basis, the app also integrates imagination with augmented reality to create an experience that children will also enjoy.

This is the first time that Kimberly-Clark is using augmented reality.

?The decision to use augmented reality as a tool for child engagement is based on knowledge of how toddlers engage in learning through play,? Mr. Sawin said.

?At this age, children incorporate elements of both fantasy and reality in their play and learn about the world,? he said. ?Augmented reality fits perfectly with this learning style as it incorporates the virtual characters on screen with the real environment in the home.

On-demand tools
To provide extra motivation to encourage moms to start potty training, Pull-Ups has also launched a sweepstakes encouraging parents to go to Facebook.com/Pull-Ups and upload an image of their child?s first flush for a chance to have the picture posted on a billboard in New York City?s Times Square during a celebration on Jan. 29.

One family will also win an all-expenses-paid trip to an Orlando destination.

The Pull-Ups Big Kid App includes content intended to enhance the potty training experience. Users can scan special identifying markers inside packages of Pulls-Ups Training Pants to activate the interactive Pull-Ups Big Kid 3D Celebration, where Disney characters such as Rapunzel and Mickey come to life.

Other features include games involving Disney characters that are unlocked through stars collected as the child makes potty training progress.

Children can also receive calls from Disney characters to help surprise and motivate them as they use the potty and keep trying.

Additionally, the app has a customizable potty timer to help parents remind their child when it is time to go use the potty.

The app is available for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

?The smartphone is the go-to partner in mom's life- she expects to be able to consume content anywhere she is, anytime,? Mr. Sawin said.

?When it comes to potty training, mobile is the perfect platform to provide on-demand potty training solutions and make the process fun and engaging for both mom and kid,? he said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York