Kimberly-Clark just dropped a potty training app.

Not a potty training guide.

Not a tips and tricks PDF.

A full-featured mobile application complete with classic Disney characters (as “band leaders”), milestone tracking, science-based algorithmic progress insights, and a musical rewards system.

Yeah, for diapers.

At first glance, I felt this was digital overkill.

But “Potty With Pull-Ups” represents something way more strategic than feature creep — it’s a (pre) schoolin’ in extending product value beyond the physical offering.

Here’s what Kimberly-Clark understands that many product makers miss:

Your core product often addresses just ONE piece of a larger customer journey.

Sure, Pull-Ups solve the “training pants” part of potty training.

But parents face weeks of uncertainty, frustration, and inconsistent progress. The diapers work fine, but the process around them creates anxiety.

The app goes way beyond tracking potty attempts — it transforms an isolated purchase into an ongoing relationship. (Remember how I talked about that with Sprite Squad recently?)

Parents download the free app, engage with Mickey Mouse content, log daily progress, and receive algorithmic insights about their child’s development.

The physical product becomes part of a comprehensive digital ecosystem, with the consumer willingly inside it.

This is smart because it turns a commodity purchase into a sticky platform experience.

Competitors can copy Pull-Ups’ absorbency technology, but they can’t so easily replicate an established app with thousands of user-generated data points and Disney licensing agreements.

In I Need That, I get into how products succeed by solving problems customers didn’t even realize they had. Kimberly-Clark recognized that parents need confidence, guidance, and celebration of progress. The app addresses the emotional and logistical challenges that surround the physical product.

Product Payoff: Shoe giant Nike transformed from a commodity company into a fitness ecosystem through their Nike Run Club and Training Club apps. These free platforms track workouts, provide coaching, and create community connections that extend far beyond product purchases. Users who engage with Nike’s apps show 2.5x higher lifetime value than those who only buy shoes.

The apps aren’t an empty gimmick: they’ve generated over 200 million downloads, creating a direct relationship with customers that competitors can’t easily disrupt, even if they match Nike’s product quality.

Action for today: Napkin-sketch your customer’s entire journey around your core product. What happens before they buy? What challenges do they face during use? What support do they need afterward? Identify opportunities to create digital touchpoints that extend your value beyond the transaction itself.

The strongest extensions address emotional needs on my CLIMB scale (confidence, community, progress) rather than just functional ones (tracking, measuring, organizing).

Does your product have digital extension opportunities beyond its core function?

Pop that reply arrow and share how you’re thinking about expanding customer value through non-obvious channels.

Or reach out to my team of awesome product marketing strategists at Graphos Product.