Huge Unveils Hooha, the World's First Smart Tampon Dispenser at SXSW 2019, and Partners with The Female Quotient

Agency launches "Innovation Stops Here" campaign to debut new product machine, showcasing the power of women innovating the technology industry

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Huge

Mar 08, 2019, 15:34 ET

BROOKLYN, N.Y., March 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- To raise awareness for Women in Technology, Huge, the global experience agency (NYSE: IPG), today unveils the world's first smart tampon dispenser. "Hooha" was concepted and created by Huge and will launch in The Female Quotient's FQ Lounge, Home of Equality @ SXSW on International Women's Day, Friday March 8, 2019 in Austin, TX. The new product, Hooha, is meant to replace the antiquated tampon dispensers across the globe. But Hooha is more than an IoT device -- it's a challenge to a male-dominated tech industry to start to innovate for all.

Huge looked to The Female Quotient's partnership for the unveiling, as the female-owned business is committed to advancing equality in the workplace. The new machine will be featured in The FQ Lounge located at 401 Sabine Street in Austin, Texas, as well as the Huge "Power of Being Heard" experience at The Midnight Cowboy (313 E 6th Street Austin, TX 78701) on March 8 through March 11, 2019.

Stephanie Loffredo, senior social marketing manager at Huge, said, "In an industry largely dominated by men, it's no surprise that innovation tends to stop at the women's room door. There's a lack of awareness about women's issues because there's a lack of women with decision-making power in tech. The gender gap stifles innovation and the archaic, coin-operated tampon dispenser is proof of that."

By use of a simple text message, Hooha provides tampons to people when they need them the most. In addition to eradicating the coin slots, Hooha also features a window, which is notably absent from the design of its predecessors and shows users the machines' stock level. Hooha can fit up to 60 tampons at a time, which is 3x more than the industry average.

In addition to physical installations at SXSW, Hooha and The Female Quotient will be discussing the power this innovation represents for women in the technology industry during two provocative panel sessions in The FQ Lounge and Huge's "Power of Being Heard" event space.

About Hooha:
As part of a Huge fellowship program, in which the agency offers employees time and resources to incubate new product ideas, Stephanie Loffredo assembled a team of expert colleagues to help build a solution. Over the next several months, they worked together to create Hooha: a smart tampon dispenser that you can text for a free tampon.

About Huge
Huge is a global experience agency providing digital transformation and marketing services to the world's largest businesses and best-known brands. Headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, Huge has more than 1,400 employees working across 12 offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The agency is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. For more information, visit hugeinc.com

About Interpublic
Interpublic is one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Major global brands include Craft, FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding), FutureBrand, Golin, Huge, Initiative, Jack Morton, MAGNA, McCann, Momentum, MRM//McCann, MullenLowe Group, Octagon, R/GA, UM and Weber Shandwick. Other leading brands include Avrett Free Ginsberg, Campbell Ewald, Carmichael Lynch, Deutsch, Hill Holliday, ID Media and The Martin Agency. For more information, please visit www.interpublic.com.

About The Female Quotient.
The mission of The Female Quotient is to advance gender equality in the workplace. Founded by Shelley Zalis, The Female Quotient provides companies and business leaders with research, tools and experiences to promote equality, including the Modern Guide to Equality, a living, breathing playbook for activating change. The Female Quotient also presents The Girls' Lounge, a pop-up experience at conferences, companies and college campuses where women connect, collaborate and activate change together. Since launching in 2013, The Girls' Lounge has hosted over 100 experiences at dozens of high-profile corporate events, including the World Economic Forum (Davos), SXSW, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), AdWeek and more. For more information, visit www.TheFemaleQuotient.com.

SOURCE Huge