From product communication to an ongoing relationship with parents
Sweety is a diaper brand under PT Softex Indonesia. Since its launch in 2003, the brand had grown into one of Indonesia’s leading diaper brands, earning trust among parents and caregivers.
That position created a new strategic responsibility. Maintaining leadership required more than reaching consumers at the point of purchase. Sweety needed to remain useful between purchases by helping parents find relevant information, connect with one another, and return to the brand’s digital channels.
Suitmedia partnered with Softex Indonesia to revamp the Sweety website and strengthen its role as a destination for parents. The work combined clearer experience design, a parenting discussion forum, a rewards system, and search optimization to attract new visitors and give existing users more reasons to come back.
A trusted brand needed a more active digital relationship
1. Market leadership had to extend beyond the product shelf
Sweety had already built strong recognition in the diaper category. But consumer trust in a product does not automatically translate into regular digital engagement.
A website that only presents brand information or product benefits may answer a narrow set of questions. It may help users learn about the product, but it gives them little reason to return after that first visit.
For Sweety, the opportunity was to make the website useful during the broader parenting journey. Parents could be looking for information about babies, asking questions about motherhood, or searching for practical advice unrelated to a single purchase decision.
A stronger digital platform could keep the brand present in those everyday moments.
2. The existing website did not create enough reasons to return
Sweety wanted to increase traffic and take online engagement more seriously, but the existing website lacked enough mechanisms to support repeat visits.
This was a retention problem as much as an acquisition problem. Bringing a user to the website once is valuable, but the longer-term relationship depends on whether the site offers something worth revisiting.
Without useful new content, social interaction, or visible progress, users had limited motivation to return. The website risked becoming a one-time information source instead of an ongoing resource for parents.
3. Navigation and content structure were limiting the experience
The first challenge was practical: users needed to find information quickly and move through the website without confusion.
If content is difficult to locate or the journey between pages feels disconnected, users may leave before discovering the most relevant material. Poor structure can also weaken the brand message because users encounter isolated pieces of information rather than a coherent story.
Suitmedia therefore needed to understand the existing user journey before redesigning the interface. The question was not only how the website looked, but how users moved through it, what they were trying to accomplish, and where the experience created unnecessary friction.
4. Engagement needed to be meaningful, not manufactured
Adding interactive features would not be enough if those features did not connect to users’ real needs. Parents would not continue visiting simply because a website contained more buttons or activities.
The engagement strategy had to offer genuine value. Users needed useful information, a place to discuss parenting concerns, and a clear reason to participate.
This meant connecting the brand’s product strengths with the broader interests of its audience. Sweety needed to become more than a diaper brand speaking to parents; it needed to create a space where parents could learn, share, and feel recognized.
5. Growth required both retention and discovery
Sweety needed to re-engage existing visitors while also attracting new audiences. These are related but different problems.
Community and rewards can encourage people who already know the website to return. Search optimization can help new users discover it when they are actively looking for parenting information.
The project therefore required a combined approach: improve the experience for people already on the site, then make the site easier to find for people who had not encountered it yet.
Designing a site that rewards participation and supports parents
1. Map the current journey before changing the interface
Suitmedia began by gathering data about the existing user journey and mapping the main paths through the website.
This helped identify how users accessed content, where navigation could be simplified, and which parts of the experience needed clearer connections. It also ensured that the redesign was based on user behavior rather than assumptions about what the website should contain.
The goal was to create a more intuitive flow. Users needed to understand what the site offered, find relevant information quickly, and move naturally between articles, discussions, videos, and other content.
2. Build the experience around a connected brand story
The redesigned website was structured to connect Sweety’s product benefits with the needs and concerns of parents.
This was important because product claims are more persuasive when they appear in a context that matters to the audience. Parents may be interested in diaper features, but they are also thinking about comfort, care, development, routines, and the challenges of raising a child.
By linking product information with useful parenting content, the website could communicate Sweety’s value in a more relevant way. The brand became part of a broader story about supporting parents rather than appearing only in promotional messages.
3. Use visual simplicity to make content easier to explore
The new visual direction used a clean and fresher design. Larger images and more open space helped important content stand out while reducing distractions.
This was not simply a cosmetic refresh. Visual hierarchy affects how quickly users can understand a page and decide what to do next.
A cleaner interface also helped the website feel more approachable. Parents visiting the site for practical information could browse without being overwhelmed by dense layouts or competing elements.
4. Create Sweety Talks as a place for shared experience
Sweety Talks was introduced as a forum where mothers could discuss baby care and motherhood.
This addressed a need that product pages cannot meet: the desire to learn from people facing similar situations. A forum gives users a place to ask questions, exchange experiences, and find reassurance through community interaction.
The feature also changed the direction of communication. Instead of the brand speaking only to users, users could speak with one another within a space associated with Sweety.
That distinction helped the website become more participatory. The value of the platform could grow through the quality and relevance of community contributions, not only through content produced by the brand.
5. Use rewards to make participation visible
The Point Rewards system gave users an additional reason to engage with the website. Users could earn points by reading articles, commenting, participating in forums, watching videos, and sharing articles on social media.
The logic was straightforward: actions that support the health of the community should be recognized. Reading and commenting can deepen content engagement. Forum activity can strengthen discussion. Sharing can extend the reach of useful information.
Rewards helped turn these activities into visible progress. Rather than engaging with the site only for immediate information, users could also see their participation accumulate over time.
6. Connect points to practical benefits
Users could redeem their points for vouchers or gifts. This gave the reward system a tangible outcome and made participation feel more valuable.
A points system is most effective when users understand how to earn points, what progress means, and what they can eventually receive. The connection between activity and benefit needed to remain clear.
The system also encouraged repeat behavior. A user who had already accumulated points had a reason to return, continue participating, and move closer to the next reward.
7. Use badges to recognize longer-term commitment
Users could progress through bronze, silver, and gold badges. Higher levels offered better benefits and privileges.
Badges added a second form of motivation. Points represented progress toward rewards, while badges represented recognition of a user’s ongoing involvement with the community.
This distinction matters because not every user is motivated by the same thing. Some users may value vouchers, while others may enjoy recognition, status, or the feeling of completing a challenge.
Badges also created a simple visual language for loyalty. They made participation visible and helped users understand their relationship with the Sweety community.
8. Make search a source of new relationships
The engagement strategy was supported by search engine optimization, both on the website and through external distribution.
On-page work focused on creating useful articles based on topics relevant to the target audience and search terms commonly used by parents. This helped align content with the questions people were already asking.
Off-page work extended relevant Sweety content through appropriate forums and other external spaces. The aim was not only to increase traffic, but to introduce more parents to information that could lead them back to the website.
Search was therefore treated as both an acquisition channel and a usability discipline. Writing around real user questions helps make content easier to discover and more useful once people arrive.
9. Connect acquisition with retention
SEO could bring new visitors to the site, but a strong first visit would not guarantee a second. The community and reward features gave new users more reasons to stay, participate, and return.
This created a reinforcing cycle. Useful content attracted visitors. Community features gave them a place to engage. Rewards encouraged repeated participation. Returning users generated more activity and helped make the platform more valuable to others.
The combination was stronger than any single tactic. Traffic brought people in, while usefulness and recognition gave them reasons to remain connected.
Engagement growth showed that usefulness can sustain attention
1. New visitors increased shortly after launch
Within 30 days of the redesigned website launching, the number of new visitors increased by 80.2%.
This early improvement indicated that the combined redesign and search strategy made the site more visible and attractive to new audiences. The website was not relying only on existing brand awareness; it was also becoming easier for parents to discover through relevant searches and shared content.
For Sweety, this expanded the potential audience for both parenting information and brand communication.
2. Overall user activity grew substantially
By the end of October 2018, total users had increased by 206.81%, sessions by 220.52%, and pageviews by 278.02%.
The difference between these measures is useful. More users indicated broader reach, while the higher number of sessions suggested that visitors were returning or initiating more visits. Pageviews growing faster than users pointed to deeper interaction with the content.
Together, the results suggest that the website was not simply attracting more people. It was creating more opportunities for visitors to browse, participate, and discover additional content.
3. The reduced bounce rate signaled stronger first interactions
The bounce rate decreased by 8.05% by the end of October 2018.
A lower bounce rate suggests that more visitors continued beyond their first page. This can reflect a clearer structure, more relevant landing content, and stronger next steps.
In the context of Sweety’s goals, the result is important because the first visit is the point at which a new user decides whether the website is worth exploring. The redesigned experience improved the chance that visitors would continue into the wider community and content environment.
4. The platform became a stronger community asset
The performance gains represented more than traffic growth. They showed that Sweety’s website could support a more active relationship with parents.
Users had more ways to engage: they could read, comment, discuss, watch, share, collect points, and progress through badges. These behaviors helped turn the website into a living platform rather than a static collection of brand pages.
The second-order effect was greater community maturity. As participation increased, the site had more potential to generate useful conversations and peer-to-peer value, reducing the brand’s dependence on one-way communication.
5. The brand gained more opportunities to remain relevant
A parent may visit the website for a specific article, then return to participate in a forum or redeem a reward. This creates repeated moments in which Sweety can be present in the user’s parenting journey.
That repeated presence can strengthen familiarity and loyalty over time. The brand becomes associated not only with diapers, but also with information, community, recognition, and practical support.
The result is a broader relationship that complements the product itself.
The deeper lesson: engagement is built through repeated value
1. Retention starts with a reason to return
Users return when a platform offers something that changes, helps, or rewards them. Sweety combined new content, community participation, and point-based incentives to create several reasons for repeat visits.
The important principle is not the reward mechanic alone. It is the relationship between the reward and useful behavior. Engagement becomes stronger when users receive value while also contributing to a healthier platform.
2. Community features work best when they address real concerns
A forum cannot create meaningful engagement if it exists only to increase activity numbers. Sweety Talks was valuable because it gave mothers a place to discuss genuine questions and experiences around baby care and motherhood.
Community design should begin with the conversations people already want to have. The brand’s role is to create a safe, useful, and well-structured environment for those conversations.
3. Loyalty is strengthened by recognition as well as incentives
Points and vouchers provide external motivation. Badges add recognition and a sense of progress.
Together, they support different forms of commitment. Users can be motivated by practical benefits, personal achievement, or visible participation in a community.
This is a broader lesson for customer engagement: loyalty is not only about giving something away. It is also about helping people feel seen and valued.
4. Acquisition and retention should be designed as one system
SEO brought new visitors, while community features and rewards encouraged them to stay connected. Separating these efforts would have weakened the overall outcome.
A visitor acquisition strategy is more valuable when the destination can convert attention into engagement. Likewise, a community platform needs a reliable way to introduce new people to the experience.
5. Digital platforms can extend the role of consumer brands
Sweety used its website to become useful in a context wider than the product category. By supporting parents with information and community, the brand created a more durable form of relevance.
This does not replace product quality. It strengthens the relationship around the product by helping consumers in the situations where their needs arise.
Strategic Insights for the C-Suite
- Design for the full relationship, not only the first visit. Acquisition creates an opportunity, but retention depends on giving people useful reasons to return. Content, community, and recognition should work together across the customer lifecycle.
- Build engagement around genuine user needs. Forums and rewards are effective when they support meaningful behavior rather than manufacture activity. Start with the problems customers already want to solve or discuss.
- Treat loyalty as both value and recognition. Practical rewards can motivate action, while status and visible progress can strengthen emotional commitment. A balanced system gives customers more than one reason to remain engaged.
- Connect traffic strategy to destination quality. Search and distribution can bring people to a platform, but only useful content and clear experiences keep them there. Marketing performance depends on what happens after the click.
- Use digital platforms to expand brand relevance. Consumer brands can create stronger relationships by helping customers in the routines surrounding product use. Repeated usefulness can support loyalty more effectively than one-way promotion alone.
