Reviving a Brand's Heritage - Persuadable Research Corporation

Do you know how consumers view your brand?

Project Overview

myth versus reality - concept in vintage letterpress wood type on a grunge painted barn wood backgroundA hand & body lotion client wanted to lay out a long-term strategy to ascertain where and how to grow the brand. The brand had a strong heritage. Is that heritage still relevant? Can that heritage be leveraged further?

Persuadable Research studied the brand and its challenges, and developed a plan to map the market to determine the brand’s positioning in the competitive landscape. The two-pronged approach included a qualitative bulletin board focus group (BBFG), as well as a quantitative “Attitude, Awareness & Usage (AAU)“ study. This project began with a BBFG to understand category dynamics and the fundamentals of usage and purchase for the category. The qualitative study provided direction to explore and develop the essential attributes that formed the framework of the perceptual map. The quantitative study with 1000+ respondents established the habits and practices around the use of hand & body lotion among women.

CHALLENGES

Hand & body lotion is a highly innovative and cluttered category, with more than one hundred SKU’s launched per year.  Women tend to use several brands at the same time, but for different reasons. The category also has very strong, well-defined brands, with big marketing budgets.

  1. Determine if the client’s internally-perceived “heritage” was intact and, if so, how to capitalize on it.
  2. Determine how the client could make a “dent,” or carve out a niche, in a cluttered category with a limited budget.

INSIGHTS

  • The qualitative research hinted that the brand’s heritage had been diluted over time due to the clutter in the category
  • The qualitative research confirmed the client’s strong value proposition among users; they really believe in it. These nuances gave direction to formulate a strong communication platform for the brand.
  • The perceptual map quantitatively confirmed the weakened heritage, as it positioned the brand in a different sphere than its heritage would have suggested
  • The AAU showed that the brand was perceived to be similar to/closest to one of the market leaders. This provided an opportunity to chip away share from the market leader. The data gave direction so that the brand could appeal to all women with any skin type.
  • Coupons, promotions, and discounts played a big role in brand decision-making as compared to other categories.

IMPACTS

  • This research helped the client strategically (brand equity and brand positioning), as well as tactically (marketing spends in promotions, etc.).
  • The perceptual map provided the “road map” to build the brand over the next 3-4 years.  
  • The competition was clearly defined through the research and helped the brand streamline their resources.
  • Based on their new knowledge of the category, especially the price-consciousness of the consumer, a new marketing mix was adopted.
  • The brand immediately saw a jump in sales after the new marketing mix was deployed.

See the perceptual map below:

Click here to learn more about perceptual maps and the valuable role they play in consumer research.