Eylure brand transformed in Honey makeover
Honey gives Eylure brand a makeover, focusing them as a premium beauty brand and opening up exciting new opportunities in a challenging retail environment.
What we worked on: Strategy | Branding | Packaging
Eylure
Eylure was the original false eyelashes brand. They came straight out of 1940’s Hollywood, inventing modern false eyelashes and making them mainstream. They already owned 80% of the market and had enjoyed recent growth with the Girls Aloud range, but sales were leveling off because of competition from beauty brands and a tough retail environment. Every brand now claims to be the ‘makeup artist’s choice’, so how could Eylure re-establish their position as beauty pioneers and appeal to new users?
Their biggest challenge came from other beauty brands that were introducing eyelash products alongside existing ranges and had the advantage of selling direct from brand ambassadors at their in-store makeup counters. Eylure came to us with the huge ambition of growing sales by 15-20%, but already owning 80% of the market meant that the only way to do this was to grow the whole category. We found that 96% of their current users also wear mascara, so we decided to focus on getting them to use false eyelashes every day for a natural look, rather than wearing them only on special occasions.
The main target audience would be existing users, but we also wanted to appeal to non-users and lapsed users. After testing out the Eylure range, we realised that the main barrier for non-users was the perception that false eyelashes would be difficult to apply, would look unnatural, and that the product choice was overwhelming. Lapsed users – typically slightly older women who had less time to apply eyelashes and would go out less frequently – also had similar concerns. We needed to convince all of them that false eyelashes could be used instead of mascara for a natural everyday look.
So we started by going out and taking a look at what was happening in stores like Boots and Superdrug. Eylure was positioned alongside everyday accessories, where they have to work much harder to emotionally engage users and did not look at all like a brand with heritage or expertise. We asked people what they thought to Eylure and nobody we asked seemed to know that they invented false eyelashes. Some people even thought they were Boots’ own brand!
The new packaging would need to persuade non-users to try Eylure as an alternative to mascara, and position the brand as a premium beauty label. It was important to communicate the glamour of false eyelashes and dispel the myths that they look tacky and are difficult to apply. Few of the brands in the eyelash category were unique or inspiring, so we felt sure that we could give Eylure a makeover that would position them as the expert beauty brand that they have been for the last 65 years.
The target audience of existing users, non-users and lapsed users were typically 20-29 year olds that shop at brands like Topshop and New Look, read magazines like Vogue and Heat, and buy brands like Maybelline and L’Oreal – but our demographic also aspire to brands like Chanel and Dior. It was critical that the new Eylure packaging pressed all the right buttons.
Logo was changed to reflect the heritage and quality of the brand
Use of colour to make product lines easy to identify
Engaging front of pack copy emphasising the main benefits
Packaging design changed to position Eylure as an expert beauty brand
New product architecture created to simplify the range and remove entry barrier
Pack photography shows a natural look, appealing to new target audience
As well as creating a new design, we also improved the structure of the existing packaging without making the packs bigger or increasing the shipping footprint. We also added tamper proofing for a more premium feel and made more space to communicate expertise and increase the in-store impact.
The complete rebrand included a total of 100 SKUs across a range of pre-glued, strip glue and limited edition eyelashes. This new range was designed to make the shopping experience less confusing and limit the barrier to purchase. The new identity was so successful that it opened up possibilities for future license deals with celebrities, including a successful new license with singer Katy Perry.
The new design has been very well received both in the UK and the US, and the press attention has certainly put Eylure back in the spotlight! Since the launch, Eylure has made headway into securing counter space in the makeup sections of M&S, Superdrug and Boots. We are also working on product development for 2015, looking at new ways to cross-sell to existing users, and have already designed another packaging range that continues to develop Eylure’s new look as an expert makeup brand.