Projects credited in
- EylureEylure 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.
- Tesco finest*Tesco choose Honey for finest* rebrand The UK’s biggest brand appoint Honey as the lead agency in the rebrand of their finest* range, which resulted in a £420 million uplift in sales. We worked on: Brand Identity | Packaging | In-store Communications Tesco finest* Tesco finest* was the biggest brand in the UK turning over £1.2 billion when they asked us to be the lead agency in a massive redesign of their famous premium range. The brand was in its 15th year and was so established that it had become the UK’s favourite premium own label – but we identified a potential problem. A brand name like finest* needed to be about finest ingredients, finest recipes and finest selection; instead it had become more ‘look at me, I’m the best’. Tesco appointed Honey to lead an ambitious redesign project that would mark the biggest investment in finest* since its launch in 1998. Brand snobs would argue that supermarket brands are not ‘real’ brands. We disagree. finest* still needs to justify a premium and create a consistent brand personality across their range. And the finest* range encompasses a daunting 1,600 SKUs, with ambitions to grow, so we had a much bigger challenge than we would with a more conventional rebrand. In fact, the project was so massive that it was decided to line up three other design agencies, to help implement our design strategy across the full range of SKUs. We explored the existing finest* packaging and found that it no longer reflected the quality and origin of the ingredients. There was a lack of differentiation across the SKUs, and the reliance on flashy food photography had weakened the storytelling and brand identity. We wanted to create an overall look and feel that would bring to life the artisan qualities and individual personalities behind the products and suppliers. The finest* brand falls into the ‘little treats’ category and had the potential to do very well in austere times, because people can’t afford bigger treats like eating out. So how could we make finest* an irresistible treat for consumers? Research showed us that consumers at this level were becoming more ethically aware and wanted to know the origin of the food on their plates, so this became core to our strategy. We also needed to make sure the packaging focused on tangible signals of quality such as difference and discovery. We did this by telling consumers about the locality of the food and the people behind the ingredients – the artisan skills involved, the heritage and the provenance. This was communicated through storytelling, packaging copy, titles, and labels. It was a massive success with consumers. The new branding needed to adopt a flexible structure to allow the range of SKUs to keep expanding. Ready meals were our main challenge, so we started by coming up with a design that quickly and clearly identified the different ethnicities and product types. Colour was used to split the different product lines, such as metallic grey for Indian food, and Terracotta for casseroles and hearty dishes. 26% In-store promotion of 1,600 rebranded SKUs increased sales by 26% in the first month. The rebrand included several significant changes to the overall identify. We changed the logo by replacing the capital “F” with a lower case and adding an asterisk to refresh the brand image and communicate quality. We also refocused the food photography, making the ingredients the hero of the story. Logo was modernised to reflect the brand’s premium quality. Artisan skills and origin of the food communicated through storytelling. Silver on packaging was changed to silver foil to emphasise the colour palette. Food photography removed and base packaging improved to reduce cost. Colours used so product lines could be quickly and easily identified. Every product was then anonymously tested without the branding with research groups before being approved by Tesco’s senior management. This was to make sure that the new finest* range lived up to the brand promise. We managed the entire project, from initial brief through to the main launch. The journey involved us project managing hundreds of suppliers and leading the rebrand of 1,600 SKUs before the new brand reached the shelves in 2013. The reaction was unanimously positive, strengthening the Tesco finest* premium brand against rival brands from other retailers. There was an above average increase in year-on-year sales and some of the products were category defining and hugely successful, achieving sales increases as high as 50%. The finest* rebrand was such a strong investment that we are currently working with Tesco to help them to take the brand essence of finest* overseas to emerging markets such as Asia.
Skills
- Packaging Design
- Client Services
- Project Management
- Branding
- Design
- Account Management
- FMCG Branding