Herbal Essences
Contemporizing Brand Equity
Presented by:
Patricia Sabena
QRCA President ‘95 - ‘98
Patricia Sabena Qualitative Research Services
SINCE 1965
What happened to
the Herbal Essence brand?
 Herbal
Essence Shampoo...
• Launched by Clairol in 1971
• Big success in the seventies
• First to talk about “natural”
ingredients
• Bottle and advertising
reflected the “flower power”
spirit of the times
What happened to
the Herbal Essence brand?
 During
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the eighties, however:
Other brands co-opted this “naturals” theme
The product began to look and seem dated
Advertising support was finally withdrawn
The brand merely languished on the shelf
What role did
qualitative research play?
 Between
1992 and 1999, focus groups
explored...
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The Herbal Essence brand equity
Various repositioning concepts
New ingredient combinations
Environmental packaging styles
Alternative print and TV campaigns
The post-launch competitive set
The relaunched brand’s personality
The potential for line extension categories
Who were
the focus group respondents?
 Female
mass
market shampoo
users:
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Teens 15 to 17
Women 18 to 24
Women 25 to 34
Women 35 to 49
 Phases
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conducted in:
Connecticut
California
New Jersey
New York
Georgia
What were recollections
of old Herbal Essence?
Strengths (+)

nostalgia, affection
long-haired girl
 flowers, butterflies
 dark green oval
bottle
 pleasant scent
 herbal

Liabilities (–)
 no
awareness,
outdated
 grandma used it
 seventies, hippies
 too dark green
 too
strong, piney
 harsh, chemical
What repositioning concepts
were devised?
 Ancient
Herbalist
 Environmentalist
 Custom Blending
 Nostalgia/Born Again
 Aromatherapeutic
 Science-and-Nature
 Refreshment
 Wisdom of Nature
 Rocky Mountain Spring Water
What became
the relaunch strategy?
 Relaunch
the brand as Herbal Essences,
with the plural “s” signifying:
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newness
added value
multiple ingredients
multiple benefits
What were the key positioning
communications?
1. How the carefully chosen herbal and
botanical ingredients are better for
the hair
2. What end benefits can be attributed
to these unique Herbal Essences
formulas
What ingredient combinations
were explored?
 Favorable
connotations:
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rosemary
chamomile
jojoba
aloe vera
thyme
mountain spring
water
 Unfavorable
connotations:
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elder
burdock root
horsetail grass
nettle leaves
What packaging options were
considered and rejected?
 Although
consumers claimed they wanted to
be environmentally responsible they seemed
only minimally informed and not fully
committed to activist positions.
 None
of the environmentally correct packages
appeared to be convenient enough to warrant
consumer acceptance:
• pouches
• boxes
• refillables
What was the
packaging breakthrough?
 By
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1994, new technology:
striking
crystal clear
see-through to
back-panel labels
 Easily
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communicated:
newness
gentleness
herbal ingredients
refreshing scents
What consumer insights led to
advertising development?
“Shampooing is a dull
and boring routine.”
“With Herbal Essence,
I felt refreshed when I got
out of the shower, clean,
like a cool breeze, invigorated.”
How did the ad agency break
through category clutter?
 Wells
Rich Greene BDDP created highly
memorable and compelling TV advertising
touting the refreshing benefits of “an organic
experience.”
• “Totally Organic”
• “Airplane”
• “Black Book”
 Saved
from seeming smutty by humorous
endings featuring older women also wanting
“an organic experience.”
Where did the relaunch
fit into the competitive set?
 By
1997, the shampoo category had reshuffled
itself into these clusters:
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The Botanicals (Herbal Essences)
The Wannabe Botanicals (a multitude of copycats)
The Therapeutics (Pantene, Infusium, L’Oreal Vives)
The Establishments (Finesse, Salon Selectives)
The Cheapies (Suave, VO5, White Rain, Pert Plus)
MOST NATURAL
The Botanicals/Herbal Essences
BEST
FOR
THE
HAIR
The Wannabe Botanicals
The Therapeutics
The Establishments
LEAST NATURAL
The Cheapies
WORST
FOR
THE
HAIR
What was the brand’s
contemporized personality?
 In
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projective psychodrawings...
female, 16 to 39, median age 25
young single or young mother
contemporary name (Jennifer, Melissa)
nature-oriented name (Flora, Marigold)
contemporary sports clothes
flowing cotton skirt and sandals
What was the brand’s
contemporized personality?
 In
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projective psychodrawings...
student, artist, florist, nutritionist
businesswoman, secretary
flowers, plants, bottled water
sports equipment, a cell phone
carefree, spontaneous, smart
spunky, confident, optimistic
natural beauty, outdoorsy, healthy
caring, sensitive, outgoing, popular
What was the brand’s
contemporized personality?
 Depicted
saying...
“Let’s go camping or bike riding this weekend.”
“I live by my own rules but respect all others.”
“I don’t eat meat because I’m a vegetarian.”
“I love my family, my job; I enjoy life to its fullest.”
“I love being a woman and it’s great to be alive.”
“I’m one natural chick!”
“Life is beautiful and my hair smells good.”
What was the brand’s
contemporized personality?
 A far
cry from the images of its past...
What was the brand’s viability
in other product categories?
 Herbal
Essences
Hair Styling Aids
Line launched
February 1996
What was the brand’s viability
in other product categories?
 Herbal
Essences
Body Wash Line
launched June 1997
What was the brand’s viability
in other product categories?
 Herbal
Essences
Facial Care Line
launched June 1999
What was the brand’s viability
in other product categories?
 Herbal
Essences
Hair Color
launched 2000
How successful has
Herbal Essences been?
 Changed
the shampoo category by
becoming the new standard of
packaging excellence for all other
shampoo brands
 Spawned
a multitude of copycat
products as new brand entries (e.g.,
Willow Lake) or line extensions of
existing brands
How successful has
Herbal Essences been?
 Total
1998 revenues for all Herbal
Essences products were more than
$300 million
 Total 2000 revenues for all Herbal
Essences products were $1 billion
dollars
 Brought
Hair Care Division more
prominence at Clairol, Inc.
What do consumers
advise for the future?
 In
1997, focus group respondents
constructed scrap art team collages
advising the brand to:
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stay cutting edge
maximize natural
enhance serenity
emphasize performance
soften the sexuality
expand the target audience
How did consumer insights
aid strategic outcomes?
 Overall,
qualitative research revealed that:
• The old Herbal Essence still evoked some
affectionate memories
• Its naturals equities could be recast in a
contemporary way
• Its breakthrough packaging could help
contemporize its image
How did consumer insights
aid strategic outcomes?
 Qualitative
research also revealed that:
• Provocative advertising based on consumer
insights could break through category clutter
• The rejuvenated brand has very broad target
audience appeal
• The relaunched brand has remarkable line
extension power
What synchronicity causes
the brand’s success?
 Crystal
clear and striking packaging
promises and delivers cleanliness,
purity, natural ingredients, no buildup,
great fragrance.
 While
fragrance appears to be a
compelling feature of the brand, it is
only part of its clean and natural
persona.
What synchronicity causes
the brand’s success?
 The
brand’s TV advertising is an
attention-getting juxtaposition of
innocence and sexuality.
 It
manages to generate a sense of
the Herbal Essences woman as
independent, confident, carefree
and self-actualized.
What synchronicity causes
the brand’s success?
 Although
teenagers comprise a core
group of users, and older women
remember its heritage, the brand
projects a twentysomething image.
 Contemporizing
and relaunching
Herbal Essences has brought it a
long way from the outdated hippies
and elderly grandmothers associated
with its original seventies products.
What is the relevance to you?
 This
qualitative research provides a
template for contemporizing other tired
or outdated brands:
• What internal or external factors have
caused the brand to fall behind?
• What is happening in the competitive set
that impacts the brand?
• What can be retained or renewed from the
existing brand equity?
• What is needed in order to rejuvenate the
brand’s image and appeal?
Contemporizing Brand Equity
Relaunching the Herbal Essences Brand
Why contemporize
a brand’s equity?
 Brands
become old-fashioned or
tired because they:
• have a brand name that sounds “out”
or outdated
• cut back or cut out advertising and
promotion spending
• lack meaningful product news or point
of difference
Why contemporize
a brand’s equity?
 ...or
because they:
• lose touch with their own users and/or
category users
• fail to modernize packaging style, colors,
graphics
• get lost in the influx of new entries that
seem more relevant
• do not launch line extensions or launch
too many line extensions