DIPLOMA PROJECT PROPOSAL: Pavithra Krishnan I. THE DESIGN BRIEF To introduce a new range of organic age-‐defying facial creams that use Sea buckthorn oil as a key ingredient. The main ingredient, sea buckthorn is from the dense forests of the Himalayas. The oil is extracted from the berries and seeds of the shrub.
THE SCENARIO Divya is a 29-‐year-‐old woman, working at an event management firm. Her husband runs his own business and he travels quite frequently. She has a 9-‐5 job and it requires her to commute within the city to meet clients. She spends a lot of time outdoor and she is worried that it might affect her skin in the long run. She doesn’t have time during the day to take care of her skin but she makes it a point to follow a regime in the night. As her skin type is sensitive, she chooses her products carefully based on the ingredients. She tries to stick to chemical free products as much as possible and is yet to start using age-‐defying creams. She doesn’t feel the need to start using age-‐defying creams as it makes her feel older than she actually is. She’s willing to try out new products only when her friends recommend it to her.
THE NEED Recently, people are switching to organic/ all natural products as they consider them to be less harmful to their skin. Sea buckthorn with its numerous cell restorative/ age defying properties is native to India but is still unheard of by majority of the Indian women. The number of organic age-‐defying creams in India within this price range is low. There are no age-‐defying creams with Sea buckthorn as the main ingredient. From our interviews, we inferred that some women rely on home remedies because they don’t trust brands that claim to be organic. There are a fair number of women who fail to recognize signs of ageing and are in denial about their need for age-‐defying solutions. Sea buckthorn is used in minor quantities as part of a few other skincare products but it goes unnoticed. There are very few Indian brands that sell these sea buckthorn products. As an example, Fab India has its range of Sea Buckthorn oil, face wash and soaps however, there are other ingredients in it and it’s not exclusive. Other organic age defying products are
highly priced (above Rs. 1595 -‐ Forest Essentials and The Body Shop) and they don’t have products that use sea buckthorn.
MY BELIEFS/ VALUES Advertising for the cosmetic/beauty industry has always been challenging, as there is always a question of morality. Recently, people have been questioning the reliability of its claims and their promotion of unrealistic goals. The photo manipulations and false claims are bringing up a lot of self-‐esteem problems among women. Can we tell people that they need to start using anti-‐aging products or lightening creams? The term itself seemed to be offending women when we interviewed them, they did not want to be put under that category. They are in denial about their age. I noticed that switching to the term age defying, made a lot of difference to how women reacted. This is a challenging project and I think my biggest hurdle would be to make this brand easily approachable, optimistic, young and to be able to simultaneously promote a healthy lifestyle without disrupting my moral values.
WHY THIS PROJECT? After spending two semesters in the Srishti advertising lab, I’ve learnt how to build a full-‐ fledged advertising campaign, identify insights and following up an idea till execution. I have also interned with three advertising agencies in the past. However, I did not get to focus on the complete process of branding a product and positioning it in the market. The focus was more towards coming up with a solid advertising strategy. By choosing this cluster/project, I will get to do research, logo design, brand positioning, strategy, 360-‐degree ideation, experiment with packaging and complete execution of an advertising campaign idea, which is an add on to what I’m looking to pursue in the future.
INTENDED FUTURE PRACTICE Working for an advertising agency means quick ideation, quick executions and a new brief everyday and that’s exactly what I’ve been working on in the Advertising lab. I intend to start at a smaller agency as I noticed from my past internships that it was much more rewarding in terms of learning outcomes and finding the right mentor. Finding the right agency that suits my personality is a factor that I’m holding on to. From when I joined this design school, I have been working towards improving my research skills, illustration and most importantly, designing for the user/ mass which is the backbone of this field.
II. RESEARCH I started out by learning about sea buckthorn and it’s benefits. A quick summary of the benefits is mentioned below. THE BENEFITS OF SEA BUCKTHORN Sea buckthorn oil is said to have therapeutic properties. The plant oil is known to help with cell restoration and the extract absorbs UV rays and is hence used in sunscreen products as well. The plant oil acts as a skin hydrator, eliminates signs of ageing, reduces acne and is a collagen promoter. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS Then we did a detailed competitor analysis, visited exclusive outlets and multi-‐brand stores that sell skin care products. Individually, we picked two brands and analyzed them based on the following guidelines: 1. Brand positioning and strategy 2. Brand values 3. Ingredients 4. Outlets 5. Products and pricing 6. Packaging RESEARCH QUESTIONS (Online survey) The questions were formed keeping our initial assumptions/ hypothesis in mind. We got 82 responses from Women across different cities in India. Here are some of the questions: -
Current Skincare regime (This would help me decide on the product range.)
-
What brand of face cream do you currently use? (To derive key competitors and study them)
-‐ Have you heard about a natural ingredient called sea buckthorn? (Awareness) -
What are the physical attributes you consider while buying face creams? (Smell, color, ingredients, skin type)
-
Which are the words that you would associate with Sea Buckthorn (Harsh, Soft, Clean, Exotic, Natural, Harmful, Abrasive)
-
Do you prefer organic over chemically treated products?
-
What do you think is the ideal age to start age defying products?
-
Which are the added benefits you expect form your age defying products?
-
How much are you willing to pay for an organic age defying product?
SURVEY OUTCOMES: -
Most Indian women prefer organic/natural products as they think it’s less harmful.
-
Physical attributes they consider while choosing a product: Ingredients, Smell, Skin type
-
Product range they use: face wash, scrub, moisturizer, toner, and serum
-
They think that the ideal age to start age-‐defying regimes is 30-‐35 but scientifically it is proven that 25 are the age to start age-‐ defying products.
-
Extra added benefits they expect in their age-‐defying creams: Pore minimizing, Radiance and Spot reduction
-
People who replace their creams once in three months buy relatively more expensive products. The others spend less but replace it more often.
-
They’re willing to spend 500-‐ 1000 for a 200ml organic age-‐defying face cream.
-
Majority of them haven’t heard of Sea Buckthorn and it’s benefits
-
As it is an exotic ingredient, there seems to be a 50-‐50 chance that people would try or avoid it when they come across such a product.
-
Word associations with Sea Buckthorn -‐ Exotic, organic and healing
KEY COMPETITORS: Organic: The Body Shop, Fab India, and Forest Essentials Others: Neutrogena, L’Oreal, Olay
III. APPROACH The four stages and the timeline for my project are shown below.
ANALYSIS METHODS: I used the following methods of analysis to arrive at insights for the target group analysis and the analysis of product itself: Matrix, SWOT Analysis, Factors and Issues
IV. MATERIALS/ RESOURCES I will be studying packaging designs of other age defying products/ skincare products in the market. This will involve experimentation with different materials and form for better functionality and better understanding of user needs. Resources: Branding with Brains, 50 brainstorming methods, Web resources for packaging
V. LEARNING OUTCOMES -
Building Brand guidelines and building a consistent brand personality.
-
How to position a brand strategically to actively communicate its brand value proposition to a larger audience.
-
Understanding user beliefs/values and designing for the target group
-
Exploring different tools for naming the brand (Extensive mind maps and word associations)
-
Explore various research methods that could be incorporated.
-
Experiment with materials, forms and finding smart packaging solutions.
-
360-‐degree ideation for advertising with clarity.
-
Budgeting for Branding and Advertising Campaigns