Mature brands should focus on core vision when refreshing their image

Watsons refreshed its brand recently with a more contemporary look to reflect an innovative approach to retailing.

Watsons Singapore merchandising and marketing director Micheas Chan said the brand is aiming to continually anticipate and respond to customers’ evolving needs.

He noted that 'Watsons Refresh' programme, which was implemented in March, has received positive feedback, citing the example of its Takashimaya Shopping Centre outlet, which has seen sales increase by more than 15 per cent from a year ago.

The programme saw each new Watsons store in Singapore sporting new storefront facades and modified interiors, and fronted by staff in new uniforms.

“In line with taking a step towards revitalising its brand image, the Watsons brand logo has also been updated to feature a fun and youthful font, without its usual slogan ‘Personal Care Stores’ – reflecting the company’s evolving direction towards encompassing a wider range of products, from beauty, skincare and haircare, to health and oral supplements, as well as baby and wellness products,” Chan added.

With its primary target audience being women aged 18 to 35, Watsons has rolled out interactive retail spaces and concepts "to enhance our customers’ shopping experience, such as a cosmetic play area and a baby & wellness corner at the Takashimaya outlet", he said.

He added that some upcoming retail concepts and spaces in Watsons are a 'Japanese shop within a shop' at new shopping mall JEM, and a Beautilicious Bar and Naturopathy Bar at its Paragon outlet.

Other brands that have refreshed their identities recently include Eu Yan Sang and Brand’s. 

Tara Hirebet, head of Asia-Pacific at trendwatching.com, said it is important for brands to retain their core values, while repackaging them to fill consumer need gaps and behaviour.

While brands normally deploy modern visual mash-ups, Hirebet said, it is important for beauty, health and FMCG products to come back into vogue.

“As Asia rapidly develops, its urban consumers are worried about how processed and full of toxins and pollution city and megacity life is,” she said. “They are turning back to traditional herbs as a more natural, organic and healthy solution—from skincare to nutrition. They’ve often been exposed to such views and ingredients from parents and grandparents. As such, there is a trust and history already there. But they want them now in a modern, sleek and updated format, with quality control and standards."

She cited the example of Chinese state-owned company Jahwa, which successfully turned its Herborist brand into a premium herbal skincare range that is seen as the “Clarins of China”.

The brand’s premium design identity and packaging, Hirebet said, strongly reflect stylised Chinese aesthetics, such as yin-yang graphics and intricate brocade and jade dragon motifs.

“It has also rolled out a line of Herborist spas that offer traditional Chinese medicine-based therapies like the ‘one-finger skill’ with modern massage techniques, along with herbal facial and beauty treatments that incorporate Herborist products,” she said. “As a result, Herborist now has over 1,000 boutiques across the country.”

Paddy Crawshaw, head of communications planning for Asia-Pacific at OMD, noted that it should be a case of considering whether the opportunity for sustainable growth lies in building youth credentials or whether the path to growth exists in capitalising on existing equity.

“Appealing to young people can be important, not only to extract value from that audience, but also because no one likes to feel old,” he said. “This would be why you don't often see old folk at the wheel in small car ads, despite the fact that they might be an important demographic to target.”

There are opportunities to appear more youthful, he said, with particular accelerants possibly including use of celebrities and product innovation.

“In the end, if you wish to grow the younger audience as a profitable audience in itself, it is the product that counts," he said. "If you can develop a product with a credible and valuable role in their lives then they are more likely to swallow the change in brand direction."

Hari Ramanathan, regional strategy director at Y&R Asia, noted that the principle for refreshing a mature brand is to go back to the core DNA of the brand.

“The DNA of the brand is the original vision––it’s the raison d'etre for the brand,” he added. “And going back to the DNA doesn't mean not being contemporary or connecting with today's audience. That's the 'how' component of communication, returning to the DNA is about the 'what' part of the communication.”

Questions such as ‘What is your brand's purpose?’, ‘What role does it play in people's lives?’ and ‘What is the underlying principle behind why you make the products and services you do?’, Ramanathan said, are the key to driving brand perception and the mission to refresh a brand can be a successful one when brands stay true to their DNA.

“Most mature brands are founded on very simple but vital principles or a vision, and often the brand gets tired or loses leadership when new leaders try to take the brand away from its original promise and intent,” he said. “Brands that are iconic and seem to constantly retain their leadership status in people's minds are the ones that are clear and remain committed to their vision, such as Apple, Starbucks and GE."

Watsons' Chan concurred, noting that the retail chain store made sure that the core or DNA was still identifiable by its shoppers when it went through its brand makeover.

“The challenges lie in how to balance design with functions and how to maximise space to present variety, range of products with adequate stock loading, and adjacency of categories,” he added. “Also, we need to ensure that our concepts can be scaled up or down in other stores.”

Crawshaw warned that the challenge for brands rejuvenating their image would always be to broaden appeal without jeopardising its potentially wealthy and ageing audience.

“In certain categories like fashion or beverages, where life stage is an important perceptual determiner of consumer choice, these risks are obviously greater,” he said.

Hirebet concurred, adding that brands need to ensure that the new image and identity is consistent with the past and maintains their core beliefs, values and meaning, heritage and history.

When Eu Yan Sang implemented a phone-in booking system in 2011, she added, the company also hired trained clinic assistants to communicate better with patients and provided child-friendly play areas.

“This is consistent with, and retains, the personalised attention that Eu Yan Sang’s customers value,” she said.