Unpacking Brand Equity

Challenge

Helping a leading makeup brand illuminate their target segment and reaffirm its brand positioning.

A leading makeup brand sought to illuminate a specific segment and reaffirm its brand positioning, requiring a creative methodology and humanistic approach. Through exploring motivations to wear, buy, collect, and engage with cosmetics on a daily basis we needed to uncover new approaches to cater to make up wearers.

Approach

To understand our target segment, we needed to reach beyond traditional ethnography. In our 2-hour interactive at-home “Beauty School Drop In” interviews with “A+” friends, we recruited sets of makeup enthusiasts to understand their passions for makeup and how those passions influenced their closest relationships. We pinpointed which brands and/or products are speaking to makeup users and why, especially in a world of seemingly endless options. By including our clients in the process and encouraging them to ask questions, they were able to clearly understand how people felt while interacting with an array of products.

Impact

Our research helped drive differentiation for this legacy brand in a category dominated by newcomers by developing and renovating foundational brand strengths for successful audience retention.