My Role.

Collaborated with a team of Parsons designers and Columbia MBA students on developing an extensive brand study based on primary research such as interviews, store observations, website observations, competitor analysis.

Further developed Personas and Journey Maps based on gathered insights and presented those findings in addition to our recommendations. 

Skills Practiced

• Design-led research

• Client relations

• UX Design

• Graphic Design

Brand Study.

The first part of the process consisted of a brand study. We reviewed the following for Clé de Peau:

• Company & Product Overview

• Distribution channels

• Digital presence

• Store presence

• Digital connection with clients

• Brand connection with clients

• Sales & Promotion

• Events, Partnerships & Influencers

We then conducted different assessments for:

• Mystery shopping, assessment of their distribution channels

• Website & Digital assessment

• Events & Partnerships assessment

Competitive Analysis.

Four P’s Analysis of Clé de Peau’s competitors in the beauty industry. We also further proposed different opportunities for CPB based on our research, the key takeaways are:

Promotion: Competitors are focusing on events and partnerships to raise brand awareness

Place: Interactive pop-ups are a way to drive customer excitement and brand awareness

People: Industry is shifting towards self-discovery and away from sales-associate guided shopping

Price: Need to educate the consumer to convince them to spend on luxury skin care, communicate CPB’s value

Interviews.

Brand Discovery

• Word of Mouth

  • Friends

  • Mother/Daughter

• Multi-brand retailers (Sephora)

• Instagram

• Dermatologists

• Estheticians

• Blogs

Purchase Drivers

• Running out of existing product

• Changing skincare needs

• Heard a lot of buzz about a particular product

• Favorite retailer has a sale or promotion

• Sales consultant

• Tend to try one thing at a time before trusting a brand

  • Sample or travel size

• Effectiveness > ingredients

We conduced a total of 48 interviews for the following segments:

• 100% were Female

• Friends, family, and professional contacts

• Ages spanned 22 to 57

• Primarily East Coast, West Coast, & Texas

• Mixture of Asian backgrounds and non-Asian

• Some in workforce, some not

• Variety of different professions

• All with disposable income to purchase CPB

• Some beauty industry expertise reflected

Main Beauty Needs

• Aging

  • Preventive

  • Reactive

• Skin tone

  • Unevenness

  • Spots

  • Redness

• Reduce pore size

• Dark circles

• Breakouts

• Seeking a glow

• Moisture, especially in colder months

Key Takeaways

• Need to focus on efficacy and results

• Show close up of skin

• Introduce to CPB with one product, not whole collection

• Authenticity of reviews and recommendations drives recruitment, network effects

• People care more about results than science

Personas & Journey Mapping.

With our goal to expand Clé de Peau’s presence into the US market and build brand awareness, based on our interview findings, we decided to refine our focus on the Gen X Royalty & HENRY customer segments.

We further developed different client personas and journey maps to create consensus between the US consumer and CPB’s desired brand perception that balances science, products, and feeling, all without compromising the CPB DNA. 

Key Takeaways.

• Brand Awareness: What do we want the customer to know about CPB?

• Online experience: How can we improve “discovery” experience on cledepeaubeaute.com?

• In-store animations: How can we attract attention in competitive department store multi-brand environment

• Seasonality opportunities: How can we use change of seasons to impact purchase behavior?

• Personalization: How can we provide a personalized experience?

• People are interested in makeup that is also good for their skin. This is a great differentiation point to highlight.

• Most prioritized efficacy over advanced ingredients, technology, or natural ingredients.

• People value group consensus (recommendations and reviews) over being unique. They want to know that what they buy will work.

• Authenticity guides recommendations, but recommendation channels are variable. Few discover products through social media, most through a “trusted” source.

• Aging is the biggest skin concern, regardless of age.

Guiding Questions.



Recommendations.

1. A campaign focusing on dermatologists & estheticians with activations at key trade events

   • Build credibility for brand

   • Help deliver science-backed brand story

   • Gain “influencers” & vendors to convert The Good Patient, The Au Natural, & The Spa/Facial Regular

2. Building off the first campaign, we will create a digital campaign & consumer-facing pop-up that will use a combination of dermatologist & esthetician ambassadors & beauty influencers to convert the experimentalist.

1. The majority considered new products based on the recommendations of dermatologists & estheticians:

   • The Good Patient

   • The Au Natural

   • The Spa/Facial Regular

2. The Experimentalist/Makeup Junkie represented another segment with strong potential for consideration and also significant spend on beauty

3. We realized that The Beauty Student was not a large proportion of new GEN X & HENRY customers and is already well addressed by CPB’s efforts to date

Our Customer Centric Campaigns.

The Outcome.

Taking inspiration from Shiseido’s S/Park innovation center in Japan, designed alongside my team experiences that would cater to two types of audiences - skincare obsesses who take their cues from dermatologists and aestheticians and makeup junkies who are interested in experimenting. 

Awareness-focused strategies that 1) leverage respect for information elites in beauty-client journeys, 2) champion and extend the boundaries of bonding social capital in the digital world, 3) return identity control in an ecosystem of wholesale through pop-up experiences that coincide with seasonal shifts to heighten brand discovery at times when women need it most.