Himalaya Launches Cocoa Butter
Himalaya, a well-known brand in the region was about to launch a new product, Himalaya Cocoa Butter.
The agency’s mandate was to introduce the new product to the market guided by set objectives that would help to strategically build the brand, improve brand recall, enhance its visibility, and ultimately increase sales.
Matrix was entrusted to spearhead PR activities that would establish the values of the brand and its product with the media and consumers.
The agency was also briefed to stimulate support for the product over a sustained period of time to make it a preferred choice with the target audience.
The key objective was to launch and enhance visibility of the product in the region, raise awareness about its unique herbal ingredients and its genuine benefits.
To create a buzz around the launch of the product and raise awareness of the goodness of the product.
Promote its texture/ingredients and competitive pricing.
To create maximum media exposure thereby positioning it as a must-have skincare cream in the winters.
A stronger consumer preference for “lotions” over “creams” owing to the perception of creams.
To enter mindsets and markets that already have their preference for certain brands and products.
Low awareness about the products’ herbal ingredients, its benefits, and effects.
Late entrant into an overly competitive, oversaturated beauty/skincare mass market and no celebrity endorsements.
In the UAE, lotion offtakes are 1.3x of cream offtakes (Nielsen data). However available data showed that there was visible momentum on this variant, pointing towards a consumer preference for cocoa butter’s well established nourishment properties.
Within the cream segment, Intensive creams are a big segment, where Himalaya is not as strong. Hence, cocoa butter intensive body cream represented a good opportunity to drive Himalaya’s share in this segment.
Given that the competition had a head start, the agency recognized that certain creative measures had to be taken to get the media to notice and experience the brand.
The agency’s strategy was to create and develop a sustainable platform for the new product.
Make the media and consumers aware of the uniqueness and effectiveness of this product and in spite of being a ‘cream’ and not a ‘lotion’, its non-greasy texture and ease to blend in with the skin.
Highlight how it is different by positioning it as a must-have product as part of the winter skincare regime and changing the buying preference of consumers.
Engage key stakeholders (lifestyle/beauty bloggers, editors, and influencers) to act as brand advocates to set the ball rolling.
Media Relations
Influencer Marketing
Event
Invite leading beauty/lifestyle print media and bloggers to the launch event in order to get maximum mileage for the launch event.
Create an experiential event whereby the media and guests would understand and appreciate its effectiveness and uniqueness. This included hand massage stations that escalated the experience for the media and guests.
A seven-day challenge that included a list of 7 different tasks the media had to perform and post pictures on their social media handles generating a lot of online mentions thus boosting brand popularity.
Through an integrated PR program that revolved around product launch, its positioning and key messages
54 key print, electronic, and digital media attended the launch event
68 clippings in key media
Cumulative reach of over 4,000K - Engagement for Facebook – 9% and Instagram – 9.5%
Reached over 150,000 viewers for the launch video across social media platforms
Empowering women in their fearless pursuit of beauty
Creating awareness for a new range of herbal products
Strategic partnerships maximizes media campaign
