Neutrogena has a winner with Fight & Fade cream

Household & Personal Products Industry, Feb, 2009 by Suzanne Grayson

IT'S GREAT to start off the year with a high-profile product that is sure to generate much needed traffic for the stores. Neutrogena's new entry for its Rapid Clear line, Fight & Fade is an excellent lesson on how to do it right.

The most successful new launches and their accompanying ads come from products that have specific, recognized and reachable targets, especially for those consumers who have high-need problems for which solutions can be clearly outlined. The acne market was a relatively small part of the skin care business until the unknown dermatologists' brand, Proactiv, found a non-traditional channel--TV infomercials--to present its problem/solution products in an educational context.

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The lesson here is that real breakthroughs; i.e., Giorgio's scent sampling in magazines, infomercials, QVC, etc., are keys to major growth scenarios. Notice that of these, all were direct to the consumer, bypassing the established channels of distribution. The audited channels have been struggling in growth (many categories are on the minus side), leading one to believe that the once dynamic industry growth is no longer. Not so. It's just showing up in channels which are not audited; i.e., professional, spas, specialty beauty, internet, house-to-house, etc. Professional analyses from the likes of Kline, Datamonitor and Euromonitor are helpful, but they are not audit-equivalent. In June 2004, The Grayson Report published a distribution chart demonstrating the major changes in distribution (places where consumers could purchase beauty products) over the last 20 years. What was true then is even more so today. For a copy, just send an e-mail to the address below.

A Booming Market

Proactiv's great success opened the door to the now booming acne market--no longer the sole purview of dermatologist's offices--as traditional marketers finally latched on and brought multi-product acne programs/system solutions to a drug store near you. Johnson & Johnson was already a heavyweight in this business with Clean & Clear, when Neutrogena, with its dermatology heritage and base of oily skin products, launched its major Rapid Clear line of products not too long ago. What a great benefit name, plus a promise of instant gratification. Now, Neutrogena has added Rapid Clear Fight & Fade, to create a new positioning segment, "fading of acne marks/scars" and has named the category to boot! Bravo Neutrogena! These audits present the second highest scores (published or private audits) that we've ever recorded for both THE BrandAudit and THE AdAudit. Caveat. A great ad/claim that is not perceived by the consumer, is the worst thing a brand can do, (see HE BRANDAUDIT report on Kinerase in the October 2008 issue. For a complete list of more than 50 published scores, just drop me a line at suzanne@graysonassociates.com.) While one can learn from the mistakes of others, it's even better to discover what works--there are examples galore in both of these Fight & Fade audits.

A Winning Ad

First, let's look at THE BrandAudit scores whose high numbers are due to the new added-benefit segment--fading acne marks. Neutrogena uncovered a previously ignored/ undiscovered consumer need, and created a new sub-category and ultimate end benefit--and named it, 2-in-1 Fight & Fade. And, the name is clearly defined on the package. The ad, while it lost a few points for being a bit busy/screaming, is virtually perfect in every other way, with a 94.41 score, (did you notice that the word "Fade" actually fades?). Headline is a stopper with a clear benefit. Then, there's both real and psychological targeting with the (consumer) quote, "I don't know what's worse, embarrassing breakouts or the marks they leave behind." Add a demo, plus visual support for permission-to-believe the fight and fade news/claim. Note that the before and after photo has a disclaimer, "dramatization of typical results," but the consumer will perceive it to be "her" benefit. The signoff is--"The one and only 2-in-one of its kind?" This ad is a case study for anyone interested in creating powerful ads. It is powerful for its communication values, and not because it is so strong in its presentation. The lesson here is: dig/dig/dig for the final/ final/final end benefit, real and/or imagined for success in positioning.

SUZANNE GRAYSON

GRAYSON ASSOCIATES

TheBrandAudit is a Grayson Associates proprietary new marketing technique to determine the success potential of a new product concept or execution, prior to launch. Or, fur an existing sluggish product or line, it will analyze its strengths and weaknesses, against key competition. The audit score is based upon Grayson Associates' 29 "keys-to-success" criteria for the key marketing categories of Product, Positioning, Consumer Appeal, Competition and Marketing Potential. A score less than 80 (out of 100) means trouble in the marketplace. The BrandAudit will appear bi-monthly. contact: suzanne@graysonassdciates.com.

TheBrandAudit

Category               Score %   % Achieved

Product                 19.56      97.80
Positioning             22.12      98.30
Consumer Appeal         19.84      99.20
Competition             14.46      96.40
Marketing Potential     71.21      76.50
Total:                  74.50     Powerful

TheAdAudit

Category                Score    % Achieved

Headline                24.50       98.00
Visual Impact           24.54       89.25
Copy                    22.86       91.45
Consumer Appeal         22.50      100.00
                        94.41     Powerful

Copyright: Grayson Associates, 2009