DESGRIPPES GOBE HONG KONG REFRESHES AVON’S CLEAWHITE IN CHINA

Avon China has revitalized its popular whitening skin care range, Cleawhite. The re-launch involved an upgrade to the formulation and a complete re-design of the branding. The branding revitalization includes a new brand identity, structural design and packaging graphics.

(Hong Kong, June 28th, 2007)

Avon chose Desgrippes Gobé Hong Kong for the re-branding exercise, capitalizing on DG’s considerable experience in the beauty category, and the group’s growing presence in China and Asia.

Summer is the high season for whitening products, and the re-branding was timed to meet this key selling season. New Cleawhite targets the “masstige” segment in China, and provides consumers with exceptionally beautiful skin that “glows with translucency”. The branding and product revitalization project aims to refresh and modernize the Cleawhite brand and to add premium-ness and youthfulness to the brand, thus making it more appealing to consumers who are looking for a trusted skin care brand that performs beyond their expectations.

The challenge for Desgrippes Gobé was to lift the brand, focusing not just on Cleawhite’s core attribute which is its whitening effect on skin; but also to demonstrate the vitality, sophistication, spontaneity and “go-getter attitude”, reflected in the Avon consumer’s mindset.

Desgrippes Gobé first concentrated on enhancing the shape and material selection for the bottle. The vitality essence is characterized by the iriodine effect on the pearlized bottle material. This is to represent an outer light, a radiance, that the user will feel after having used Cleawhite. “The round shape with a rectangular front panel delivers a modern, sensual look but does not sacrifice the feelings of intimacy and caring that we wish to convey.” said Regina Yeung, Group Brand Manager, Marketing & New Product Development for Avon-Asia Pacific.

The new brand identity and the outer box graphics were then designed and integrated with the new bottle to highlight the radiance and “shine” that the brand delivers.

For Avon, it is important to keep challenging the department store counter brands in both quality and image – that’s essential to any package in a competitive category, but especially so in the direct sales channel. The hotly contested skin care category in China has more and more foreign and local brands battling for share in this fast-growing market.
 
The new Cleawhite was launched in May in Japan, and in June in China.

For more information, contact:
Craig Briggs, Managing Director, Asia
Desgrippes Gobé Hong Kong
Unit 3105-6, 248 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong,
Phone: 852-3106-8722
Email: cbriggs@dga.com

About Desgrippes Gobé
Desgrippes Gobé is a world leader in design, image strategy and brand management consulting. It was founded in 1971, in Paris, by Joël Desgrippes. Soon thereafter he was joined by Marc Gobé, who opened the New York office in 1985. The Group then expanded to Asia (Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai), and reinforced its presence in Europe (Brussels). Today it is one of the “Top 5” international design companies, offering its clients a complete range of branding services. Desgrippes Gobé’s philosophy and approach are defined by the “Emotional Branding” concept developed by Marc Gobé in the eponymously named best-selling book. In 2006, the Desgrippes Gobé Group generated $31 million in sales, and today has a staff of 150 persons throughout the world.

About Desgrippes Gobé Asia
Desgrippes Gobé’s first Asia office, in Tokyo, was established in 1991.  Now with operations in 4 offices across Asia in Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai, the Group’s “Emotional Branding” philosophy is applied across a spectrum of industries and for a variety of branding applications, ranging from strategy for brand creation and re-positioning, packaging and shape design, corporate and brand identity, naming and retail environments.