PRESCRIBEDSolutions

Situation Analysis

PRESCRIBEDSolutions [Customized skincare] was sold only in physicians’ offices and was a complicated story to tell.  Also the line was launched several years before with little press, and there were no new products, so there was no news. In addition, the concept of customized skincare had already been written about, and there were several competitors ahead of them in the marketplace.  Further complicating matters, the company’s distribution was not national, so it was harder to get national press coverage.  On the positive side, the company had several dermatologists who sold this brand and were willing to promote it as spokespeople.

Strategy/Implementation:

We began by setting up the problem, to which the brand offered the solution, i.e. that there is a need for physician intervention in skincare purchases.  First, we fielded a market research survey that showed that women did not understand their own skincare needs and needed professional help.  Then, we partnered with the Skincare Dermatology Specialists Society (SDSS), a third party professional organization, to provide credibility to the message.  Then we set up a cadre of local and national dermatologist spokespeople.

Next, we simplified the story.  Because most beauty editors in New York understood the concept of customizing smoothies at Jamba Juice, we positioned the brand as the “Jamba Juice” of cosmetics in our media outreach.  We set up deskside briefings with many top women’s magazines and conducted consumer and trade media outreach targeting national and key markets.

Results:

The results were excellent.  We helped the brand garner over 35 million trade and consumer audience impressions, including coverage in the New York Times, Vogue, New Beauty, Real Simple, Health, Zink, Dermatology Times, Dermatologic Surgery Times. The media buzz and increased sales helped prepare the company for acquisition and it was sold in 2009.