the silent influencers- written in 2004, bradford, uk
Post on 21-Oct-2014
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I wrote this in 2004- many moons ago... as my last presentation in Bradford, where I had gone for the Chevening scholarship. The last section is about what I learnt there as a person.TRANSCRIPT
The Silent PersuadersCreating Beauty brands for the
“heartscape”
Buying Beauty off the shelves
Promises through the years
• A picture perfect face
• New Beauty benefits
• Value added products
The formula hasn’t changed
The Adman’s ( woman’s) cut
• Weave dreams
• Perfectionism
• Creating beauty icons
A face speaks a thousand words
Lakme
Creating a difference
• Investing in emotions
• Unique cuts, unique executions
• Focus on the “persona”
• Brands with attitude
AttitudeKnock out Beauty
Knock out
Good ads, well executed, clear message…But…is there more to beauty…
What can make us stand apart…
Learnings
Lost in the “sameness”
Superficial beauty
Impossibly beautiful “perfect” women
Emotions /benefits restricted to “feelings”
( confidence, freedom etc)
Result: Very replicable.More of the same.
What Women Say
Quotable quotes
• “ I think the worst part is the model’s bodies. When I see them I hate my body. I want to be like them and they make me diet all the time. I am really tired of this.( Eva, 22)
• “ The girls in the ads are too beautiful. I try to be like them but I can never have their hair and skin.”- Meera, 19, Kolkatta, India
• “Everybody has limitation and better be realistic about it and do the best that you can. No matter how much make up you wear, it can’t turn you into Cindy Crawford.”- college student, Indonesia
• “We are bombarded today with images of the "perfect" woman... She is tall and willowy, weighing at least 20% less than what her height requires. She rarely looks older than 25,( 18 in India) has no visible flaws on her skin, and her hair and clothes are always immaculate. One "perfect woman" looks pretty much like the next…” Naomi Wolf ,in her book, “The Beauty Myth”
Where does this leave our consumer?
• Stereotypical beauty aspiration– Not a choice but a
compulsion
• Unachievable beauty images
• Disbelieve and disenchantment
• Goes for price as a deciding factor– Commoditising the brand
Learnings
Buying into the category, not necessarily the brand
Cynical disbelief
Does not resonate with her life, the issues she faces
Result: Does not bond with the brand
A Moment of reflection
I have often wondered…How can we create a mark?
How can we make them see differently?
What if we made them “see” …but not through just their eyes?
What if we made them “see” through their hearts…
The Heart of a Woman
From Head to Heart- “Heartscape” brands
• Defining Heartscape– Space in a woman’s heart
• Defining Heartscape brands– When the brand in her “heart’s eye” takes the form of an entity, a
relationship.
• The power of the heartscape– Influencers
• Role of beauty in the heartscape
If beauty can trigger off strong emotions for a woman, there exists a powerful potential for creating strong heartscape brands for beauty products.
How can advertising help create
“heartscape” brands?
How can we move away from picture perfect imagery to
credible, achievable and a “realness” in
beauty?
The lotus flowerEmbodiment of Simultaneous Cause and Effect
Complete the spectrum
Cause
Feelings
Action
How do we create a concept of achievable beauty that reaches out to
her heart?
• Create a beauty definition that transcends looks
– It is about action
• Address issues close to her heart– Celebrate her as a woman.
• True beauty does not end with just an external payoff like appreciation for “looks”.– The appreciation stems from what she does with her
looks
Result
Unique
Not replicable
Meaningful
Demystifying beauty- Cause and Effect
• By using “real” women
• By using “real life” scripts,
– Where Beauty and brains coexist– Where Beauty is a means to an end and not an end
in itself
1. “Real women”in reel life
• Dove in the U.K– As tested on real
curves
• Boots in the UK– No impossibly
beautiful models
• Women comfortable with their bodies
• Realistic benefits
Dove
Boots
2. “Real life”in reel life
• When beauty and personality go hand in hand
• Beauty brands act as enhancers for confidence and self belief, leading to positive action
• Real life advertising– Heart Insights – Life scripts– Happy women
Pond’s
What women want…“Half the sky”
Listen to her heart
• What appeals to her
• What concerns her
• What makes her smile
• What does she dream of
• What does she aspire for
• What does she look for in life
The power of affirmative imagery
• Making her believe in herself
• Using beauty as a spring board for realizing her dreams- use it as her strength
• When beauty is no longer a face value
• Make her stand up and take notice
• Reach out to her deepest emotion
There’s more to beauty than just “beauty”
• Beauty
• Glamour
• Fundamental women truths
• A powerfully expressed thought
Breaking the category idiom
To Conclude…
• Beauty is a strength, to spur us to action in whatever we want to achieve and realize
• Beauty is the means to an end
• It’s the end that determines a truly beautiful person
Reflections…
Three months in Bradford
Questioning myself
• What do I want out of life?
• Am I truly happy?
• If not, what am I doing about it?
• What is it that will make me happy?
Rediscovering myself
• What I think of myself vs what others think of me
• Wanting to make a difference– As a professional– As a woman– As an influencer
Life Learnings
A beautiful person is one that wins the heart
Perfectionism can be a weakness
Identifying my leadership style
Respecting the team
Being aware of discrimination, however small
Being open to change
Friends can be soulmates too
Thanks to the beautiful women, who made me realize how special it is to be a woman
I go back to a new morning, a new beginning…