Verbal Identity Cosmetics White paper - PUBLISHED

www.verbalidentity.com T: 020 3053 8329 E: [email protected]

BRAND LANGUAGE – THE MAGIC INGREDIENT IN COSMETICS?

How smaller cosmetics brands are using language to beat big beauty companies.

www.verbalidentity.com T: 020 3053 8329 E: [email protected]

It’s 7am on Tuesday morning.

You’vejustshowered.Youreachforyour

moisturiser.It’sanintimatemomentbetweenyou,

themirror,andthe$1billionthatL’Oréalspentlast

yearonR&D.

Butwhathappensifabranddoesn'thave$1billion?

Howdoesitwinthatmomentinthebathroom?

Boutiquecosmeticsbrandsareincreasinglyturning

tolanguagetoconvincetheconsumer.

Foranybrandthatfacesabiggerspendingrival,it’s

alessoninhowtoout-thinkthecompetition.

We’veidentified3keytacticsthatbrandsinevery

sectorcanbenefitfrom,withonesurprising

implicationforthegrowthpotentialofmodern

brands.

A linguistic analysis of the boutique cosmetics market

www.verbalidentity.com T: 020 3053 8329 E: [email protected]

“Trust me. I’m a person. Not a corporation.”

Cosmeticsareanintimateproduct,andintimacy

requirestrust.Peoplearelesslikelytotrustbrands

theyhaven’theardmuchofbefore.Butsome

brandsusetheirsmallersizetotheiradvantage,to

createacloserrelationshipbetweenthefounder

andthecustomer.

Typically,thebrandisnamedafterthefounder,it

speaksinthefirstpersonsingular("I","we")andit

usesaninformaltoneofvoicewithuneven

sentencelengthsandasprinklingofcolloquialisms

toechoeverydayconversation.Thisencourages

peopletoperceivethebrandandthefounderas

oneandthesame:thestoryofthebrandisthe

storyofthefounder.

“Our exquisite taste defines everything we do”

Otherboutiquebrandsuseanindirectapproachto

buildtrust.Interestingly,thisisoftenthestrategy

usedbybrandsthatarefoundedbymen.To

establishanemotionalconnectionwiththe

customer,theyemitarefinedaesthetic,andthat

determinestheproductstheymake.So,ifyoutrust

theirtaste,youtrustthebrand.

Thesebrandshavetremendouspotentialfor

growth.Often,‘aestheticbrands’startwith

fragrancesandcandles,thenexpandintoskincare.

Theycouldturntheirhandtomakingleathergoods

orfountainpenswithoutdegradingthebrand’s

promise.Inthisrespect,they’remorelikefashion

housesthancosmeticsbrands.

e.g. KateLoganusescolloquialwords(‘ickyness’,

‘dinky’,‘topsyturvy’)toshowthatsheisthe

authorofherbrand’slanguage.

MayLindstromisexplicitaboutherrolein

theeponymousbrand:‘Iwantedtoshare

thatspecialmomentwitheverywomanI

lovedandcaredabout.’

e.g. Aestheticbrandsareconfidentenoughto

useanesotericlexicon.Byredotalksabout

‘avantgardism’,Diptyquementions

‘Carthage’andLeLaboquotesDostoevsky.

Uber-luxuryupstartsMAVEreference

Brancusi’sseriesofsculptures,‘Birdin

Space’.

www.verbalidentity.com T: 020 3053 8329 E: [email protected]

A blended strategy: VOTARY

Thereareothersmartbrandswhoareblending

someoftheelementswe’vementionedto

introduceadistinctiveidentity.

VOTARYwasfoundedbyCharlotteSemler,a

successfulentrepreneur,andArabellaPreston,a

successfulmake-upartist.(Fulldisclosure:we

createdtheverbalidentityofthebrand.)Thebrand

takesinspirationfromArabellabut,ratherthan

focusingonher,itfocusesonhowherexpertise

benefitsthecustomer.Thebrandfeelslikea

consultationwithher,ratherthanagiftfromher.

VotarylaunchedinAutumn2015throughLiberty,

London.USdistributionstartsinFebruary2016.It’s

abrandtowatch.

“We’re scientists, but we can still talk like human beings.”

Evenintheluxurymarket,thereisroomtoengage

customersontherationalmeritsofyourproduct.

Andalthoughbrandscanbeexperts,theycan’thide

behindjargon.AsEinsteinsaid:‘Ifyoucan’texplain

itsimply,youdon’tunderstanditwellenough.’

Brandscanspeakinthe3rdperson("BrandXdoes

this")tosuggestthecollectiveexpertiseofthe

groupofpeoplebehindthebrand.Butthey’re

carefultomakethescienceseemlessintimidating,

andthebrandmorepersonal,sothattheir

relationshipwiththecustomergoesdeeperthan

justtechnology.Somebrandsusepersonalstories

toillustratethebenefitsoftheiringredients,some

emphasisetheirfamilyorigins,andotherslistthe

syntheticingredientstheyhaveleftout.

e.g. Oskiawasfoundedonasingleingredient–

MSM.TheytellthestoryofhowMSM

helpedthefoundertorecoverfromaskiing

accident.Chantecaillemakeitclearthat

their‘technology’worksinharmonywith

nature(‘theextraordinaryallianceofnature

andscience’).Theyalsoemphasisethat

they’reafamilybusiness.

e.g. Eachinsertinsidethepackagingincludesa

quotationfromArabella,andalsoher

suggestionsonhowyouusetheproduct.

Theluxurycuesareclearfromtheopulent

namesoftheingredientsthatrestonthe

frontofthepackaging.Ithasastrong

aestheticsensibility,butitalsoshowsa

modernunderstandingofhowoilswork.

www.verbalidentity.com T: 020 3053 8329 E: [email protected]

Alastair Hussain AlistheSeniorWriterandAnalystatVerbal

Identity.Hejoinedin2014.

Heappliesrigorousanalyticalthinkingto

strategicandcreativeproblems,andhaswritten

forsomeoftheworld’sbiggestbrands.

Chris West ChrisisHeadofVoicesatVerbalIdentity.He

foundedthecompanyin2011.

Heisamultipleaward-winningcopywriterand

brandstrategyconsultantfortheworld’smost

interestingbrands.

Verbal Identity is a brand strategy agency who specialise in the magic and mechanics of language.