Growing the iconic Brillo brand
Innovation has never been more challenging – but it’s still the most powerful engine of long-term business growth
The economy is tough, and consumer buying patterns seem to be polarising – with shoppers increasingly buying either the cheapest solution or a premium options that deliver the emotional values & functional attributes they care about.
So when the owners of the iconic Brillo brand asked us to help them extend it into new categories – we knew we had to do it right!
Understanding the brand’s equity
Brillo Soap Pads have been around for well over a century.
In a ‘non-stick world’ pads are less widely used than they used to be, but are known and respected by virtually all.
Even non-users associate the Brillo brand with values like simplicity, efficacy – and brilliant cleaning
It was clear the brand had strengths that would easily transfer into parallel, ‘tough’ cleaning categories – but this would have to be achieved without diluting the core equity.
Understanding what consumers care about
Generic understandings are worthless – we needed to observe consumers’ relationships with their tasks, listen for weak signals and probe their dissatisfactions.
In Home
We observed them as they undertook their cleaning tasks, and quizzed them about their motivations and frustrations…
In Store
We talked to them as they shopped for their regular solutions, and probed cues they looked for and why …
In Use
And placed early product samples with them, and sought their in-use reactions as they trialled potential solutions.
We quickly identified two high-potential ‘clusters’ of consumers who were particularly open to our new solutions:
- Cleaning Lovers: Who found cleaning therapeutic – and got genuine emotional satisfaction out of achieving a brilliant result
- Results Seekers: Who were far less engaged in the process, but sought a brilliant result – with less effort
We also identified that whilst consumers were keen to discover more effective solutions, they’re reluctant to change their existing behaviours – in case they have to undertake an unpleasant task twice!
Generating brilliant task-cleaning propositions
We leveraged our insights and ran a creative workshop with our client to generate propositions that delivered meaningful benefits against consumers’ current needs & frustrations, whilst remaining true to the Brillo brand.
We used extended co-creation groups to creatively explore the brand’s elasticity, identify which propositions were most engaging, which claims were most motivating, and how pack & design could add value.
We quickly identified that consumers were very open to the Brillo brand entering new categories, and confident that it would add value to their arsenal of cleaning products
Are propositions disruptive enough?
One of the biggest challenges any new product faces is disrupting existing consumer purchasing habits – and our early-stage insight gathering had suggested that changing behaviours in these categories might be particularly challenging.
We utilised Concept Sauce’s digital fixture to simulate reality – and evaluate the performance of two pack designs that had performed particularly well in qual.
It was clear consumers were happy that the Brillo brand had the credibility to break into the new categories and deliver something relevant …
BUT the existing brand-led pack designs and on-pack claims were nowhere near disruptive enough!
Generating relevant & disruptive claims
The Brillo brand clearly added credibility, but fixture simulation made it clear that every SKU had to fight significantly harder to overcome consumers’ aversion to the risk of behaviour change.
Naturally, we continued to use Brillo as an endorser – to reassure that the whole range will deliver brilliant results, but it was clear every element on pack had to work hard to convince consumers that Brillo’s new products are better than their current solution
SO, we also explored a series of new communication hierarchies that leverage product name & claims to tell the superior efficacy story aggressively.
Innovation that will grow & strengthen the Brillo equity
While innovation is never easy, and nobody can guarantee the success of a new product launch, Brillo’s new task cleaner range could not be stronger.
Every SKU now makes a compelling performance claim – that has been proven in independent research.
Every SKU now clearly communicates the power of the new formulations in a way that maximises engagement with both Cleaning Loving & Results Seeking consumers.
And every SKU also prominently carries the Brillo logo – which in itself acts as a guarantee of efficiency!
How can we help you deliver more successful innovation?
The cost of innovation failure remains high, but it remains the only long-term engine of organic growth.
In our experience, a modest investment in:
- Understanding your consumer – and what they care about
- Creating relevant & differentiated propositions – which genuinely add value
- Crafting motivating claims & branding – that really cut through at the point of purchase
Will dramatically improve your prospects of success
It CERTAINLY worked for Brillo.
In case you still need convincing!
Our approach has evolved a lot over the last thirty years.
We’ve adopted agile, disruptive and co-creative approaches and tools..
However, some things remain constant:
- No cookie-cutter approach: every process is tailored to our client’s needs
- Senior team: we’ll dig deep to understand your challenge and come up with a solution that works
- We’ll always over-deliver: even if the budget doesn’t cover it
- Insight will always drive the solution: every time!
Brand Development: still solving real consumer problems with fresh eyes, still unconfined by conventional market wisdom!
Let us help you innovate!
We can help you spot new opportunities for innovation, but we can also help you craft your existing concepts into winners …
And it doesn’t have to cost a fortune or take long to make it happen.
No matter how big your innovation challenge, tight your timeline, or modest your budget – we have the agile insight, concepting & co-creation tools that will help you understand your consumers’ unmet needs and generate the growth you need.
Give us a call on +44 1491 411272, or connect with David or Joanna via LinkedIn
We custom-build solutions for every client – that deliver brilliant results!