The Background
Superdrug wanted to engage a younger, more fashion-forward audience: an audience that would come in-store to glam-up and experiment. Affordable beauty has long been part of Superdrug’s core proposition and so extending it to affordable beauty services seemed to be a logical step.
Superdrug introduced a unique high-end beauty store format that complemented and lifted its retail offering: pick up a nail polish and have it applied by a pro, buy a hair dye and get your roots touched up in store, choose some falsies but avoid the sticky fingers
To encourage the young and beauty-conscious to join the fun, strut their stuff and get pampered, Origin was tasked with creating a whole new brand for the store – plus an über-glamorous launch campaign.
The Strategy
The launch campaign for the first store in Cardiff had to do two jobs: engage a local audience, and generate excitement around the concept at a national level within the customer demographic and among influencers (beauty bloggers, for example) – with a view to rolling out the new format nationwide.
Origin created dedicated brands for beauty and hair salons that would integrate stylishly into a store environment and provide a platform for a glamorous launch campaign: Beauty Studio and Hair Space were born.
The Solution
Origin’s creative concept for Beauty Studio and Hair Space is a mix of 1950s retro glam and pop art: candy-coloured and fun.
Origin developed engaging, shareable digital content that could feature on store displays and interactive/mirrored screens – connecting the salon with the online world of dedicated followers of fashion and beauty.
We produced all photography and artwork for in-store and communications. We developed the salon logos and colour palette and applied this throughout all interiors and products. We also devised copy and messaging for the launch campaign.
State-of-the-art screens were used, for which Origin created all-digital content including design and production of animated creative as well as delivery for gondola ends, mirrored footfall screens and catwalk.
The team even came up with a digital screen delivery system that deploys real-time content to all screens and developed a selfie app, allowing customers to take a pic or video of themselves strutting down the in-store catwalk and share it instantly.
The Results
The result is a Beauty Studio and Hair Space that are as fun as a 1950s salon, rollers at the ready, but kitted out to the hilt with interactive technology – displaying tailored and changing content and allowing customers to create their own. All in the spirit of the campaign line: #treatyourselfie.
The store launch was at the beginning of July, so the (number-crunching) jury is out, but beauty bloggers absolutely loved it.