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Packaging Deviations in a Crowded Category:

How Taking the Color out of Hair Color Lessens the Fight to Be Noticed

Dr. Cronin-Gilmore

BA 463: Global Brand Marketing

Packaging Deviations in a Crowded Category:

How Taking the Color out of Hair Color Lessens the Fight to Be Noticed

Beauty is only skin deep, but luckily (for the cosmetics industry), beautiful skin comes with deep pockets. This multi-billion dollar industry touches every continent and nearly every country in the world. The fight for an increasing piece of market share is a brutal one, and each cosmetics category is rife with competition. For example, at-home hair coloring products bring in “billions annually” in the U.S. alone, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Martin, 2010, n. page). This category is dominated by four major hair color manufacturers, namely L’Oreal, Revlon, Garnier Nutrisse, and Clairol, all of which have several hair color lines under them. Combined with a plethora of minor players, packaging in this category of cosmetics has turned supermarket shelves throughout the country into a veritable battle ground for the attention of consumers.

Clearly, packaging hair color presents both unique challenges, and unique opportunities. Most cosmetic products are very closely tied to image, and so there is the ever-present challenge of projecting an image on packages that targeted consumers will identify with. Furthermore, at its very root, this is a product that sells color, and so bold design and packages should draw consumers in. Nonetheless, in the fight for consumer attention in a product class with mixed brand loyalty, John Frieda has tried something dramatically different for the debut of their Precision Foam Hair Color product line: they have removed the color from their hair color packaging.

The new packaging of John Frieda’s hair color features and black and white photo covering half of , followed by a black band offering the brand name in white font, and a swatch of the hair color at the bottom. More than 70% of the front of this package is completely void of color. A black and white hair color box is certainly a radical idea, but is it effective? To address that question, one must examine the packaging in light of the following categories:

The following discussion of each category analyzes the effectiveness of the decision to feature a mostly black and white package for a hair color product.

1.
Shelf Presence
: Busy, on-the-go consumers may not have the time to comparison shop that, making the prime eye-level spots on supermarket shelves just as relevant and valuable as they have always been. In the case of John Frieda, as a new entrant to the market and a relatively high-cost option (coming in at more than $10 a box, where the majority of other options are in the $6-$9 range), they have been denied this position in at least one Baltimore supermarket. On a display of hair color varieties eight tiers high in some places, these boxes appear at the very top, at least six feet off the ground and therefore way over the heads of most of their target consumers.

Other brands have up to fifteen boxes facing out to feature different color shades and thereby emphasizing all of their product offering, while {brand} had only five shades displayed, and a significantly less share of the shelf space. Were this package reminiscent of its competitors, its shelf presence alone might be considered brand atrocity, as it would truly be too easy to overlook placed so high, and with so little visual repetition. Nonetheless, the effect of the aesthetic attributes at this package all but over-ride its placement misfortune.

2.
Brand Equity:
Regardless of its effectiveness on the consumer at the point of purchase, the packaging for this new line is certainly in line with the word the John Frieda Web site uses most frequently to promote it, and that is revolutionary. The landing site for John Frieda hair colors begins with a video, which promotes this concept. Once at the home page for this microsite, words reiterating this concept abound, including “ground-breaking,” as well as “unique” (John Frieda, 2011, n. page). Most interesting, however, is the repeated use of the word “now” in describing the effectiveness of the color, as though hair color was never effective before.

Though new to the home hair color market, John Frieda is a very well known name in the cosmetic industry. Prior to the launch of this line, John Frieda was a name typically associated with salon products. Much like Starbucks brought the idea of superior coffee to the supermarket shelves when they transitioned the beans into this new channel, John Frieda hair products build on their superiority as a cosmetic brand. All of the other leading makers of hair color are brands that rely heavily on supermarket distribution, and therefore have become associated with this channel. John Frieda, as a new entrant, brings the prestige of the salon to your neighborhood store. This packaging supports this idea—as a salon brand, John Frieda does things differently. This brand does not need to profane its box with bold colors, the package implies, since their name and quality can stand for itself.

3.
Aesthetics:
Black and white packaging is radical, and jarring, and, at first glance, surprisingly effective for hair color. Current consumers often feel sensory overload given the sheer volume of marketing messages individuals see on a daily basis. Walking through the aisle of a product like hair color, where color is king, is in and of itself something an overwhelming experience. Other hair color packaging screams at consumers using bold fonts, large images, and virtually every color imaginable.

The box for {brand} is almost a relief—a calm, tranquil image amidst a sea of bright-color carnage. In fact, the effect of walking past this can almost be described as a temporary pause during an incredibly loud heavy metal concert. The simple image and lack of color create a moment of quiet for the consumer. Furthermore, it is so different from its competitors, that the eye is not exactly drawn there, but rather pulled right to the box.

4.
Sales:
John Frieda has many strong elements working towards the success of this brand. The distribution strategy is solid, as evinced by its quick arrival on supermarket shelves. Though the placement leaves something to be desired, the package combats this with a revolutionary feel. The product will build on the equity of the John Frieda name, and immediately hold a place of esteem in a consumer’s mind. The only looming question is how the pricing strategy will impact sales. Most home hair-colorists are such because of their sensitivity to the price of salon services. Despite strong brand recognition, the John Frieda brand runs the risk of becoming a novelty, like its packaging. Unless the product itself delivers superior results, it is questionable whether or not it will garner repeat business, or one-hit-wonders among those drawn in by the package, but not retained by the product.

All of the above seem to clearly indicate that, at least in this case, radical is effective an getting consumer attention. The looming question will be whether or not the product, pricing, and promotion of this new brand can carry its success after the novelty brought by its simplicity has faded.

References:

“Precision Foam Hair Color.” (2011). John Frieda Web site. Retrieved 4/30/2011 from http://www.johnfrieda.com/en-US/homecolour/home/

Martin, Adrienne Johnson. (12/31/2010). “Trends: More women finding silver lining in not coloring hair.” Saint Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieve 4/30/2011 from Proquest.

� Photo from http://www.johnfrieda.com/en-US/homecolour/precision-foam-colour/