The launch strategy was co-developed by the two firms to ensure they rolled out a strong and effective plan both online and offline.
“With its breadth of stores, customer data and market insights… A.S. Watson is able to help brands develop products and grow their presence in new markets,” said the company in a statement.
Maximum exposure
A.S. Watson shared that focusing on customer reach and exposure were key in making the TRESemmé launch successful.
With over 130 million members in its loyalty programmes, the company has the largest active loyalty member base in the world.
The company used SMS to communicate with 300,000 members of its Watsons loyalty programme, and an additional five million customers through a social media campaign on consumer review app Dianping, which is commonly thought of as a Chinese version of Yelp.
To round up promotion, the companies invited Chinese actress Jiang Xin to a Watsons in Guangzhou for the brand launch, which was broadcasted online.
Following the launch, Unilever and A.S. Watson continued to work together to grow and develop its digital promotion plans. The extended partnership saw a promising 128% uplift for sales of TRESemmé haircare products.
Bérengère Loubatier, Unilever TRESemmé Global Hair Care Brand Director said: “TRESemmé is a global leading hair care and styling brand to provide the perfect end look and fashionable experience and we’re excited to have worked with A.S. Watson to bring this to Chinese customers.”
Rich resource of consumer insight
The A.S. Watson Group currently has 14,400 stores in 24 markets. Its stores serve over four billion customers in 12 retail brands, both in stores and online every year. For the fiscal year 2017, it recorded revenue of HKD156.2bn ($20bn).
As the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, A.S. Watsons is no stranger to collaborating with global brands such as Unilever.
According to the company, it has helped brand partners, both small niche brands and large multi-national ones, execute strategies and meet their objectives through their own global customer base, data insights, digital tools, resources, and expertise.
The retailer also uses segmentation and analytics to optimise results for brands by offering insights to help identify the right locations for specific brand launches and marketing activity.
“Our forward-thinking approach and access to new technologies and data allows us to talk directly to over 130 million loyal customers across the globe. This coupled with the expertise of our global retail brands and allows us to work collaboratively with business partners to really maximise opportunities and give our customers the products they want,” said Malina Ngai, Group Chief Operating Officer at A.S. Watson Group.
“This tailored approach has already seen dividends for our strategic partners and our customers and we look forward to launching more examples of innovative collaborations.”