How Pond’s reinvigorated its brand image to attract millennial beauty consumers

The brand sought the help of creative agency Anthem which helped them to develop a limited edition unicorn-themed skin care range, Glitterglow.

Pond’s extreme makeover

Creative director of Anthem Singapore Spencer Ball explained that it was particularly important for Pond’s to refresh its image in Thailand, because the brand was trying to target 7-Eleven shoppers.

“In Thailand, the young people are buying a lot of beauty products from 7-Eleven these days and Pond’s was missing out on all the sales as that channel tends to be dominated by the Korean players,”​ explained Ball.

“[Thai consumers] have this perception that Pond’s is an old, ageing brand. There wasn’t really a place for Pond’s in 7-Eleven as didn’t have the ‘right’ look to go on the shelves,” ​he added.

Facing stiff competition, the brand needed an extreme makeover to catch the attention of millennial beauty consumers.

This made it imperative to get the packaging right and make it a part of the whole product experience.

“Nowadays, it’s about how beautiful the packaging is and if people will share it on social media,” ​said Steven Soh, senior design director of Anthem Singapore.

He added: “We wanted to an outstanding pack design that created impact and would work on social media. With the colours and the holographic packaging, it was very photo-friendly. In the end, we got the response we wanted.”​

To further engage its target audience, the brand partnered with popular Thai beauty influencer, Archita to be its official range ambassador.

“Archita has over a million followers and she is able to spread the word to the people that Pond’s wanted to reach out to. It’s remarkable that Pond’s is doing a tie-up with her, it’s quite unexpected,” ​said Soh.

Breaking perceptions

The most challenging part of this project for the agency was finding a way to transform the consumer’s perception of Pond’s.

“We have confidence in the product but it was challenging to create excitement for the brand,” ​said Soh.

To break the existing perception of the brand, the Anthem team broke the mould and moved away from the traditional look of the brand.

With the Glitterglow range, they opted for holographic colours with playful unicorn motifs.

Ball commented that the huge departure from Pond’s conventional image was a ‘brazen’ ​move.

“Unicorns are obviously very on-trend. It’s not new but it helped to shift the whole brand perception. It was a definite statement.”​

He added that the team had the support of Pond’s to execute the plan.

“The Pond’s team were prepared to be disruptive, they didn’t hold back. The packaging had to deliver a completely new perception and Pond’s believed that too.”​

Soh said the endorsement of Archita also played a big part in transforming the brand and it was important to capture her personality in the packaging as well.

“We needed to capture her personality so it will resonate with her followers because she is part of the reason why they are buying into this.”​

A step in a new direction

The Ponds' by Archita Glittergow range is currently available exclusively to Thailand.

The success of the campaign, however, has prompted plans to expand the range into Indonesia and the Philippines by the end of 2019.

Ball and Soh revealed that it was already working on a new project with Pond’s.

While they declined to share more detailed information, they said the project was ‘along the same vein’​ as the Glitterglow campaign.

Soh said: “Pond’s definitely wants to generate more excitement [for its brand].”​