Every year I attend the various Cosmoprof shows to immerse myself into all things beauty.  During a trip to the Cosmoprof Bologna show, I found évolis Professional, an Australian hair care range that redefines the meaning of taking care of your hair. 
 
Created by hair biologists, the line was designed to offset the negative impact of the recently discovered FGF5 protein on hair’s beauty.  Being immediately intrigued by the science behind the brand, plus the patented complex created using natural actives, I requested several samples to take back with me to the States for review with the team.  After testing the range with our in-house models and reviewing the brand’s blinded placebo studies, I knew we needed to find a way to share this product with the US consumer. 
 
Unfortunately, introducing a brand from Australia is not as easy as shipping over a pallet, setting up a website and aggressively advertising. Additionally, the évolis Professional range is owned by a publicly traded company, therefore great care needed to be given to how the line was introduced to ensure success in the US market.  As a result, key elements needed to be adjusted.
 
Packaging: The original package design was quite sleek; black bottles and large white text clearly defined the product usage and claims.  This clean design, while easy to read, did not fully communicate the brand positioning.  To highlight the natural actives within the formulation, plus the brand’s science heritage, we created X-ray images of the natural actives and incorporated them into the package design while maintaining the original black/white brand theme.
 
Messaging:  The rules, as they related to product claims, limit how we can talk about the product research. As a result, we needed to revamp our message.  We specifically called out the importance of hair to our self-esteem and highlighted the idea that if our hair is so important, then why are we not taking better care?  By using the évolis Professional range like you would with a skincare regimen, you are ensuring your hair retains its youthful appearance well-into your 50’s, 60’s, 70’s.
 
Pricing:  The évolis Professional formulations utilize a unique blend of natural actives that are specially harvested and tested for effectiveness before being included into the final product.   Pricing needed to be adjusted to effectively communicate this type of high-quality, while at the same time being attainable to a broad audience. The range was priced accordingly, as we feel strongly everyone would benefit from using évolis Professional.
 
Distribution:  Our distribution channels are quite different from Australia. Here in the US, it is beneficial to have both a strong footprint in brick and mortar, plus online.  We have aligned with premium retailers that have a blend of both to ensure we reach our audience across all channels. 
 
Promotion:  I am a firm believer that a brand cannot solely be built on digital advertising.  Therefore, we created and implemented a plan that establishes the évolis Professional tribe of users to help you spread the word, multi-use samples to ensure trial and usage and developed hair events to demonstrate product usage.

About the expert:
Kerry Yates is an accomplished inventor of brands, creator of concepts and a recognized expert of beauty in every form.   Her love of beauty started at F.I.T., where she graduated with a B.S. in Cosmetic, Fragrance and Toiletries Marketing.  She was featured in WWD at the age of 22 as a beauty leader to watch and held various leadership roles. Yates has created many of the recognizable brands found at Revlon, LVMH, L'Oreal and Unilever. Passionate about the beauty industry, Yates has over +20 years of beauty experience with 15 years focused on marketing and developing brands within the hair category.   Uniquely experienced, she created, Colour Collective, a company with a tailored, seamless approach to the design, develop and deliver process at the heart of bringing product to market.  Colour Collective’s mission is simple, bring to life beauty brands that disrupt the market.