Feminine Product Disposal Solution

Research + Discovery

Our client’s concept was one that had only a few competitors, which is a great thing. And also not that great. You see, when the market is wide open, you’ve got to put work into positioning. People may not have any experience with a product like yours, so you might have to spell it out for them. Luckily, we’re pros at positioning.

We started the Foundational Branding project like we do for every project of this type — with discovery. The distance between our offices and our client’s was no trouble and we scheduled a conference call to dive deep into the details. We wanted to understand the product itself, but also the why behind Bernadette’s passion to create it.

We talked through a gamut of questions, some simple and some more thought-provoking to get into the mind of the business owner. In order to properly position a business, we’ve got to get at what it offers, who it serves, and why it matters. We need to understand the value the business provides to its target, and how that value can be conveyed in a compelling manner.

Ultimately, we found that Bernadette was creating a product to serve women during their monthly cycles. The product was being designed to be a handheld, easy-to-open, uber-discreet feminine product disposal pouch.

We identified the target to be women (obv) who were ages 18 to 55 and had the disposable (no pun intended) income to be able to afford a personal care product that’s somewhat of a luxury. The tangible benefit to using the product would be increased privacy during a woman’s cycle, and a reduction in the visibility and anything else unpleasant associated with disposed feminine products.

However, we determined that the true and intangible benefit to the product would be an enhanced level of confidence for women of all ages throughout their monthly cycle. Women would be able to be worry-free while camping, while at a friend’s house, while having kids and dogs around their bathroom waste bins, and anywhere else they need to dispose of feminine products.

Positioning Statement

The positioning statement is arguably the most important piece of your Foundational Branding. A good positioning statement should include what you do, for whom, and what value you provide to your target.

For this brand, we broke it down like this:

Brand Attributes

Armed with information, we set out to assign attributes to the brand. In addition to choosing adjectives to serve as brand attributes, we also define the words so that it’s super clear exactly how each descriptor pertains to the brand.

These words become guidelines for how anything deployed on behalf of the brand should look, feel, think, and act.

For Bernadette’s business (yet to be named at the drafting of this case study), we established that the brand would convey the following attributes.

Visual Direction

The third piece of the Foundational Branding puzzle is the visual direction. In order to create a brand that resonates with your target, it’s crucial that the narrative and visual direction are perfectly aligned. Any disconnect between what you’re saying, what you’re doing, and how you look will ultimately lead to your demise.

Consumers are hardwired to gravitate toward what makes sense. Any confusion leads to a loss in the consumer’s attention, so the visuals and verbiage have got to align perfectly with the attributes and positioning.

The first brand board played on the discreet aspect of the product. We created a visual direction here that was almost 100% white, with no color introduced whatsoever. This concept came from the notion that the bathroom waste bin is filled primarily with tissue, and that the white would blend in with what’s already there, camouflaging the disposed products. Additionally, the white indicates a polite purity and femininity that also aligns well with the attributes.

The second brand board was more cheeky in nature and presented a personification of a powerful politeness. We included a bright red color, juxtaposed against a pretty pink and offset by a crisp white. This visual direction brought in a retro femininity and spoke to the fact that our periods make us powerful. We aren’t trying to hide anything here, rather we are bold and proud, and this would come through in the visuals and voice.

Finally, the third brand board conveyed a confident cool woman who is steady, unbothered by whatever comes her way. The color palette is a calming, soft blue and blush pink, accented by a hint of luxurious gold. Imagery takes on a minimalistic vibe, while floods of the calming colors bring in the undeniable feminine nature of the brand.

Presentation

For this brand, we presented the three options shown above for brand direction. Each option presented would pair nicely with a narrative that conveyed the attributes and the positioning statement. But each took the brand in a distinctly different direction.

Ultimately, our client selected the third option, as it aligned with her vision for the brand and her anticipated target market. However, she loved all of the options presented.

Following Foundational Branding, we moved seamlessly into Naming and Logo Development, before implementing the visual direction and positioning into the packaging and online presence.

Ready for a Bold Brand?

If you’re ready to work on your foundation, give us a call. We can position you for success.