Page 27 - Sphere No.32 (Dec 2012)

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Sphere 32
Leading the way in incorporating modern
céLébrité into the development of its service offerings has
been the a S watson line of companies. around the world,
a S watson businesses are partnering with local superstars
to showcase the products and services offered by their stores,
based on the needs and desires of their clientele.
For instance, Superdrug in the United Kingdom has enlisted
welsh actress Joanna page as its official brand ambassador.
page, who is known for her natural beauty and healthy lifestyle,
has worked with Superdrug’s marketing team to make sure
that their mission to bring quality health and beauty products
to UK consumers shines through in Superdrug’s promotional
materials. She has been a very high profile star of Superdrug’s
tV advertising, ensuring that consumers are excited by the
information they receive about the brand.
Similarly, ici pariS XL in the netherlands has partnered
with dutch celebrity make-up artist Thijs willekes to bring
the best insider make-up tips and tricks to ici pariS XL
customers. These partnerships go beyond surface-level brand
and product promotion, however. rather than simply lending
their faces to Superdrug and ici pariS XL advertisements,
both page and willekes’ commitments are much more
tangible, frequently visiting their host storefronts to meet
their brand colleagues and interact with customers in a one-
on-one manner.
another dutch celebrity, Koert-Jan de bruijn, a musician
and new father, opened Kruidvat’s “nine months baby Fair”
in amsterdam, playing music from his latest album, which is
available exclusively in Kruidvat stores. as the netherlands’
largest baby goods retailer, Kruidvat’s fair for pregnant women
and mothers has become an important platform for baby care
manufacturers to generate important exposure. The event itself,
in addition to de bruijin, earned applause from dutch media.
on the product development forefront has been hutchison
china meditech Limited (chi-med), who has partnered with
australian celebrated stylist to the stars, Kim robinson, in
the development of a range of professional-grade hair care
products under chi-med’s Sen line.
“For the past decade, women have been bombarded
with hair care product choices, with many different voices
– including those of celebrities – advising them to buy this
or that product,” explained robinson, who has worked with
the likes of Kate moss, cindy crawford, Jackie chan, the late
princess diana and anita mui. “consequently, most of the
shampoos available in asia have been developed in the west
and have not been created specifically for asian hair. These
products are not nourishing enough for asian hair. even
popular Japanese shampoos, which tend to be heavy, are not
suitable for hong Kong girls.”
Thus, robinson, founder of the kimrobinson and kr+
brands, worked with chi-med to develop a line of products for
Sen that specifically addresses the needs of asian hair, based
on the principles of traditional chinese medicine (tcm) in
combination with the latest in western hair care technology.
A S Watson is partnering with celebrities throughout its retail brands in Europe.
(From left to right): Dutch musician Koert-Jan de Brujin at Kruidvat, Welsh Acrtress Joanna Page the Brand
Ambassador of Superdrug in the UK, Dutch make-up artist Thiji Willekes at ICI PARIS XL.
In the arsenal of promotional tools, celebrity endorsement has long been used by
marketing professionals to tout consumer products and brands. However, to reach
today’s savvy consumers and connect more deeply on a personal level, some of
Hutchison’s businesses are looking to partner with celebrities in unique ways.
At both international and local scales, and via different levels of involvement that go
far beyond image-leveraging, Hutchison businesses work to develop the products
that consumers crave and capture the public’s attention for charitable causes.