At Summit 2006 Neil Dickenson, Marketing Director, Johnson & Johnson, revealed how J&J devloped and marketed the hugely successful launch of Holiday Skin
Creating a new niche in the cosmetics and toiletries markets takes no little imagination and audacity and few if any have been as successful as Johnson & Johnson’s Holiday Skin.
Launched in May 2005, it quickly broke sales records and demand for the product led to all manner of extreme behaviour by both retailers and consumers. One high street chain advertised the brand outside with a sandwich board saying simply ‘Holiday Skin available in-store’. Other stores had a one bottle per person policy, while one entrepreneurial soul managed to sell a single bottle on an internet auction site for £41. Not bad for a product with an RRP of £4.99.
By combining a body lotion and a self-tanning product, Holiday Skin has managed to have an impact on both categories but more impressively has created a new self-tanning moisturiser market.
As well as having genuine consumer appeal from a user perspective, Johnson & Johnson have managed to capitalise on an important aspect of any successful brand. The name Holiday Skin, although extremely simple, physically and psychologically captures the essence of the brand and, perhaps more importantly, what people want.
Now in its second year on the market, Holiday Skin has continued to grow, helped by some creative line extensions despite pioneering the category. This year the company launched Holiday Skin Daily Facial Moisturiser and Holiday Skin Firming, both of which have been adding mainly incremental sales to the overall brand.
As for the secret of Johnson & Johnson’s success, the usual suspects of creativity, imagination and flair, hard graft, diligence, mastery of detail and determination were cited. The real secret is how these elements are combined.
DAVINCI FROM IRI CAN PROVIDE NEW PRODUCT SUPPORT AND INSIGHT
The FMCG market is highly competitive, something borne out by the fact that only 20% of all new products are successful. Finding that elusive niche for your new product is exceptionally difficult. Making it work once you have found it is harder still.
Getting the product into the store in the first place is one thing but even then there is a lot to think about. Maintaining distribution and stock levels, ensuring in-store materials are being employed as planned, and keeping track of pricing are just a few of the considerations.
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If you want to find out more about tracking your new product launch, please contact our sales team on +44 (0)1344 747856 or sales@infores.com