The Herbal Essences brand in Israel started losing relevance to its younger female target audience. The new product line aimed to reposition the brand as trendy, sexy and highly desirable with refreshed colourful packaging promising fantasy.We wanted to generate massive media coverage for the relaunched Herbal Essences product line, making it relevant for the 14-22 young female target audience.We decided to link the new brand design to the world of fashion by personalising each shampoo variant, in order to easily bring to life the shampoo benefits and create a sexy, upbeat experience for users.

A partnership with a fashion school was fostered, culminating in a fashion event designed as a fusion of colour, fashion and hair styles. Different models were chosen to represent each variant and its specific “character”. Young, popular TV celebrities and bloggers were invited to the event in order to generate buzz around the brand.

We initiated a partnership with a Fashion Design School to create a fashion collection inspired by the brand variants. Twenty students created a series of garments and looks inspired by the colourfulness and the functionality of the variants.

On October 27, 2008 the collection was presented via a fashion show/dance party in a central city bar. Key attendees included celebrities and models (influencers of our target market), to create Word of Mouth within the fashion industry and associate the brand with The Good Life. Popular teen bloggers were invited too, to leverage online coverage among teenagers on the web. Reporters, TV channels and entertainment media were invited too, adding a Paparazzi look & feel to the party.

To maximise the wide party exposure, we coordinated an exclusive telephone interview for a leading youth magazine, with Mischa Barton, the brand’s international presenter positioning her as a fashion icon for young Israeli females.

The launch created a disproportionate media buzz, providing an approximate 30% PR Share of Voice for the brand between October to December 2008, compared to an average 3.5% value market share in 2008. The PR campaign generated an ROI index of 185%. One month post launch, the brand market share rose by 100%, from 3.5% to 7%.The promised world of fantasy led to record participation at the launch party: some 75 reporters (triple regular attendance), 40 key celebrities, and 15 young bloggers attended. About 80% of all published press clippings featured colour product images.