WHEN MARILYN MONROE WAS QUEEN
The personal care market is a sector that has always relied upon appealing to the senses. But now, more than ever, appealing to our senses is crucial in transporting us elsewhere. Benefit, which embodies a very whimsical, post-feminist sensibility, takes its inspiration from the deliciously feminine 1950s boudoir, infused with a modern twist. The boudoir stage is set with fun packaging and witty product names that engage the consumer in a playful work of beauty.

The present taking its cues from the past seems to be particularly poignant within the fragrance sector. Jo Malone has created a concept based on its customers’ nostalgia of the traditional perfumery. The packaging supports this proposition with a level of elegance and style that supports the brand’s premium price point. Similarly, designer fragrance Prada Prada is packaged in a cut-glass bottle complete with old-fashioned atomizer and claims to “reinvent the ancient art of perfumery by creating a fragrance of yesterday and tomorrow, a scent inspired by the past that embodies the future.” We are also seeing the resurgence of classics such as “Evening in Paris,” and signature scents such as rose and lavender.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Flavor is being used in a similar way within the world of food and drink. Absolut Vodka, Belvedere, and Grey Goose have all taken inspiration from this trend and, within the past 18 months or so, have introduced vanilla-flavored vodkas to their portfolios. What is vanilla if not a meander down memory lane? Drinking tea has seen a resurgence in popularity as it evokes a sense of sharing, connection, and community. The launch of natural fruit and organic teas are burgeoning daily. People are buying into the values of these brands because this sense of reconnection provides warmth and safety, and the notion of personal touch.

This need for personal touch and transportation is also resulting in more and more people forming collectives, tribes, and communities. These tribes and communities are representing the type of reconnection associated with communities of the past and the feeling of doing good today on a local and more intimate level. We are seeing the rise of brands, such as Pixi Cosmetics, the UK’s Waitrose Supermarkets, and International chocolate brand Green & Black’s, adopting a collective mindset and working with the consumer and the suppliers in an ethical and community-minded way.

Essentially, we want honest, heartfelt connections with both people and brands. In the food and drink sectors, those brands doing it best are those that are imparting knowledge to the consumer through, for example, honest marketing communication or by making a feature of provenance.

Innocent Smoothies has undoubtedly been the success story of the decade in terms of meeting consumer need to drive brand development. Not only do we feel that we know exactly what is in the product (down to the last half banana!) and what it can do for us, but we feel there is a team of friendly people at “fruit towers” looking out for us and awaiting our phone call. The clever use of wit on the packaging adds a down-to-earth and human voice to a largely functional product and again provides a “cross-stitching” of the emotional with the functional. Innocent is meeting the challenge of a machine age by adding a human dimension to mass production. Similarly, Purity Organic Juices pride themselves that 10 percent of dividends are returned to the organic community. Purity is another clever brand focusing very much on the notion of unadulterated and pure, and communicating their message in a simple but e.ective manner—again the focus feels very much about the integrity of the product, as opposed to a peripheral spin.

The brands that will truly be successful are the ones that connect in a uniquely civic-minded way by sharing responsibility. The formula for success needs to strike the right balance between the old and new. The real and most immediate challenge is how to convey all of the above into not only the packaging, but the experience the user has with the product, and the environment the products live in. A civic-minded approach sits slightly at odds with the concept of capitalism, but the natural progression for all brands will be the rise of a new movement of moral capitalism—a truly unique challenge for brands of tomorrow.