rb case study
Clearasil® Case
In 2006, the stealth skincare brand Clearasil®, along with its parent company Boots Healthcare
International (BHI), was purchased by Reckitt Benckiser, Inc. Since the acquisition, Reckitt Benckiser has faced considerable challenges in increasing Clearasil’s market share and growing the Clearasil brand -- currently the #4 Young Skin Care (YSC) brand in the U.S. The management team at Reckitt
Benckiser has charged the Brand Team to reevaluate Clearasil’s entire brand structure and improve performance with the goal of ascending to the #3 position (overtaking Clean & Clear®) in the next five years. The Brand Team’s attention is focused on Clearasil’s target consumers and positioning – components that were identified early on as most challenging and critical to Clearasil’s future success. However, to formulate the winning strategies needed to get to a #3 share position, the Brand Team understands there are three fundamental issues that need further refinement and management alignment:
Who should be Clearasil’s core consumer target moving forward?
What optimal/ownable positioning can withstand changing market conditions and take
Clearasil to #3 market share spot in the next five years?
How to bring the “new” Clearasil brand positioning to life through a few key go-to-market strategies? BRAND HISTORY
In the early 1950’s, U.S. marketer Ivan Combe developed Clearasil after talking to teenagers and pharmacists about the need for an acne cream that worked. He asked chemists to create a formula that dried up acne and covered blemishes with a flesh-tinted cream. The cream was named Clearasil to capitalize on every teenager's dream of having clear skin. The first Clearasil products – a bar soap and a medicated ointment in a tube - were launched in the U.S. in 1959.
In 1961, Combe sold Clearasil to The Vick Chemical Company, which later became RichardsonVicks. The Clearasil brand grew steadily through the 60's and 70's, launching across
In 2006, the stealth skincare brand Clearasil®, along with its parent company Boots Healthcare
International (BHI), was purchased by Reckitt Benckiser, Inc. Since the acquisition, Reckitt Benckiser has faced considerable challenges in increasing Clearasil’s market share and growing the Clearasil brand -- currently the #4 Young Skin Care (YSC) brand in the U.S. The management team at Reckitt
Benckiser has charged the Brand Team to reevaluate Clearasil’s entire brand structure and improve performance with the goal of ascending to the #3 position (overtaking Clean & Clear®) in the next five years. The Brand Team’s attention is focused on Clearasil’s target consumers and positioning – components that were identified early on as most challenging and critical to Clearasil’s future success. However, to formulate the winning strategies needed to get to a #3 share position, the Brand Team understands there are three fundamental issues that need further refinement and management alignment:
Who should be Clearasil’s core consumer target moving forward?
What optimal/ownable positioning can withstand changing market conditions and take
Clearasil to #3 market share spot in the next five years?
How to bring the “new” Clearasil brand positioning to life through a few key go-to-market strategies? BRAND HISTORY
In the early 1950’s, U.S. marketer Ivan Combe developed Clearasil after talking to teenagers and pharmacists about the need for an acne cream that worked. He asked chemists to create a formula that dried up acne and covered blemishes with a flesh-tinted cream. The cream was named Clearasil to capitalize on every teenager's dream of having clear skin. The first Clearasil products – a bar soap and a medicated ointment in a tube - were launched in the U.S. in 1959.
In 1961, Combe sold Clearasil to The Vick Chemical Company, which later became RichardsonVicks. The Clearasil brand grew steadily through the 60's and 70's, launching across