BRANDING: Clinique pilots image relaunch in Thailand

At Media's press-time, the brand was due to launch its first-ever television commercial in the Thai market to take advantage of the noise created by the 'Get up and glow' image overhaul.

Regional education director Kathleen Bennett said that Taiwan, South Korea and Australia would likely be the next markets to adopt the new look which modernises Clinique's "lab coat" uniform "with something that a dermatologist would be wearing in New York's Fifth Avenue".

"We want to keep that link with our past, but we also need to update it," she said. Clinique's consultants will now wear a black turtleneck or tee-shirt with a white jacket and black trousers. During special promotions, the colour of the inner tee-shirt can be changed.

"It's more like a wardrobe which can be accessorised within our grooming guidelines," she said.

Clinique's 35 counters in Thailand, revamped at a cost of 70 million baht (US$1.8 million), will keep the brand's "white and clean" image but have an expanded consultants' area, and more "open" and accessible displays.

Thailand is viewed as a "model market, where the best practices are already established", Bennet said to explain Clinique's decision to pilot the new look here.

Meanwhile, Clinique's TV campaign will focus on its 1-2-3-step regiment "which is our best-selling skin care line and the heart of Clinique", Bennett said. The 1-2-3 regiment refers to the use of a facial soap, a clarifying lotion and a moisturizer. The three product categories collectively make up 25 per cent of the company's sales in Thailand, which is estimated to have totaled 600 million baht in the 12 months that ended in June.

"We've never used commercials before," she said. "It's a deliberate strategy. We want to reach a new audience."

An official with Clinique's local subsidiary Elca Thailand said that the brand hoped the new, modern look would help add 18- to 24-year-olds to its current client base of predominantly 25- to 35-year old set.

Thailand's skin care market, which has grown steadily over the last five years, added six per cent to total an estimated 10.9 billion baht last year.