Clear, which is the anti-dandruff leader in several key Asia-Pacific markets, has rolled out a new marketing campaign to support its mainland entry in March. The Lowe-created campaign attempts to introduce Clear to mainland consumers, who are considerably more familiar with P&G’s Head & Shoulders brand.
Leveraging the popularity of Taiwanese chat show host Xiao S, regarded as the Taiwanese equivalent of Oprah, the national TV burst seeks to communicate the message that if your partner let you down, you would rid yourself of them — so why should anti-dandruff shampoo be any different? “Clear is a functional brand — it actually does something. It’s very stylish, very fashionable and it presents a grown-up premium look,” said Paul Grubb, global ECD for Clear at Lowe Worldwide. “Xiao S is known as a provocative TV presenter and she challenges people on her show, so she was a natural fit for Clear.”
Grubb noted that the launch campaign featuring Xiao was expected to run indefinitely, and is being supported by print and online. Seokhee Won, global vice-president, Clear, Unilever, global hair, said the brand’s strategy in China would not be focused on competing with Head & Shoulders on a promotional or tactical level, but would instead focus heavily on communicating its premium positioning and product benefits. “We do not want to compete on price, but rather on strategic marketing and positioning,” said Won. “The key challenge is that our competition has been there for so long, they have established themselves with little competition over the years. We’re confident we can compete in terms of our communications and marketing strategy.”
Won declined comment on Clear’s next creative phase, but he noted that the haircare category in China is extremely cluttered with more than 300 predominantly local brands jostling for marketshare. Observers point out the top 20 brands hold approximately 80 per cent of the market, with P&G the undisputed leader with the lion’s share of revenue, ahead of Unilever and L’Oréal.
Clear’s launch in China runs alongside the roll-out in the Middle East last month, complementing the additional markets in Southeast Asia it added to its global presence last year.
