Lush Cosmetics' Branding Design and its Impact on the Brand (Research Paper Sample)

Lush Cosmetics’ Branding Design and its Impact on the Brand
Equity in Japan
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Outline: Lush Cosmetics
Title: Research Proposal Lush Cosmetics’ Branding Design and its Impact on the Brand Equity in Japan
Hypothesis: “Owing to the Japan culture’s affinity for nature, Lush Cosmetics enjoys strong brand equity due to its equally strong affinity for nature”.
1 Introduction
* Background information
* What is a brand?
* What is brand design?
* What is brand equity?
* Literature review
* Research carried out on the relationship between band name, design and rand equity
* The Cosmetic/ Beauty industry
* What constitutes the global cosmetic industry?
* Impact of the cosmetic industry on the global economy
* Future predictions of the cosmetic industry
* Lush cosmetics
* Brief history of the organization
* Current state of the organization in terms of production, geographical coverage, operation ethics
* Lush Cosmetics Brand Design
* Brand name, logo and design
* Ethical operations, ethical buying,
* Lush cosmetics in Japan
2 Research
* Research aim
* Research questions
* Hypothesis- “Owing to the Japan culture’s affinity for nature, Lush Cosmetics enjoys strong brand equity due to its equally strong affinity for nature”.
* Research methodology
* Methods of data collection: Face to face and online surveys and observation
* Secondary research to establish the performance of the company
* Advantages and disadvantages of each method
* Timescale of the project proposal
* Proposed approximate time plan
* Resources
* Labor
* Financial resources
* Time resources
* Proposed financial budget
* Reference list
Lush Cosmetics’ Branding Design and its Impact on the Brand Equity in Japan
Background Information
Brand identity is the combined message that a business transmits to its audience through its logo, brand name, and visuals. It is the larger and more distinctive visual look that an organization is associated with. Once the process of designing a logo has been completed, the finished design can then be applied to a number of applications, for instance, letterheads, packaging materials and advertisements among others. However, this is only rubber-stamping a logo and does not necessarily translate to a fully developed brand identity. An effective or functional brand identity should be recognized even without the presence of a logo. While the logo and other visuals may be unfailingly unchangeable, it’s crucial that a company’s brand identity is both flexible and consistent. This basically means that a brand must be distinct yet variable on the basis of its form. As challenging as this may be, it brings in a substantial dividend to the brand.
According to Sir Richard Branson, branding requires a number of commitments, for instance, the commitment to a continuous re-invention and the commitment to endless imagination. He further states that it is harder to be successful without these commitments.
According to Aaker (1991 pp. 34-55), the term brand is more difficult to define. He explained that it incorporates the logo and entire visual aspect. In addition to this, other aspects which are not strictly within the limits of design and physical appearance are incorporated into the brand. These include the product story, messaging and the content input. Other aspects include client experiences, customer service, and reputation. In some instances, the word brand is summarized to refer to an abstract idea of a promise (Aaker, 2009, pp. 97).
The connection between the two is that through brand identity design, the brand endeavors to clearly communicate with its target audience.
Wheeler (2013 pp. 30) states that product branding and design are two activities that came into existence with the era of the Industrial Revolution. As the economy transitions into one of knowledge, both activities are gradually increasing in sophistication as they add value to products. However, further research has shown that if misused, they form a combination that would create a weak and maybe fragmented appeal towards an organization and the product at hand. This may occur when brand managers make attempts to adapt new brand ideas to already existing products. For instance, a brand strategist may try to define a new brand personality before fully understanding that consumers have already developed feelings and usage preferences for the product. A well-established product that is closely connected to its brand needs a strategy that fully understands its relationship with consumers before any changes or amendments can be made. This also applies to the brand design, which presents an equal risk should changes be made in a manner that disregards context or heritage of the brand (Mozota 2012, pp. 164-167).
In agreement with this, additional research has proven that brand design incorporates more of the above aspects, referring to the identity of an organization. In line with the requirements of the logo, visuals, brand name, brand identity and product, a brand designer must consider their target audience while coming up with a brand design. Often, brand designers overlook emotion as a component of their designs, assuming that the end product comes as a package while in reality, the message to be conveyed carries the weight (Lee,Yao, Mizerski and Lamber 2015, pp. 74-78). The research by Burger (2012, pp. 39-41) reinforced this by stating that choosing a name that conveys the intended message goes hand in hand with brand design. Brand design determines the identity of the corporation and consists of an array of accessories that the corporation requires for visual communication. These include packaging materials, flyers, brochures, paper and business accessories.
The Cosmetics Beauty Industry
On the surface, the beauty industry is thought to cater for a particular group of people, for instance, those in the spotlight, the glamorous, and perhaps the vain. However, as Beerling (2009 pp. 4) states, this could not be any further from the truth because the beauty industry caters to all persons in society, irrespective of age, gender, skin color, ethnicity, and economic background. His research goes on to explain that the foundation of the industry is based on products and services aimed at helping people look their best. It goes beyond the conventional make-up, perfumes and hair color to include toothpaste, hair clippers, the salons, barber shops, massage parlors and tanning beds among others. Within each of the specific segments, there are products suited for different skin tones, textures, different ages, different hair types and colors, different sexes, particular allergies and even for specific times of the day. At the onset, these differentiating factors cause problems for consumers. However, brand loyalty is built once the consumer identifies with the products that suit them perfectly.
Research confirms that manufacturers differentiate themselves and their products through identifying their target markets, prices and different processes of manufacturing. For instance, those products promising to use natural raw materials or not to carry out animal testing of their products are more likely to have loyal niche markets. On the other hand, service providers differentiate themselves from the competition through pricing, location, and identification of their target markets. Profitability also highly depends on the type of products used. In essence, between 5-15 percent of revenue in the beauty service industry is sourced from product sales (Yano Research Institute 2015, pp. 4-7).
Additional information from the research carried out by Yano research Institute (2015 pp. 3-6) shows that the beauty industry is almost resistant to economic dips. This was especially noted during the 2008 Great Recession. As much as consumers tend to be overly conscious of the market prices during those periods, there is no significant change in their spending habits. With rising per capita incomes being currently experienced, therefore, the cosmetic industry is one blooming business.
The statistics are a clear indication of the magnitude of funds changing hands in the economy. In 2015, the industry saw a total turnover of $56.2 billion in the US alone. Hair care takes the larger percentage with more than 86, 000 locations, while skin care takes a close second position projected to generate approximately $11 billion by the year 2018. This is due to the general increase in awareness about the importance of skin care as well as an increasing market for male consumers. The table below is representative of the different segments in the cosmetics industry, according to a 2015 research (Yano Research Institute 2015, pp 3):
Industry segment

Market share in revenue terms

Hair care

24.1 %

Skin care

23.6%

Cosmetics

14.7%

Colognes and perfumes

9.4 %

Antiperspirant, deodorant, and feminine cleaning

8.6 %

Oral hygiene

5.5 %

Others

14.2%

According to labor statistics, nearly one million Americans are economically engaged in the industry’s primary service segments. Being an industry on the rise, there are strong expectations for growth as follows (Yano Research Institute 2015, pp. 3):
Segment

Current employment levels

Expected growth by 2025

Hairdressers, cosmetologists, and barbers

657, 000

10 %

Pedicurists and manicurists

113, 700

10 %
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