Brands are like people – for a long and healthy life they need to keep fit.
Its remarkable how closely the life of a brand follows the pattern of a human life. The brand is born often through a period of intense struggle. From an early age it demands constant care and nurturing. With the right care it grows quickly, and starts to build and strengthen its personality. A brand soon reaches an age where much greater help is needed to move to a new level of maturity. After that it might stay at same the level or with a huge and consistent effort reach the point where its aspirations become much greater. The brand might desire international growth; it might seek to join with others as part of an acquisition or decide to build a family of brands.
At some point in its life cycle a brand will falter and will need to refocus its efforts – what should it be, what should it achieve, how does it grow further, how does it fit with the aspirations of its founder or its corporate objectives?
The Red Tree’s long experience of working in the UK and international markets with many brands – some in the introduction stage, others in growth or maturity and others in decline – has made us realise that a brand needs to be super fit to face the challenges that lie ahead no matter where it might be in its lifecycle. We call it getting a brand RaceFit™. The analogy to an individual is like hiring a fitness coach to build strength or for specialist help to develop peak fitness for a marathon.
The beauty industry is saturated; to succeed in a crowded market place brands need to be ready to compete. RaceFit™ is the perfect tool for brands, large and small, mass and niche, domestic and international, to assess an existing brand or a new launch.
After many years of intuitively using its principles the Red Tree has developed RaceFit™ as a self- diagnostic tool or consultant led analysis that gives a 360-degree review covering the essential building blocks behind any beauty brand. And just like a fitness test we run through a series of areas – 7 in total – each with its own questions that dig deep into a brand’s state of health.
For example, we check on a brand’s personality evaluating the clarity of its values and its point of difference. We assess how clearly the brand’s target market is understood and if there is an awareness of what influences purchasing behaviour. Like people a brand’s first impressions are vital. We question what effort has been placed on developing a strong visual identity and in our RaceFit analysis we ask how the brand’s personality is expressed through social media and at point of sale.
RaceFit™ dives into understanding the brand’s business plan and whether its aims and objectives are clear. At some point in a brand’s life cycle it is likely that investment will be needed. When and how much needs to be raised? Is there an understanding of how that investment will be use?
What part will new product development play in helping the brand and what help is needed to bring this to life? Are logistics optimised and is there clarity on cost of goods?
RaceFit™ questions the brand’s marketing effort, its communications strategy and its retail objectives. We ask if there is a recognised need to drive increased website traffic and improve conversion to purchase. In the analysis we check that all areas of the marketing mix are optimised and what to do if they are not.
We ask if help is needed on launching and growing the brand in international markets. How will each market be handled and who will manage and drive forward the brand’s growth?
There are many more questions to answer including short term objectives and longer term vision. Like preparing for a marathon the longer the brand has to prepare and act the more likely it is to achieve its objectives.
Once the RaceFit™ questionnaire is completed we provide a RaceFit™ report – a document bespoke to each brand, that identifies areas for improvement, provides advice and shares extensive industry knowledge and expertise. All designed to make a brand stronger, fitter and sharpe.
The Red Tree is offering 1 brand the chance to win a one-to-one Racefit™ evaluation, worth £2,500 at www.racefitbeauty.com/competition
You will receive:
- A face to face meeting where the questionnaire is completed under the expert guidance of a Red Tree consultant. Questions will be explored in depth to gather detailed information on your brand.
- At a further face to face meeting you will receive your RaceFit™ report specific to your brand. At this meeting your report will be discussed in detail and key action points identified.
- A face to face six week follow up appointment to review what steps have been taken and follow up on any outstanding issues.
RaceFit™ can be found at www.racefitbeauty.com and is a unique programme developed by The Red Tree, the UK’s leading beauty brand consultancy
