Charles Biondo, Founder and President, The Biondo Group09.03.13
The 'After': Every time Unilever 'freshened' the look of Lever 2000's packaging, it led to an increase in sales, according to The Biondo Group. |
In the late 1980’s, Unilever, Inc. introduced Lever 2000, a line of moisturizing soap bars suitable for the entire family. Dressed in a watery blue on blue theme, supported by a simple type treatment, silver foil wrapped boxes of Lever 2000 “Perfectly Fresh Original” and its color-coordinated sister flavors, rapidly became staples in millions of American homes.
Over the last decade, to support the introduction of Lever 2000 body washes, and maintain the loyalty of its consumer base, The Biondo Group, Stamford, Ct., revitalized the packaging several times, refining the logo and photo-illustrations. In the first redesign, illustrations of bubbles played a minor role in the lower left hand corner of the package. The next redesign eliminated the bubbles, instead using individual icons with small splashes. The third redesign employed a large illustrated splash.
Each time the freshened look, which supported the brand’s “refreshing-clean” positioning led to sales increases.
However, as consumer needs evolved and the brand’s original family market aged, Unilever re-evaluated Lever 2000’s positioning. Rather than appealing to everyone, Unilever decided the brand should establish a clear target audience with a single-minded sales proposition. The perfect target—the baby boomer generation—active people age 50+ who enjoy traveling, eat healthy and have a youthful state of mind, who want a cleansing, refreshing bar soap or body wash that moisturizes and smells nice.
A New Look for Lever 2000
The 'Before': Lever 2000's packaging, before the update. |
To enhance the new brand image, the expensive foil and silver ink previously used was abandoned, the color scheme of the Lever 2000 logo was reversed from a recessive blue on white to a stronger white on blue. The original bubble illustrations were replaced in favor of large photo-illustrated visuals of each variety’s main ingredients—pomegranates, coconuts, oranges, cucumbers and aloe, that convey a natural, fresh feeling with a sense of fragrance and vitality.
The addition of vibrant color bars—blue, green, orange and red—each containing the flavor name, serve as a reflection of the ingredients while strengthening the visual impact of the brand. Finally, a new simple typeface was used for the variant names and descriptor copy to further enhance the brand’s new contemporary look. Lastly, the graphics of each corresponding body wash variant were adapted for both the U.S. and Canadian markets.
Further, to reinforce Lever 2000’s three key product benefits—non-drying, refreshing and clean-rinsing—Biondo introduced an icon that reinforces its moisturizing properties. The result is an energetic, eye-catching design that instantly communicates whether displayed on-shelf on in a bin.
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This month's FEATURES - in the SEPTEMBER 2013 ISSUE