Strategic Work: A more efficient clean

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SWASH

Background

Swash is a European-born household cleaning products brand, with a strong presence in Asia. In 2015, the brand sought to improve its market share and visibility in Asia, with an identity and packaging design refresh.

Challenge

SWASH was ranked number two in the household cleaning products category in Asia, behind 3M. In a low involvement category often led by a price war thanks to so many local and similar competitors, SWASH wanted its target audience to be actively recognising AND selecting SWASH products for their product quality, value, and subtle innovations in the non-mechanical cleaning products category. To compete with the likes of 3M, a

long-standing brand with a strong identity and reputation, I felt that SWASH had to dial up its benefits, both in what it did and how it looked, to consumers.

Solution

We ran a regional workshop where Swash management teams from all over Asia attended, to help them understand our rebranding efforts and why it was so important to build a brand that connected with consumers in an intelligent manner, while harnessing their expertise on the consumers in their various markets. The resulting brand strategy then pushed SWASH’s stronghold of providing high-value quality (so much so that SWASH had money-back and exchange guarantees, something that most other brands didn’t have) that made cleaning more efficient for its customers.

This low-involvement category was also not known for putting much thought into design attractiveness and packaging innovation, which was another aspect that SWASH could stump its competitors on. SWASH owned the colour blue, representative of water, which is associated with cleanliness. Water also has other positive connotations in many Asian cultures, including purification. We maintained this colour while dialling up its benefits in design. The typeface in the identity was updated to be more modern, in line with the innovative aspect of the brand, while communicating approachability. The various shades of blue gushing outwards parlay the depth and breadth of the brand with its product variety and innovations, while adding a sense of brightness and positivity to an otherwise mundane category. The sparkles communicate cleanliness and are representative of water. We also conducted an extensive packaging audit, which resulted in interactive packaging that better displayed product benefits, such as having 'windows' on packaging that revealed the actual product and its guaranteed quality to customers. We also directed shoppers to product highlights on pack to create interest. The brand refresh presented SWASH as a more cohesive, modern brand, with quality packaging design to highlight its ethos of quality and understanding of its consumers' busy lives, enabling them to clean more efficiently.