Mapping the Intimate Hygiene Category for a new brand launch
The Challenge: The Indian client, an FMCG major wanted to launch a brand of Intimate Hygiene products into the Gulf/Saudi markets, which are known to be a large market for such products. The marketing team working on the mandate needed a category mapping of intimate hygiene in terms of its symbolism, for concept development.
Our Approach: We interrogated packs, websites, social media as well as regular media content in Arabic, working closely with a Dubai based consumer research agency. We were able to obtain deep insights into the category, its symbolism (signs, symbols, narratives), the influence of Arab/Islamic cultural rules as well as the global brands/Western culture’s narratives on the category.
Insights from Semiotic Decoding:
The semiotic decoding identified the meaning system and the positioning territories that define what intimate hygiene stands for. The territories were described in terms of the signs, the symbols, the values and the embedded oppositions. The influence of traditional Arab culture, Islam as well as contemporary stars on Insta were all identified. How brands defined their positioning by connecting narratives of femininity with narratives of product performance was also identified.
Results:
The marketing team were able to develop new concepts that challenged the existing codes as well as identify entirely new narratives that brought new meanings into the category.