To share with you the strategic thinking behind the evolution of Chanv's brand image, we asked Jean-Louis Gusiew, VP Strategy at Bite Size, a few questions. It was his vision that led to our new identity.
Jean-Louis, what makes you the right person for Chanv?
I have been involved in many brand and product launches during my career, which has taken me to four continents. I am used to combining classic and innovative techniques to create brand platforms that are outside the box. With a deep understanding of human behavior, I know how to stimulate it by telling it with passion and precision. My tone becomes one with the narrator, and in the case of Chanv, the odyssey takes us to the lands where this plant grows that will bring to life the golden Chanv Oil™ so precious and so close to us.
How does this revival begin?
First of all, I immersed myself in the trends that are emerging on the evolution of cosmetics around the world. The use of an AI platform helped accelerate this research and lead to a dazzling result: a triptych that brings together the origin of the plant symbolizing the brand, the geographical reality where this plant flourishes - 46°N -, and the expectations of users of effective natural solutions.
The strategic components came in a fluid logic, filling the spaces of the picture to compose a simple and strong image that everyone could grasp and appropriate in all naturalness.
The context was right for a change?
I must admit that a surprising influence occurred in connection with the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The time spent in front of one's own reflection during virtual interactions - a "zooming habit" - created a greater need for natural skin care products, since it was very exposed to the eyes of many, and especially to our own eyes, day after day. An overdose of technology also invites a return to the simplicity of nature. This information will prove critical to better understand the expectations of our users and buyers throughout the process.
How do we infuse these insights into our brand?
Each pillar that the brand could legitimately use was contemplated, reworked, abandoned, and then taken up again, like refining a magic formula. I wanted to establish Chanv's strategic direction based on four dimensions: geography for a connection to the land, product benefits for skin care, the almost infinite and special world of Chanv, and harmonious well-being.
Gradually, we had to articulate the specific points that make Chanv a unique and appealing proposition, from the formulations of our skin care products, to the semiotic analyses that allowed us to clearly identify the icons we wanted to develop to better communicate the brand. The challenge was to find the right balance between the evocative power of the strategic elements and the expected simplicity of the proposed positioning.
How to find this balance point?
During this stage, we had to review and refine our approach, because the inspiration of the Nordic dimension required a certain discipline in the use of references, and we had to make sure we conveyed a sincere image of well-being. To propose a simple way of conceiving wellness cosmetics that corresponds to our active, educated and up-to-date consumer. It is this intention that incites us to place the human being at the center of our approach, to be sure that our inspiration and our solutions are in harmony and can immediately be understood without falling into botany or geography lessons. From then on, I was able to enter a period that I would call visionary, because the fundamental elements and structure of the brand's DNA were in place.
What do you do once the brand DNA structure is in place?
Explore. I could shake the four pillars to analyze the scope of their potential, the possibilities for evolution, the opportunities, and of course the boundaries to be given to the positioning. That's when the transformation to Nordic Chanv Oil™ took hold. A trademark that proved to be a logical and clear solution. A clear expression referring to the whole approach of the company. An equation where every variable and parameter finds its place in an obvious translation: the new Chanv logotype.
