3. EXPLOSIVE GROWTH
S 2011 AXE HAIR EXTENDS LINE
S AXE HAIR GOES GLOBAL
ASIA, EUROPE, SOUTH AMERICA
60 S
MILLION
$60 MILLION IN REVENUES
IN ONLY 8 MONTHS SINCE LAUNCH
S NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
WALMART, TARGET, WALGREENS
NEW 2009 AXE LAUNCHES FIRST MASS MARKET MEN’S HAIR CARE
4. AXE + GIRLAPPROVED
GA SERVICES SUMMARY RESEARCH +
DEVELOPMENT
NEEDS RESEARCH
OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION AXE BRAND TEAM
DELIVERED EXPLOSIVE GROWTH DISTRIBUTED
PRODUCT INNOVATION
AXE HAIRCARE BLUEPRINT
BRAND POSITIONING AD AGENCY
BRAND STRATEGY
ACTIVATION CONCEPTING
PR AGENCY
5. GIRLAPPROVED + AXE / BACKGROUND STORY
When Girlaproved met Axe they were only selling deodorants. With the recent surge in copycats and a growing number
of females associating their brand with “loosers who can’t find dates,” Axe needed a marketing breakthrough to regain
its market lead. Axe asked us, “Are there any untapped opportunities in mens grooming? And can we improve our image
with girls?” Girlapproved uncovered the natural deep link between a man, his hair, and his ability to get dates. All over
the world, bad hair was robbing perfectly good men of their mojo.
From primary research, opportunity identification, product development, brand positioning, packaging, to
communication strategy - we helped Axe create a brand that would give guys the hair girls loved. Girls got better looking
men, guys got the girls, and Axe launched a breakthrough product category (mass market men’s hair) that gained them
explosive growth and good will from female market.
6. GU Y ’S H A I R F ER I N I N E T R U T H S
M
FEMININE G U Y ’S HA I
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
7. FEMININE INNOVATION AND MEN
1) Axe’s success validates the power of feminine innovation for the male market. Males have many unmet feminine needs.
2) Several major beauty brands have attempted to crack the male haircare industry but were not successful. They did not
understand the feminine dimension of males so they made men too effeminate. This was a turn off to most females. GA
showed the industry that if you express the feminine side of males more organically it increased a man’s sex appeal.
3) GA’s research highlights the dramactic perceptual difference between male and females. Axes research with men,only
identified 2 attributes (color + length), while girls identified 18. The 16 missing dimensions were the difference between
failure and explosive breakthrough.
4) In nature, females are the natural selectors in the mating game. Females’ ability to influence guy’s purchased has gone
untapped. Men are very willing to do what is needed to make them Girlapproved.
8. The opportunity that GA discovered could not have been identified
with men or traditional research and required our inside out approach.
Men had so little understanding of hair, they offered almost no
learnings. Traditional research couldn’t find the truth, because girls
didn’t see their true behaviors.
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
9. When asked, “Do you make dating decisions based on a guy’s hair?”
she would say “No”. Why thats superficial, what makes a man manly is
much deeper - confidence, intelligence, courage, cultural interest . . .
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
10. What females couldn’t tell you is that deep below the concious level
females actually read guys hair determine if he’s worth dating. Girls
around the world had developed an instinctive skill to appraise a mans
character and personality based on hair cues.
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
11. If something was off with a mans hair, it meant he had personal issues.
Globally females shared a universal language of guys hair, what
properties made him dangerous or dateable. This language formed
the foundation of the Axe hair products collection.
INSIDE OUT ANALYSIS GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
12. OH YUM!
I’D DATE HIM!
GUY’S HAIR
TRUTH #01
ATTRACTION
Good hair makes a man sexier
and increases his likelihood to
score in bed.
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
13. OH YUM!
NO WAY!
HE’S BORING!
I’D DATE HIM!
GUY’S HAIR
TRUTH #02
ATTRACTION
Bad hair turns a girl off and
handicaps a guy in the mating
game.
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
14. DATE HIM?
NO WAY!
boring bad in b
e me ed
ig nor unstable GUY’S HAIR
meek TRUTH #03
ATTRACTION
an ger
d
Men with bad hair are wearing
a billboard on their head that
says “DO NOT DATE ME”.
Their mating game ended
before it began.
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
15. THE HAIRCUT
NOW MAKES HIM
LOOK WORSE.
GUY’S HAIR
TRUTH #04
Most guys look worse after a
haircut. Most hairdressers hurt
a guy’s sexual appeal because
they do not know what hair
turns a girl on
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
16. SO THAT’S
WHO HE IS...
SENSUALITY
GENEROSITY GUY’S HAIR
CREATIVITY TRUTH #05
VALUES Girls read a guy’s hair to
DRIVE determine his identity. His
character shapes his hair.
AMBITION
INTELLECT
OCCUPATION
CONFIDENCE
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
17. MR. CONTROL
MR. MACHO
MR. MEDIOCRE
GUY’S HAIR
TRUTH #06
Girls share a common, yet
unspoken language of men’s
hair, and what hair says about a
guy’s personality.
MR. VAIN
INSIDE OUT ANALYSIS GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
18. EXAMPLE: RYAN HAS STRINGY HAIR EXAMPLE: JAMES HAS OVERGROOMED HAIR
Girls think he’s too relaxed to be reliable Girls think he’s vain and egocentric.
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
19. EXAMPLE: TOM HAS BORING HAIR EXAMPLE: CHAD HAS OVER GELLED HAIR
Girls think his life is mediocre. Girls think he overdoes things.
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
20. EXAMPLE: JEFF HAS OVERDONE HAIR EXAMPLE: DAN HAS OVER SHEARED HAIR
Girls think yikes! What’s he compensating for? Girls think yuck! He’s a control freak!
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
21. CARING
TOO MUCH
ABOUT MY GUY’S HAIR
HAIR? TRUTH #07
THAT WILL
MAKE ME Guys need an authority to tell
FEEL GAY. them that it is a-ok to care
about their hair, and that
caring doesn’t make them gay.
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
22. GUY’S HAIR
TRUTH #08
The majority of men in
America today are needlessly
suffering from bad hair.
GUYS WITH BAD HAIR AND
DON’T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
23. GUY’S HAIR
TRUTH #09
BAD HAIR CRISIS Guys have no idea that their
hair is ruing their game, or how
to fix it. We are in the midst of
a bad hair crisis!
98%
CLUELESS
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
24. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Axe quantitatively validated our Girlapproved truths and standards using a strategic-one.
Here are some of the results that they found.
90% of girls are at more likely to go out with a guy if he has good hair
90% of girls wish guys would wash their hair more often
70% of girls think guys don’t know how to style their hair
88% of girls agree that greasy hair is repulsive
90% percent agree that hard, over-gelled hair turns them off
QUANTITATIVE VALIDATION GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
26. S
EXPLOSIVE
GUY’S HAIRCARE
BREAKTHOUGH OPPORTUNITY
G U Y ’S H A I R
OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
27. OPPORTUNITY SPACE MANLY
MEN’S HAIR LOSS
we appreciate the effort
DANDRUFF
THERAPY
good but smelly
SPECIAL DAILY
CARE GROOMING
PREMIUM MASS MARKET
STYLING AIDS SHAMPOOS
feminine + vain
ain’t a complete solution
MASS MARKET
PREMIUM HAIR STYLING AIDS
TREATMENTS too shiny, sticky + greasy
PREMIUM
feminine + vain SHAMPOOS
feminine + fussy
MEN’S HAIR
COLORING
why does it exist?
NOT MANLY
OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
28. OPPORTUNITY SPACE MANLY
MEN’S HAIR LOSS
we appreciate the effort
To date, there is no mass
market product designed
to make men manly.
EXPLOSIVE
DANDRUFF
THERAPY
good but smelly
SPECIAL DAILY
CARE GROOMING
PREMIUM MASS MARKET
STYLING AIDS SHAMPOOS
feminine + vain
ain’t a complete solution
MASS MARKET
PREMIUM HAIR STYLING AIDS
TREATMENTS too shiny, sticky + greasy
PREMIUM
feminine + vain SHAMPOOS
feminine + fussy
MEN’S HAIR
COLORING
why does it exist?
NOT MANLY
OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
29. EXPLOSIVE OPPORTUNITY
Introduce the first mass market hair grooming line for men.
SUPPORTING OPPORTUNITIES
Make men sexier for women and win good will from the female market.
Eliminate the bad hair crisis that is demasculating men.
Be the authority across the entire spectrum of men’s hair needs.
OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
30. BRAND POSITIONING
Get girlapproved hair and send the right mating game signals.
BRAND PROMISE
Axe hair promises to give guys what they need to get their hair read right.
MARKET
Focus on core Axe demographic, but can apply to all men.
OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
31. A XE H A I R
EXPLOSIVE
G U Y ’S H A ISR R A T E G Y
T
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
32. How can Axe deliver on its promise of giving men girlapproved hair?
Girlapproved identified 18 distinct hair parameters that girls use to
G U Y ’S H A I R
determine a guy’s sex appeal. To optimize success, the Axe brand
must account for all 18 hair dimensions.
(The guy team was only capable of identifying 2 parameters.)
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
33. STRATEGY
ESTIMATED EFFORT PERSONALITY MATCH BANGS
HYGIENE
AROMA STRENGTH
CUT & SHAPE
THE 18 HAIR PARAMETERS
GROOMING SKILL
Girlapproved discovered that universally, girls
GEL QUANTITY
subconsciously analyze guys based on 18 hair
VOLUME CONTROL
parameters. Even if one of the parameters is PRODUCT USE
out of range, she will notice and feel turned off.
SIDEBURN BALANCE
HIGHLIGHTS
BOUNCE BATHROOM TIME
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
34. STRATEGY
TOO MUCH
NOT HOT
THE UNIVERSAL SWEET SPOT
Across all hair parameters, girls share a range of what
UNIVERSAL SWEET SPOT
makes a guy sexy. If his hair falls outside the sweet HOT
spot, he’s got issues and he’s out of the mating game.
TOO LITTLE
NOT HOT
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
35. STRATEGY
THE OPTIMALLY HOT MAN KNOWS HOW
TO ALIGN EVERY DIMENSION OF HIS HAIR.
For most men today, some aspect of his hair falls
outside the sweet spot. This warns girls about his
personal issues. TOO LITTLE GEL
HIS LIFE IS MESSY
TOO MUCH GEL
LIVES LOUD AND TACKY
TOO LITTLE STYLE TOO MUCH STYLE TOO LITTLE EFFORT TOO MUCH EFFORT
HIS LIFE IS BORING SEARCHING FOR IDENTITY TOO LAZY TOO VAIN
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
36. STRATEGY
18
TOO MUCH
THE BRAND STRATEGY GUY’S HAIR
Invent a comprehensive new grooming line PARAMETERS
AXE HAIR MUST HELP EACH MAN
UNIVERSAL
capable of helping men optimize all 18 GREASE ALIGN HIS HAIR TO THE SWEET SPOT
SWEET
TEXTURE SPOT
essential hair parameters. To do this requires
BANGS
designing a range of products, in addition to
EFFORT
creating packaging, educational programs + SHINE
TOO LITTLE
communication. ...
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
37. GU Y’ S HA IR STANDARDS
FEMININE ™
G U Y ’S HAIR
(the deliverable included standards for all 18 hair parameters, here is just a sample)
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
38. STANDARDS (GEL) =
we never want to see it + we never want to feel it + we never want it rub-
bing off and greasing our pillows + should not leave dandruff + should not
make hair look wet, or stiff and hard
Bad gel can singlehandedly
destroy a guy’s love poten-
tial.
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
39. PACKAGING
Men have bad control with gel -
dispenser should release quan-
tity in premeasured doses so the
guy doesn’t over do it.
PRODUCT
HAIR
Invisible, no sheen. Doesn’t harden
when dry. Hair must remain touch-
able. Water soluable, doesn’t leave
oil marks on fabrics. Doesn’t flake
COMMUNICATION
or create dandruff.
Educate men the hazards of
guido hair and teach him how to
use gel to manage his hair with-
out making it goopy
HAIR GEL
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
40. STANDARDS (STYLING) =
highlights, mohawks, and other extreme trends - just say no + more than 7
mins on your hair will make you seem vain + spend at least 5 mins on your
hair + never let your hairdresser get creative + all haircuts should comply
with the pre-certified girlapproved hair database
Style is the entry point to
the mating game. Get it
wrong, and it’s game over.
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
41. PACKAGING
A good cut is a foundation for
hot hair. Include images of hot,
basic cuts for men to take to the
hairdresser.
PRODUCT
HAIR
Guys can’t handle too much se-
lections and instructions; keep
your line simple, limited and
mistake free.
COMMUNICATION
Tell guys that taking care of
their hair does not make them
gay, but turn girls on.
STYLING
PRODUCT AND BRAND STRATEGY GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
42. WE APPLIED THIS GIRLAPPROVED
INVENTION OPTIMIZATION PRO-
CESS ACROSS ALL OF THE 18
HAIR PARAMETERS . . .
GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
43. A XE H A I R
G U Y ’S H A IFRN A L
I PRODUCT
FINAL PRODUCT GIRLAPPROVED GUY’S HAIR
