REBRANDING of Lotus
The goal
With so many toilet paper brands to choose between it’s important to stand out of the crowd to get the customers attention in the stores.
We chose Lotus as a challenge to rebranding it and come with a new brand strategy and a new visual look to make more customers feel comfortable when buying toilet paper in a store. Most people seem to not find it embarrassing to buy toilet paper but the research tells another story when the customer is in the store.
So what can design do to change the experience of buying toilet paper to the better and make the customers proud to carry it home? Read on.
Design approach
Desk researching, gaining insights from focus group about the visual design of the toilet paper from Lotus and other brands, and collecting data and insights from the customers’ experience in the store when buying toilet paper.
Lotus
Brand strategy
Customer journey
Visual identity
Package design
Web design
Student group work
Figma
Adobe CC:
– Photoshop
– Illustrator
Content
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01. Research insights
Main conclusions from the audit:
- Lotus does not stand out from its competitors
- Lotus does not offer anything interesting
- Lotus is very environmentally friendly but does not brand itself on that
- Embarrassment dilemma, discreet or breaking taboo?
- There is a market gap where emphasis is placed on climate with a touch of humor
- There is a market gap where emphasis is placed on both climate and quality
Recipient perspective:
We have chosen to work with a recipient-oriented perspective because, at the beginning of our research, we discovered that all toilet paper brands focus on the consumer and brand themselves on the product rather than on the company’s identity and history.
Sensory approach:
We have incorporated elements of the sensory approach in our research, drawing on a study about the purchase of embarrassing products. In this study, we found that the visual impression plays a significant role in whether the consumer chooses the product or not.
02. Research insights
Focus group interview
Our focus group contained 5 people between 25 to 27 years old. We asked them questions and they were having a conversation about toilet paper brands which gave us more insights about their views on Lotus and other brands.
Conclusion: What matters most for the target group are sustainability, softness of the toilet paper and the visual design of the brand.
Associations by each brand product
We also got insights through their stories about their customer journey before, under and after buying toilet paper in the super market.
In Initial consideration the focus group had a good discussion about the visual design of the different brands’ visual design of the toilet paper packages that helped us to point out what doesn’t work in the visual design to position Lotus from the other brands.
02.1 Customer journey
Customers and painpoints
We collected insights about touchpoints and pain points to map the customer journey by looking at the phases: Trigger, Initial consideration set (for example listening to their thoughs/associations about the different brands’ visual design of the toilet paper packages as shown above), Active evaluation/choice of supplier, Moment of purchase, and Postpurchase.
02.2 Persona's journey
Persona and user journey
Based on our research (focus group, survey and desk research) we had enough data to shape a persona “Sofie” and her customer journey (as-is).
Summary of the new strategy
Climate
Lotus aims to capture the younger demographic while retaining the older one. The younger audience is not inclined to purchase expensive toilet paper but is willing to spend extra for environmentally friendly options. Additionally, a sustainable brand is automatically associated with quality, making climate the primary focus of Lotus’ new brand strategy.
A less awkward consumer journey
Lotus also intends to alleviate pain points in our target audience’s consumer journey. This includes reducing the time spent in the toilet paper aisle, minimizing embarrassment at the checkout or on the way home from the supermarket, and ensuring the packaging is easy to carry home.
Verbal identity/tonality
Out of Nick Parkers’ 11 tonalities, we believe Lotus should adopt the “Straight talker” approach. The tonality should be simple, straightforward, and honest — essentially, “it is what it is.” Moreover, it should be easy to decipher, saving consumers time in the aisle.
Lotus’ previous tagline, “Care well, Live well,” does not stand out from competitors. Therefore, a new tagline has been created to encapsulate the essence of Lotus’ new brand strategy: “Climate overshadows awkwardness.” This resulted in the tagline “Proud to carry home.” Below are additional examples from our ideation process.
03. Rebranding of Lotus
Based on our research (focus group, survey and desk research) we had enough data to shape a persona “Sofie” and her customer journey (as-is).
03.1 New touchpoints
Based on our research (focus group, survey and desk research) we created a new customer journey (to-be) with new updated designs both online and in stores to catch the customers’ attention and make them be proud to carry home Lotus toilet paper.
