Providing an Improved Shopping Experience for Hair Care Consumers
Dercos is Vichy's hair care brand that treat hair and scalp concerns. The website revamp and digital campaign focused on consumer education.
My Role
Project Lead and UX Designer
Project Type
Collaborative Internship Project (8 cross-functional teams with over 20 people)
Methodology
Design Thinking Method, Marketing Funnel Framework
Tools
Google Analytics, Figma, PowerPoint, Jira, Wrike, Vantage, Microsoft Excel
Project Timeline
2 months (June 2022 - July 2022)
Dercos Is A Brand With A Lot Of Untapped Potential
Dercos is Vichy's dermatological hair and scalp care brand that treats hair and scalp pathologies like dandruff, hair loss, and oily hair.
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Fastest Growing Hair Care Category
Dercos is part of the dermatological hair care market, which is the fastest growing hair care category.
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Potential Growth Within the Canadian Market
Dercos was relaunched in Canada in 2021. Dercos is the 3rd largest franchise in Vichy worldwide, but one of the smallest franchise in Canada.
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Opportunities Through Digital Channels
L'Oréal Canada had never done a direct-to-consumer (D2C) campaign for Dercos.
The Project
This was a very self-directed project. The only instructions I was given were:
Renovate the franchise and launch a campaign for the category.
Design Process
I started this self-driven project by mapping the design process. I used the Design Thinking Methodology and the Marketing Funnel Framework.
Please feel free to explore all the steps by clicking on the corresponding emoji!
Using the Marketing Funnel to Examine the Consumer Journey
Applying my marketing background, I considered how the website redesign would fit in with the consumer journey through the marketing funnel. I also thought about how the website revamp and digital campaign would work together to create an omni-channel experience as consumers move through the marketing funnel. I will discuss the campaign in more detail in the launch stage.
EMPATHIZE👂
As a designer, I need to understand my users and the market, and test my assumptions about the problem space.
Research
I analyzed pages after pages of report on hair care consumers, online shopper, and hair care industry that were created by the L'Oréal's Chief Digital Marketing Officer (CDMO) team through primary research. I also researched best practices for hair care pages and email newsletters, and examined competitors’ strategies.
In addition to learning about Dercos' untapped potential mentioned above, I also learned:
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Online Shopping
The percentage of Canadian women who bought beauty and personal care products online was 10% in 2014 and grew to 49% in 2021. Younger consumers are more likely to buy online.
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Others' Opinions Matters
Hair care consumers look to like-minded customers and professionals for recommendations. People are also talking more about hair concerns and specific ingredients.
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Lack of Differentiation
Dercos is not differentiated from mass brands and the mass market is declining in dollar share. Competitors in the dermatological hair care market have more detailed web pages, such as comprehensive hair routines, while Dercos only list related products.
DEFINE ✏️
As much as I want to solve all of users' problems and the business's challenges, I need to define the key problems I would like to solve through design.
Project Objectives
Based on the research, I developed the project objectives and key KPIs:
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Increase Brand Awareness and Emphasize Dercos’ Medical Roots
Brand awareness is important because of Dercos' recent relaunch. This is a great opportunity to differentiate the brand through its medical roots.
Awareness KPIs: Website Traffic, CTR for Social Media, Percentage of Sales from New Users
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Increase Consumer Education
Education can help consumers understand their hair and scalp concerns and find suitable products to treat their concerns. In addition, consumer education can help Dercos build trust and credibility.
Consideration KPIs: Conversion Rate With Education vs. Without, Average Time on Page
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Generate Revenue
Business impact is important and revenue is a key business KPI.
Conversion KPIs: Revenue, Weight of Business
Persona: Meet Rebecca
Based on the research and Vichy's Google Analytics data, I created a persona to ensure my redesign was driven by the target users' motivations, frustrations, and behaviours.
Rebecca Williams, Dercos Redesign's Persona
IDEATE💡
This is the stage where I brainstormed a wide variety of solutions to the users' problem, which is my personal favorite stage!
Brainstorm
I started with brainstorming ideas. Here are some ideas I came up with...
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Make the Category Landing Page like a Store Display
Add professional and consumer recommendations, FAQ section, and medical claims on the category landing page.
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Increase Transparency in Products
Add more information on all the products, such as ingredients list and product size.
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Share Detailed Hair Care Routines
Educate consumers on their concerns and provide suitable hair care routines.
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Launch Word of Mouth Campaign
Encourage users to write reviews and recommend products to friends and family with an incentive.
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Educate Consumers Through Vichy Magazine
Educate consumers through Vichy magazine articles. Some article ideas included " how to create a hair routine", "how to mix and match hair care", "how to insert treatment hair care throughout your normal routine", "how to take care of scalp health/ tips for a healthy scalp", and "ingredients good for your hair".
Prioritize
Then, I presented my ideas to Anne, Dercos’ Marketing Manager. Through our discussion, we combined ideas together, came up with new ones, and prioritized them based on the project's objectives and the brand's long-term strategy. Here is what we decided on...
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A Focus on Routines and Ingredients
We combined the routine, ingredients, and magazine ideas into magazine articles on hair routines and ingredients. Teaching consumers about hair routines and ingredients will be the focus on the redesign.
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Quick Wins
The website revamp is a good opportunity to implement the ”quick win” changes that are relatively easy to implement and bring high value to consumers, such as adding product sizes and changing the category banner.
Project Roadmap
After determining the strategy, I created a timeline/ roadmap. As the campaign included the redesign and many different marketing channels, such as social media and email newsletter, and I was working on other projects simultaneously, time management was essential.
REDESIGN 💻
The redesign plan allows me to clearly communicate my ideas to the agency.
The Redesign Plan
I used Figma to redesign the category pages on Vichy.ca based on the user persona’s needs. As I was working on an existing brand, I designed based on existing conventions while considering the company’s technical feasibility. For example, I had the idea of having the routines be pop-ups. Unfortunately, that could not be implemented.
Building on the idea of making the category landing page like a store display, I decided to add links to the new articles on the category landing page. The Dercos campaign is Vichy’s first time adding content blocks throughout the category landing page and the content blocks are now a common practice for the brand!
IMPLEMENT ✅
I worked with four agencies and Vichy's external teams to bring my idea into life!
Plan Comes to Life!
Content Creation
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I worked with a SEO agency to discuss the content and ensure SEO keywords were included in the routine and ingredient articles. The article briefs were shared with the magazine agency and after the agency shared the first drafts, I provided feedback on the tone and content to ensure readers do not feel stigmatized due to their hair and scalp concerns. I also connected with the other members on the Vichy team, such as the marketing manager (to ensure the article aligned with the Dercos brand), and the science and education teams (to ensure the information provided in the articles are science-based). The editing went back and forth around 3 times and then the agency translated the articles to French for the French-speaking consumers.
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Asset Designs
I worked with a graphic designer to create a campaign-specific banner and another category banner to replace the old one after the campaign. I provide her with the design brief to showcase my idea through Wrike and she created refined versions using Photoshop. Then, I provide her with feedback. I created the graphics for the content blocks myself.
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Website Updates
I then shared the redesign plan, assets, and magazine articles with the agency in charge of updating the website through Jira. I provided detailed instructions and conducted quality assurance checks. As the agency we worked with is based in Romania, I ensured my communication is clear and efficient as we can only work together 3 hours a day as the Romanian team finishes work at noon Montreal time.
LAUNCH 📢
The digital campaign brought traffic to the newly revamped website.
Omnichannel Digital Campaign
Design Briefs for Marketing Assets
With the launch the website redesign, I created an omnichannel digital campaign to bring traffic to the newly revamped website. In addition to creating the overall marketing strategy using the marketing funnel, one of my main responsibilities was creating marketing assets. I designed a draft for 4 social media ads and 6 emails. I then worked with a graphic designer to finalize my designs. I wrote the copy for all the social media ads and email newsletters.
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Each type of social media ad had two format: square (for Facebook and Instagram posts) and rectangle (for Instagram story)
6 email newsletters were sent out throughout the two-week digital campaign.
Implementation of Digital Campaign
I worked with L'Oréal Canada's internal Vichy team (including Digital, Marketing, Education, and Science team members) and external agencies to schedule social media ads, develop search engine optimization (SEO])keywords, create a search engine marketing (SEM) strategy, and send email newsletters.
THE REDESIGN AND CAMPAIGN 💻
I am proud to share my redesign and campaign that focused on consumer education!
Key Website Changes
Consumer Education
Consumer education was the main focus of the website revamp. Consumers can read credible and science-based information on their hair and scalp concerns, suitable hair care routines, and ingredients on the category landing page.
Screenshots of the implemented redesign from Vichy.ca
Updated Banner
The new category banner has a more concise copy, making the banner easier to scan. In addition, to focus more on education, instead of the models, I included products with short descriptions to help consumers find the right products to treat their hair and scalp challenges.
Pre Campaign
During Campaign
Post Campaign
Added Product Size
When doing a website audit, I noticed one key information, which is how much product consumers are paying for, was missing. This was a low effort and high value change. I also slightly edited the product description for consistency across all products.
The Digital Campaign
Here is how the website updates and the digital campaign fit within the marketing funnel:
The Consumer Journey
I get it! It may be overwhelming to see all the channels at once. Let me clarify through an example of a consumer journey that Rebecca may go through. More information on loyalty and advocacy will be covered in next steps.
CAMPAIGN IMPACT 📈
The project was a success with noteworthy impact throughout the marketing funnel.
Awareness
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4.4x
Dercos' Pages Traffic
Weekly Average Page Views During Campaign Vs. 2022 YTD Weekly Average
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10.7%
Increase in Click-Through Rate for Social Media Ads
Dercos Social Media Campaign vs. 2022 YTD Average for Vichy Social Media Ads
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39.5%
of Campaign Sales Came from New Users
Dercos Sales During the Campaign from New Users vs. Past Purchasers
Consideration
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44%
Higher Average Time on Page for Dercos Articles
Average Time on Page for Dercos Articles vs. Average for Website
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48.9%
Higher Conversion Rate for Article Readers
Conversion Rate for Readers vs. Non-Readers
Conversion
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3.65X
Weekly Dercos Revenue
Campaign Weekly Average vs. 2022 YTD Weekly Average
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10X
WOB for Dercos During Campaign
WOB for Dercos Category on Vichy's Direct-to-Consumer Website
REFLECTION 💭
As a resilient life-long learner, I learned through overcoming challenges.
Challenges and Key Learnings
Unexpected Changes
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Throughout the campaign, I faced two unexpected changes. First, one essential agency I was working with had nearly a month delayed. Therefore, I worked with Jen, the Assistant E-Commerce & CRM Manager, to adjust the timeline. Yet, even with the adjusted timeline, the delay was going to negatively impact the campaign if I followed the original roadmap. Thus, I had to be flexible. Instead of following the roadmap and waiting for the agency's assets to start the next step, I worked on the next step simultaneously to meet the campaign deadline. I also learned to be firm and confident and push for the assets, which helped me get the assets a week earlier.Also, throughout the campaign 3 products went out of stock due to unexpected transportation issues. As the products were featured in the original newsletter briefs, I had to adapt quickly with the designer to adjust the marketing assets.
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Further Improved Project Management Skills
Through this process, I further improved my project management skills. For example, I learned to be more agile when working with many teams and how to better work under pressure to meet multiple tight deadlines at once. In addition, as a perfectionist, I was often caught up in the small details. Before my manager, Michael, left, he gave me the feedback of looking at the big picture and I was able to implement this feedback through the project.
LOOKING AHEAD 👀
Considering the full marketing funnel, I suggested a loyalty and advocacy campaign.
Next Steps
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Loyalty and Advocacy Campaign
Before the end of the internship, I created a plan for a loyalty and advocacy campaign, which aligned with the marketing funnel framework. Consumers who purchased Dercos during the summer promotion will receive an exclusive promo code through email for their next purchase. In the email, consumers will also be encouraged to leave a review for the product(s) they purchased.