Brand Innovation & Transformation: Chapstick
Our Approach: Deep Consumer Insights Through Social Data Mining
We began by implementing advanced social listening techniques to uncover consumer perceptions and unmet needs. This data-driven approach provided valuable insights into how consumers were actually using and talking about lip care products
2-Day Innovation Workshop
The centerpiece of our engagement was a comprehensive 2-day innovation workshop with the ChapStick core team. We began with a carefully curated immersion tour through New York City’s beauty retail landscape, visiting premium boutiques and trend-setting spaces to inspire fresh thinking.
In the workshop, we facilitated strategic exercises to understand ChapStick’s brand elasticity and challenged the team to reimagine the brand’s potential in different adjacencies, channels, and price points. The workshop successfully aligned the team around a clear strategic intent, identified promising innovation territories, and established criteria for evaluating future opportunity.
Innovation Roadmap
Following the workshop, we developed an Innovation Roadmap for ChapStick and refined the brand architecture to focus on three distinct product families and lay the groundwork for new product introductions:
Classic – Honoring ChapStick’s heritage and trusted formulations
Beauty – Premium offerings with enhanced aesthetic benefits
100% Natural – Clean formulations for eco-conscious consumers
Results
Our partnership with Pfizer Consumer Health delivered transformative outcomes:
Category Migration: Successfully repositioned ChapStick from the cough/cold aisle to the beauty aisle, significantly increasing profit margins
Innovation Pipeline: Developed the successful Total Hydration line, based on our advanced hydration strategy
Brand Revitalization: Created a bold new brand story that resonated with both loyal users and new consumers
Digital Engagement: Implemented social media strategies that increased engagement and attracted younger demographics By clarifying the brand architecture and creating a focused innovation roadmap, we helped this American icon evolve while staying true to its heritage of lip care expertise.