Shiseido
Brand and communication strategy that makes beauty technology feel effective, reassuring, and desirable.
How can advanced technology be translated into a brand experience people can understand, trust, and desire?
Unlike in Japan, China's highest-spending female consumers are younger and deeply influenced by film and entertainment culture. This insight led us to define 'Fighting Women' and 'Soft Technology' as the core product propositions.
Led consumer insight, product-experience strategy, and communication direction for Shiseido (Japan), partnering with Dentsu Tokyo to reframe female consumers' anxiety around beauty devices into a more approachable 'Soft Technology' narrative that connected product positioning, customer psychology, brand storytelling, and APAC market communication.
Challenge
A premium beauty brand needed to communicate technology-enabled skincare without making the experience feel intimidating. The creative challenge was to balance efficacy, trust, emotional comfort, and brand desirability in a market where unfamiliar devices could create user anxiety.
Solution
Built an insight-driven creative strategy that repositioned technology-enabled skincare through the 'Soft Technology' narrative. The main deliverables were product experience strategy, brand communication direction, 3D product simulation, and launch communication materials. This satisfied the challenge by converting consumer fear of unfamiliar devices into a premium, reassuring, benefit-led technology story.
Impact
Helped Shiseido shape EFFECTIM's product and communication strategy for a fast-growing anti-aging beauty-device category, where China was expected to drive a major share of Asia's demand. The work translated China/Japan consumer insight differences, at-home skincare behaviors, device anxiety, and expectations for personalized consultation into a clearer 'Soft Technology' narrative, making beauty technology feel more trusted, localized, and emotionally relevant for launch communication.
About
Shiseido
Shiseido, founded in 1872, is one of Japan’s most influential global beauty groups. China and travel retail together accounted for around half of brand SHISEIDO’s 2024 sales, making the market strategically critical as the company strengthens localized innovation, e-commerce, premium retail experiences, and consumer engagement.