Who: Consonant Skin + Care, with Zulu Alpha Kilo for brand strategy and creative, Mint for PR and influencer.
What: A relaunch for the skincare brand—previously Consonant Skincare, now Skin+ Care—which includes a new visual identity, a greater emphasis on holistic skin care health, and a podcast series about masturbation.
What’s that now? Yes, The More You O is a podcast about masturbation to sell skincare products (we’ll explain below).
When & Where: The brand’s new look and feel is live on the website now, with new packaging rolling out, supported by targeted social and influencer. The podcast series is also live on the big podcasting platforms: Spotify, Apple, Google and Stitcher.
Why: The category is extremely cluttered and there’s a lot of dishonesty in the marketing, said Heather Segal, group strategy director at Zulu Alpha Kilo. “Since its beginnings [the skincare industry] has promised miracles in its bottles, and consumers have been willing to pay hundreds of dollars for hope,” she said.
Aside from its clinically proven products (soaps, moisturizers, cleansers, serums etc.) Consonant has always had at its core a more holistic approach to skin care that is dependent on a broader approach to wellness. The agency has been working with the brand for more than a year to “clarify, formalize and expand,” those elements, and develop a strategy to clearly communicate that brand purpose, said Segal. “We saw in Consonant’s actions a real honesty that served consumer’s overall wellness, and in that, skin wellness,” she said.
How: First there’s the name change itself. Moving from “Skincare” to Skin+Care, signals that Consonant is about more than just skincare products, it is also about wellness, including mindfulness and nutrition. A +Care section on the site includes information about wellness, because “Great skin comes from more than just great skin.”
There’s also new packaging and a new visual identity on the site, which has been redesigned to emphasize the more holistic approach to skin care. The naming, the new look website and packaging, and the more holistic positioning are all about a “formalization of the dimensions of wellness that impact skin health,” said Segal.
And then there’s the podcast.
What’s self love got to do with it? As a way of underscoring the renewed focus on the broader determinants of healthy skin, Consonant produced a six-part podcast series about masturbation.
“[S]elf-on-self action just has too many benefits for both your life and your skin to be kept out of the spotlight,” explains the intro copy on the podcast landing page. “From reducing the effects of stress, to the skin-boosting chemicals released during orgasm, to one study that showed those who experienced sexual pleasure three times a week looked, on average, ten years younger than their actual age.”
Each episode, hosted by psychotherapist and sexologist Taylor Nolan and produced by ZAK’s Zulubot, “explores how women can make the most of self-pleasure” and includes information about Consonant products that “serve as a good pairing.”
We Googled it: “An orgasm is so good for your skin… It’s partly hormonal, partly vascular, and partly neurological,” New York dermatologist Doris Day told Womens Health magazine in 2016.
And we quote: “Masturbation causes a number of different physiological and psychological reactions in the body, from decreased stress levels to increased blood flow to the face, all of which help promote healthier skin. A study of 3,500 people showed that those who masturbated at least three times per week looked on average 10 years younger than those who didn’t. Meanwhile less than half of women are masturbating regularly.” — Erika Schwass, science and wellness manager, Consonant.
