Ozone, which is part of the Bell Pottinger Group, has further established itself as the agency that can bridge health and beauty issues having been appointed by L’Oréal owned derma skincare brand, Vichy. Vichy is an established market leading dermatological beauty brand in Europe but is little known in the UK.
Vichy’s core values are its commitment to the science behind the brand and the principle that skincare should be tailored to skin type – through advice and recommendation from a health professional rather than self-selection. Vichy products are available in stores where the pharmacist and staff have been trained to diagnose and advise customers on their skin type and treatment of any problems. In Europe, these specialist pharmacies are widespread but it is still a developing market in the UK.
Ozone chairman Gareth Zundel comments, “The ‘once size fits all’ approach just simply doesn’t cut it in the derma skincare market. Vichy’s research shows that most of us misdiagnose our skin type and are therefore using the wrong products. It makes sense that a qualified health professional should provide us with the advice and expertise we need.”
A major part of the brief is to reposition the brand and promote the scientific and medical benefits of Vichy products. Ozone will be working with the Vichy marketing team on an educational programme for pharmacists, consumers and the media throughout 2006, raising awareness of the importance of professional diagnosis and the use of products tailored to individual skin type. Ozone will also be managing a key opinion leader group of influential dermatologists. Alongside this there will also be a major educational campaign regarding sun awareness in conjunction with a skin cancer research group.
Vichy’s UK Commercial Manager Leigh Norris comments, “We feel it is time to really capitalise on Vichy’s point of difference – the fact that we have hard science supporting all of our products. This new marketing approach needs a very specific type of PR agency and Ozone has the ideal mix of scientific know-how and consumer media expertise to take the brand forward.”
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For further information, please contact Gareth Zundel or Mel Edrich at Ozone on
t. 020 7861 3965 / 020 7861 3968 or email them at gzundel@ozonecomms.co.uk or medrich@ozonecomms.co.uk or for more information on Ozone visit www.ozonecomms.co.uk
