Where we started

Having stood pride of place on every teenage and twenty-something bathroom shelf in the late 90s and early 00s, Shockwaves was struggling to maintain relevance with its target of younger consumers (18-25). Communications centred on boy-meets-girl, nights out and bed head hair.

The journey

Given the focus on product and retail placement, we recommended repositioning the brand through a product range campaign, rather than a full rebrand – giving them immediate impact in-market and a new news story for retailers.

Looking to show a more credible, authentic picture of Shockwaves’ target audience, we created a Shockwaves world that was more diverse, more fun and introduced a totally new idea to the brand – #squadgoals. The shoot took place in streets of East London, capturing spontaneous moments and urban irreverence. Our squad were young, moody and cool.

In addition to the hero range film and key visuals, we also created a suite of how-to films and social assets; a collection of social imagery; and vitally for this brand, a series of in-store displays and point of sale structures. Paid, social and in-store, all brought into the new Shockwaves world – a world that our target audience could recognise, relate to and want to be part of.

Where are we now

The campaign toolkit was delivered globally – launching in more than 50 markets with over 200 assets, social strategy and campaign guidelines. Early results showed that brand credibility has already improved, with an increase of 7.5% in belief in the brand promise. Digital marketing response rate also tripled, making it a retail success, as well as a repositioning one. Our client reported: “We have seen a 20% uplift in net revenue when the new Shockwaves work has been activated.”