Having a Brand Leading product requires the combination of two important aspects: a great marketing story and an efficacious product to suit the target market. You can’t achieve both without effective collaboration between the R&D and Marketing Departments. However, all too often companies face extended delays, extended development or a blow out on costs – the most common reason for this is where there has been bad collaboration between marketing and R&D on outcomes to be achieved, how long it will take and unrealistic expectations between these departments.
To create truly successful products, the concept should be checked first. Formulators need to consider the product from a marketer’s perspective as it is already a crowded market place; while marketing teams need to consider product stability, performance and efficacy from a formulator’s perspective. There is no point having a sensational product if it doesn’t have a good shelf life; just like there is no point having a sensational product if an effective marketing message can’t be made to promote it!
Once concepts have been checked, suitable raw materials need to be selected, and this again needs to take on a collaborative approach. Formulator’s need to learn the type of information best communicated with marketing teams, as not all information is going to be suitable or applicable to them; but when it comes to ingredient selection from a marketing point of view, formulators need to critically evaluate their selections to make sure they are making marketable selections within the required formulation budget.
Finally, where products need to be formulated for more than one country additional regulatory, stability and aesthetic considerations need to be made. Formulas will also need to take into consideration the different marketing needs and compliance of claims in various regions.
Belinda Pilmore will be presenting ‘Brand Management – How R&D/Formulators Need To Collaborate With Marketing’ as part of in-cosmetic Asia’s Marketing Trends programme at 15:00 –15:45 on Thursday, 6th November. She will also be presenting ‘Regulations in the West (Europe and USA)’ at 12:00 – 13:00 on the same day of the exhibition.