The Challenge

Boots wanted to better understand the language and imagery used to convey ‘healthy glow’ or ‘radiance’ in product and packaging. They wanted to understand the cultural background of healthy glow to understand the extent to which they could affect consumer discourse and feed into new product development.

Semiotic Role

Creative Semiotics, working with Razor Research, conducted a thorough investigation into the cultural context of glow. This included an examination of femininity, gender politics, digital media, sexual politics and spa culture. The semiotic analysis then classified typologies of glow to show which glow types work alongside which product families (tanning, facial care, body care...).

Outcomes

The client received a detailed report on healthy glow, where it comes from culturally and how to build it into brand narrative. They were then in a much better position to decide how to create a range of products based on glow and how to communicate this in packaging and advertising per product category.