Developing a Brand Strategy to evolve and consolidate
The Tanning Shop brand
The Company
Though open since 1990, several years later The Tanning Shop business found itself operating in a marketplace that had become regarded with skepticism due to its unregulated status. This represented a difficult challenge for the brand. Their goal was to gain respect and acceptance on the high street by sourcing the best technology from around the world and training staff to become experts in hygiene and safety standards. www.thetanningshop.co.uk
The Project & Scope
During the 1990’s, The Tanning Shop business had grown to dominate the Irish & UK tanning marketplace sectors. However, with growth the franchised shops struggled to provide a consistent brand image and consumer messaging. Some stores became fatigued and their expert safety messages were getting lost.
The brand identity wasn’t favourably differentiating from competitors and it needed to be refreshed from a design and marketing communications perspective.
The Outcome
Bradley McGurk was commissioned to identify the potential strengths and opportunities for the brand. We subsequently developed a compelling brand position to reflect this. Through market research, we realised the opportunity to extend their reach to men as much as women, particularly in the UK market, and to consumers with a preference for fake tanning products. We repositioned The Tanning Shop as the health and beauty specialists in this area. Highlighting their innovation and professionalism, our new brand design guidelines ensure consistency across all stores, with messages to consumers being very open and positive, focusing on the ‘science’ - as well as the benefits – of tanning. After this re-brand exercise, business for The Tanning Shop increased by 50% and it is now a brand that is proud of its products and services, as well as being confident and proactive in its marketplace promotions.
