Bath & Body Works Bio Marketing Campaign Emphasizes Treatment Benefits

Bath & Body Works is initiating an aggressive promotional campaign for Bio, the retailer's first treatment-based hair and skin care collection. Bio bowed in Bath & Body Works' 1,300 stores Sept. 4, according to parent company Intimate Brands.

A departure from the company's traditional scented body SKUs, Bio will be the marketing focus in every Bath & Body Works door during the launch month, Group Product Manager Brian Bartholomew said. All stores will be "biolized" with wall fixtures and various in-store promotions, he said.

Bio will be displayed in three main fixtures in the front of the store where consumers can obtain product information pamphlets and coupons for the 40-plus-SKU hair and skin care line. Passersby also can sample products at a demo cart outside the store.

Store windows will feature displays for the new line and posters with women of different ethnicities, ages and hair types to emphasize the brand applicability of the products, Bartholomew said. Staff will be educated about Bio's benefits and will sport aprons promoting the line.

Two million product coupons will be mailed to both regular B&BW shoppers and new consumers. Coupons also will include special "friends and family" rebates handed out to sales associates at neighboring stores. In addition, when consumers buy a shampoo, they will receive a full-size conditioner.

The aggressive campaign appears necessary to highlight the retailer's move into the treatment category. "People aren't coming into Bath & Body Works to buy hair care, that's not their mind set," Bartholomew noted. "We have to create that mind set and we are putting programs together that we think will do that."

"We are known for our fragrances, and although fragrances are important in hair and face care, it is icing on the cake," the exec added. "It's the performance that really matters, and Bio takes us to the next level." B&BW expects to attract consumers who typically purchase from salon and higher-end retailers.

While Bath & Body Works is attempting to attract consumers, its main target for the Bio line is its existing purchasing base. "We have 40 mil. customers [annually]...if we just attract the current users, we are going to be very successful," Bartholomew contended.

"Using our reputation as a springboard, [we] expect to achieve great success," he maintained. Bio is expected to generate first-year sales of $100 mil., B&BW CEO Beth Pritchard reported during a recent analyst conference call (¹ (Also see "Dream Angels Soaring Toward Top Prestige Fragrance Spot - CEO Burns" - HBW Insight, 21 Aug, 2000.)).

Bath & Body Works used the 1998 Beautiful By Nature cosmetics launch as a "bridge" from its "pampering" body lotions, gels and spritzers to hair and skin treatments, Bartholomew noted.

Entrance into the performance and cosmetics categories is conducive to the retailer's goal of becoming a "one stop shop" for beauty, Bartholomew continued. Consumers tend to buy lotions and shower gels at Bath & Body Works and then go to department stores for face products or to salons for hair care, he said.

Although Bath & Body Works previously has dabbled in hair and skin care, Bio is the first line launched by the company to aggressively pursue the categories. To make room for Bio, B&BW recently phased out its Hair Works collection; a more pampering-positioned Fragrant Botanicals hair care line will continue to be sold.

Bio is an acronym for Beauty Individualized Organics, a name that reflects the line's performance-based treatment foundation. Designed to meet specific beauty needs, the line includes balancing, hydrating, volumizing, color care and styling aids for hair and oil-control and specialty treatments for skin.

Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner for damaged hair, Natural Hold Texturing Creme and Skin Renewal Serum are expected to be the most popular products. Sister products include AHA Renewing Creme with SPF 15, Blemish Control Gel and Color-Revitalizing Clay for hair.

Bath & Body Works assigned five key executives to create the Bio line. The team leaders, including Bartholomew and VP Bob Goehrke, have a combined 100 years of experience at companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Clairol and Maybelline.

Prior to the national launch, Bath & Body Works tested the products on "thousands" of consumers in February. Like the Beautiful By Nature launch, the retailer also conducted tests in 49 stores in cities including Boston and Cincinnati.