The Brand: A skincare company based in Hawaii that uses all-natural ingredients and creates scents tied to the islands.
The Goal: Determine which type of messaging angle, emotional or rational, works best for a skincare and beauty brand.
The Test: Over the first 90 days of working with this client, we've tested three motivators: Product Features and Self-care, which are rational, and Belonging, which is emotional. We set out to examine the ROAS to see which has been the most successful.
Our Hypothesis: We assumed that rational motivators will have a slight edge overall.
The Outcome: Rational motivators had a 32% higher ROAS (2.45 vs. 1.86) and a 29% lower CPA. The ROAS for our rational motivators was above our target of 2, while the ROAS for emotional motivators fell below our goal.
Our Takeaway:
People are more swayed by product features, such as scent, ingredients, and healing properties than by emotional ties to the Island. This makes sense, as 'belonging' can only target a small group of people who have either visited or lived in Hawaii – while it may be a strong messaging angle in that market specifically, it doesn’t hold as much weight across North America.
The rational motivators here cast a much wider net, focusing on users' results, such as long-lasting scents, healing dry or cracked skin, etc. When it comes to products people will be using every day, they want to understand the ingredients, benefits, and effects.