Claraa: New-Age Contact Lens for Youth

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Segment

Claraa is a coming-of-the-age contact lens brand aimed at creating a lifestyle based on clarity in vision & adventure in the heart. Being in eye care, medical device, and lifestyle segments, the brand positioning for Claraa contact lenses was the most important part of understanding where Claraa is headed. In the post-pandemic era, where the medical and lifestyle segments saw a massive jump and a bright projected future, Claraa contact lenses were positioned to be a direct competitor to global eye care giants such as Bausch and Lomb, Cooper Vision, and Alcon. Considering the cross-section of segments, it was determined that Claraa contact lenses would be best sold to Gen-Alpha, Gen-Z, and Millennial or to put it simply, the target age group was 14-30. However, we quickly realized that having such a wide age range as a target audience wasn't exactly helpful. This is where we made the decision as a branding agency to sub-segment our audience, niches, and segments. What was the ground reality? What was the actual procedure for getting contact lenses for Indian teenagers? Who, within the age group, has the capability or preference to buy contact lenses? These questions may seem mundane or off-topic but they were highly important to establishing a ToV (Tone-of-Voice) for Claraa for future brand communications. Another important point to note is that other brands focused on 'playing it safe' as they weren't positioned to be in the lifestyle segment unlike Claraa, who took inspiration from earphone brands such as boAt and sportswear brands such as Nike to bring forth a sense of a youthful and energetic lifestyle for its users.

Brief

there were many more questions that needed to be answered, such as how will we promote it, where will we promote it, and whether is it worth investing in paid promotions for it. The answers lay in the merits and demerits of each method that could be taken for tasks assigned. The mandates that were assigned to Team Substance were full-scale branding, social media marketing, paid media marketing, digital marketing as well as print marketing over a long period of time. We undertook these responsibilities in stride and got cracking to make Claraa the breakout entry into the market. With a multi-directional and multi-disciplinary approach, Team Substance created several user personas that would include the youth of India by communicating with them in the tone and words they prefer. This created a base for Claraa to launch itself to success in digital as well as mainline spheres of the industry.

Branding

The most important part of building any brand is to dive deep into the core of the brand essence, brand personality, brand archetypes, and brand purpose. Why was knowing it important? It was and continues to remain important as, over a long period of time, well-placed and consistent brand efforts lead audiences as well as non-audience groups to associate a particular feeling or expectation from your brand, which boosts brand success. Team Substance took it in stride and sought creative branding solutions that would bring a vivid yet enduring brand-building foundation, upon which all marketing and outreach efforts will be undertaken. It was hence decided that Claraa contact lenses being at the critical cross-section and juncture between eye care, medical devices, and lifestyle segments, we would focus on what the target audience seeks deep within: A Lifestyle! Showcasing a vivid lifestyle isn't easy on a bootstrap budget; yet, the strategists at Team Substance took the route of bringing the clarity, detail, and comfort by emphasizing them through adventure, travel and utmost comfort even when partaking in adventure sports. The rationale was to isolate the spectacles and go out without clunky frames restricting your adventures. By conducting extensive research on its competitors as well as conducting research on lifestyle brands such as Nike and boAt, we created the perfect tonality for Claraa- the one that doesn't sell you contact lenses but the one that brings to you an adventurous lifestyle without restrictions and discomfort. And hence, Claraa the brand was conceptualized. We sought to shake the meta of the contact lens industry by infusing the want of lifestyle.

Marketing

The major marketing efforts were preceded by our extensive branding activities, which included logo design, choosing the colour palette, tone of voice, brand positioning, and more. Our marketing efforts were led by our strategists and designers. It entailed important aspects of marketing; both online as well as offline.

Our marketing activities included:

  • Intensive paid & organic market research.
  • Competitor business & product research.
  • Identifying pain points of the target audience.
  • Media Activation across all social content platforms i.e. Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube.
  • Digital Marketing Plan i.e. SEO, SEM, SMM, and more.
  • Print Advertising Plan via. Magazine Ads, Posters, Standees, and In-shop Collaterals.

Team Substance not only fulfilled the immediate marketing mandates and requirements; but also created an effective roadmap for the future efforts of marketing that will be executed under the collective vision of Claraa and Team Substance. The future marketing roadmap included activities such as:

  • OOH advertising on prime location billboards
  • Active influencer marketing with top names such as Tulip Hazarika, Radio ASP and more.
  • Integration with mobile and web apps for easy product access.
  • Asymmetrical/Guerrilla marketing with the aim to do effective PR as well as expose the offline communities to Claraa contact lenses.
  • Shooting and releasing TV ads and ad films to bring the adventurous feeling of Claraa to the wider audience.

Print

Print Advertising is one of the first forms of advertising used by modern humans for the past 300 years. The best print ads and iconic packaging designs are often remembered and revered more than the contemporary digital communications being performed by nearly every brand today. It is truly said that old is gold and that is why print ads are still one of the prime ways to promote your brand and showcase it as a far-reaching one. The older generations who are often not adept at handling digital devices, end up relying upon legacy mediums such as print.

What benefits did Claraa derive from our print advertising and packaging activities? Aspects that benefitted the Claraa contact lens brand include:

  • Targeting a larger audience base
  • Offered flexibility and cost-effectiveness to the client management
  • Boosted audience attention and retention
  • Provided a multisensory experience for impact
  • Brought credibility and trust

However, our print advertising expertise is not merely limited to newspapers and magazines. We believe that packaging also falls under the ambit of print advertising as a great eye-catching package is the most flattering form of print advertising.

Team Substance created multiple packaging variations for the following:

  • Daily Lenses
  • Weekly Lenses
  • Monthly Lenses
  • Influencer Packages and much more.

Key Takeaways

The biggest takeaway from Claraa's emergence and new-found place among the young demographic is that the future generations are aware that quality products exist all around them but only a few can provide them with the lifestyle they dream of. Claraa is a coming-of-the-age contact lens brand that provides unmatched visual clarity and vision comfort and the self-confidence and assurance of an adventurous lifestyle to come ahead. The newfound Claraa brand was right in approaching Team Substance to aid its emergence. Focusing on the all-around branding and marketing experience, Substance Communication was able to translate Claraa well within the collective perceptions of the target audience. In the present state of matter, Claraa is gaining a wider inclination from the youth audience in tier 1 and tier 2 demographic. It has been made possible by Team Substance's holistic approach to Claraa's grassroots branding and marketing. From seed-stage branding and identity design to digital marketing and in-shop print advertising, Team Substance created the perfect plan to address the pain points of the target audience regardless of their economic backgrounds. Claraa is the spearhead that's leading the current charge of the Indian contact lens diaspora with acuity, expertise, and adventure. As marketing and brand professionals, we firmly believe that Claraa contact lenses are worth looking out for as the next big eye care competitors worthy of locking horns directly with the big-wigs in the contact lens industry, including but not limited to Bausch & Lomb, Alcon, Cooper Vision and more. Claraa dreams big, yet Team Substance dreams bigger by raising Claraa to be an emerging regional power within a few short weeks of its emergence, it is going to be highly exciting to watch how Claraa progresses into a global eye care phenomenon that shakes the global meta of contact lens industry for decades to come.