Bold 2in1’s advertising campaign, “The Fabric of Life’ worked by holding a mirror up to consumers and showing them emotionally rich day-to-day moments relating to fabrics. Making the campaign work required a deep understanding of Mom’s relationship with their clothes, laundry and their family. 

In addition to ethnographic and qualitative consumer insight work, I conducted a meta-analysis of all previous copy testing research to understand what was driving communications effectiveness and optimized the campaign to deliver the most effective commercials in the campaign’s history. 

Unilever repositioned Surf to directly compete against Bold 2in1 leading to a 6% loss in share for the brand. To get to the bottom of the issue I conducted research among women who had switched, who told us their decision was primarily because of the scent. We asked them to smell Bold 2in1 and then Surf and they told us they did indeed prefer Surf’s aroma, nearly leading us to conclude that Bold's product needed upgrading. 

However, we then conducted blind scent tests with the same women, who told us (much to everyone’s surprise) that they preferred Bold 2in1. This made us realise their perception was actually due to Surf's packaging: specifically the floral design and the claim “Essential Oils”. Based on this revelation we fast-tracked floral Bold 2in1 pack designs into market along with a counter-claim, which effectively neutralized Surf’s impact. The designs are still in market almost 10 years later. 

Bold 2in1s portfolio consisted of different scent ‘pillars’ across different detergent formats: (powders, liquids, gels and tabs). However, the business was heavily over-invested in scents for more relaxing mood profiles, like ‘Lavender and Camomile’ and 'Amethyst Rose'. We identified an opportunity to create a more energized scent experience.

This led to the development of different product concepts resulting in 'Sparkling Pomegranate and Orange Blossom' - “An uplifting scent, which provides an energizing laundry experience like the morning sun”. The concept created a long term product platform, expanded the brand into new territories and created a significant increase in business for the brand.