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Cloud Nine has a new approach in a sector that is still dominated with glossy, high-heat images and airbrushed perfection. Cloud Nine, a hair-styling brand, has launched a new identity, created by Leeds consultancy Propaganda. It puts the real world and its real hair in focus.
Relaunch is a sort of homecoming. Propaganda played a key role in the creation of Cloud Nine in 2009. They are now back to oversee a complete transformation of Cloud Nine, including strategy, design and digital.
Cloud Nine was to be a real alternative for a long-stuck sector. Although styling tools and technology have advanced, the brand message has not. It is still based on nightclub glamour with aggressive heat styling.
Consumers today are changing their priorities. A growing number of them have reduced the use of heat to style hair in order to preserve its health. The consumers are looking for products and services that can be easily incorporated into their daily routines, without having to compromise on results. Cloud Nine and Propaganda saw a chance to capitalize on this unmet need.
The new brand strategy is Strength + Kindness. This simple phrase reframes brand purpose and acknowledges that hair health doesn’t need to be sacrificed for powerful styling tools.
Propaganda’s Brand Discovery Process gathered insights from Cloud Nine’s global team, consumers, retailers and salons. The clearest desire was for products that supported personal style, while also being gentler and more intuitive.
“Having been there at the start of Cloud Nine, it’s really exciting to be back helping to launch a new era for the brand,” said Laura Kynaston, managing director at Propaganda. “With this new brand, Cloud Nine is stepping up to meet beauty consumers where they are and is poised to completely shake up the sector.”
Cloud Nine products had a distinct advantage. Unlike one-temperature-fits-all tools, their straighteners offer 11 variable heat settings and a patented Revive Mode, which uses 8,000 harmonic vibrations per minute to minimise damage. The use of natural minerals like Sericite (r) for smoothness and shine adds to their focus on innovation.
Cloud Nine is now a quiet disruptor, and the new branding brings this message to life.
Creative execution for the rebrand includes a total overhaul of visual identity, voice and digital channels as well as the point of sale experience.
While still highlighting the product’s technical capabilities, the refreshed website and platforms on social media reflect a more relaxed, confident tone. The overly-styled look of the traditional beauty campaign is gone. It’s been replaced by a natural and effortless style that promotes hairstyles suitable for everyday people.
Trade communications and retail display systems have been upgraded, and targeted campaigns are being launched on both professional and consumer channels.
The relaunch campaign is important because it pays homage to one of the pioneers and the roots of the brand. Susan Powls was one of Cloud Nine’s founders and honorary chair. She played an important role in establishing the ceramic style category during the early 2000s. She coined a phrase that has become famous. “good hair day”The name was then used by a competitor that is now ubiquitous.
The brand still has ambitions based on her legacy, and Cloud Nine’s reputation as an innovator from its early days.
Martin Rae is the founder of Cloud Nine. The rebranding represents an opportunity for clarity that has been long awaited. “Cloud Nine has always had the product to rival the category leader, and now we have the brand to match,” He said. “Strength + Kindness gives consumers a real choice, with a brand that puts hair health first.”
The Propaganda Team helped him articulate this vision. “We couldn’t be more pleased with Propaganda, from the deep insight they’ve given us to the creative and strategic rigour they have delivered.”
The rebranding might seem like a new start but it is actually a return of the principles that have made Cloud Nine so successful…innovation, disruption in the sector, and refusing to follow herd.
The brand has a new proposition, and is confidently aiming for international expansion and to capture a larger share of the market.