A relatable diaper brand is born
When Miezuu’s founder approached my team, she had a story and a newly developed diaper product. Her ask: a brand that could match the superiority of her new design and hold its own against the Japanese and American giants in the space.
The challenge
When founder Kim Yee got in touch with our branding team, she’d already proven herself a veritable entrepreneur and innovator. She had taken her search for a trustworthy and safe diaper for her daughter from the shopping mall and into her own hands. Through years of research, testing, trial and error, and a materials search that would take her around the world, she’d finally created a diaper that was kind to the environment, kind to a baby’s sensitive skin, and kind to parents who could be assured this new diaper would never leak.
In conversations with Kim Yee, we were surprised to discover that the company was still largely run solely by her, despite increasing sales. When asked how, she responded that it was largely due to the little need for customer service - the diapers were performing so well, that she rarely received complaints or calls for returns. We knew then that her company stood a real chance against the competition.
Yet the diaper market in Malaysia is crowded. Diaper giants like the American Huggies brand and the Japanese Mamypoko brand dominated the market with household brand names. Meanwhile, new indie entrants like Applecrumby were dominating sales amongst environmentally conscious parents. Kim Yee’s diaper was not only of higher quality than both but also just as environmentally friendly as Applecrumby - but without a strong brand and rollout plan, she feared the product would fail to catch a foothold in the competitive market
The insight
Before beginning our research, both our strategic and creative teams had a similarly strong hunch: that whatever brand pathway lay before us, Kim Yee’s story of an undaunted mother who set out to create a better product for her daughter would have to play a role. The narrative was too heartwarming and impactful to not play a central role.
Through research and light focus grouping, we made a final key insight that would shape our work. We found that while big diaper brands and eco-friendly brands alike made claims to being the best for babies, few made the claim that it was best for parents too. Focus groups and interviews told us that while parents of course wanted the best for their children (and the environment for that matter), they also wanted the best for themselves too. In other words, parents wanted just as much for their babies to be comfortable as they wanted to not be covered in their baby’s….well you know.
Creating a brand that spoke to the good for the child, environment, and the parent alike would set the new brand apart. Trust and authenticity of the claims would come from the simple wholesomeness of the founding story.
The solve
The project would require an all-hands on deck approach. We were walking the newly named Miezuu from brand strategy beginnings - brand positioning, visual and messaging principles, visual identity, messaging platform work - all the way to brand execution - package design, website design, website copy, design assets, and video direction.
My team’s strategic decisions were based on our key insights. We positioned the Miezuu brand as a diaper company with better materials that were good for babies, the earth, and parents. Simplicity, wholesomeness, goodness, and down-to-earth - these would be our guiding principles that would lead to the creation of our messaging framework and visual identity system.
Visually, the brand came to life through a palette of muted, organic colours that conveyed a grounded ease. Beautiful illustrations highlighted the founding story which came to life through copy that felt wholesome, loving, and easy. Visual and verbal IDs melded into a cohesive brand on the Miezuu website and in packaging.
Finally, our team wrote and directed four Youtube advertisements for the new brand. With headlines like “Happy Baby, Happy Mommy”, “Happy Baby, Happy Daddy” and “Why Do Parents Choose Miezuu Diapers?”, we clearly messaged the brand’s raison d’etre of being a source of goodness and ease for both baby and parent.
