By Michel Gutsatz – BrandWatch

Lierac just introduced its new corporate identity at the recent Pharmagora exhibition. This is a revolution for a brand whose graphic identity was, so far, quite “reserved”.  Nevertheless, one fact has become evident:  with the systematic use of gold and pink, the brand is positioning itself in the high-end women’s category.  This is far from the pedigree of the brand – which is rooted in plants and research.   We therefore have a brand – sold in pharmacies – whose graphic codes are the opposite of its position. Inconsistent.

This new identity creates at least as many problems as the old one did – but for different reasons:

We have fallen into a combination of two very different trends heads first:

• A copy of Shu Uemura – a brand that originated in makeup, and which therefore adopts the codes that relate to fashion and style … where the colours of its universe are instantly recognizable.

• A copy of the Sephora private label (which was also copied by Lierac for some of its products):

We immediately understand the instructions given by the brand: “Give us back some modernity!”  Alas, this comes at the expense of the identity of the brand, which, again, forgets its roots and does not highlight what makes it strong.  Anyhow, at least they will not go unnoticed on the white shelves of the pharmacies.

By Michel Gutsatz – BrandWatch