CHALLENGE
With 82% of consumers now considering wellness a top priority, the natural wellness category had become crowded. Saje needed to stand out and prove the scientific efficacy of its products, especially in an era when “100% natural” claims were ubiquitous and aromatherapy was perceived as nothing more than stylish products that smell nice.
APPROACH
For centuries, plants have been used for healing and strength, but over time we lost our way and starting turning to synthetic solutions.
Our ‘Remedy Real Life’ brand platform is grounded in the insight that the wellness industry has become artificial, filled with fleeting fads, clichés, and unrealistic ideals. People are tired of being told how to live their best lives and are experiencing ‘wellness fatigue’. They want something real, something natural, and most importantly, proven.
For over 30 years, Saje Natural Wellness has combined signature aromas with the healing power of plants to help people thrive and relieve the daily discomforts of modern life. So we set out to revitalize Saje by reintroducing it as the brand that creates a real mind-body shift, 100% naturally. Whether you’ve got the Sunday Scaries, sleep issues or ‘tech neck,’ we wanted people to know that Saje has effective solutions that have been proven for centuries, but purposely blended for today.
We launched the Remedy Real Life platform with a campaign that combined the potency of plants with the allure of metaphor, presenting four unique and slightly surreal slices of life: a zoned out office worker, a stressed out parent, a dancing grandma who can get down, and one deeply, deeply tired sleeper.
Thanks to some Saje plant power, our cubicle hero gets a reboot, mom reclaims her chill, grandma gets her groove back and the sleeper sinks deeply into her mattress.
EXECUTION
We began by exploring various strategic ways-in to position our new platform. We decided that we needed to attract the ‘wellness curious’ in order to obtain the growth goals Saje had set out to accomplish. These are everyday people, from stressed students, and sleep-deprived dads to burned-out gig workers, and anxious kids. They’re outside of the typical Saje customer and who are typically portrayed in the wellness category. They’re looking for physical and mental relief, and are open to trying non-pharmaceutical options, but don’t believe Saje is effective or a brand that can play a role in their everyday lives.
In a category of unnatural bullsh*t, we aimed to push against it and remedy modern discomforts using the natural power of plants. Through the strategic exploration, we landed on our “Remedy Real Life” as our platform.
With this platform solidified we went really wide with creative exploration, developing many different concepts that could bring this stance to life. In order to capture the attention of our audience, we landed on a campaign concept that challenged the traditional ways people seek relief but do it in a playful and positive way. Using visual metaphor and reclaiming cliché sayings or warnings from the world of pharma, we opened up people’s eyes to nature’s remedies from Saje.
We worked with our clients to partner with a production company who could really maximize the outputs and make the most of our small production budget. We produced a video-led campaign with a series of four 15 sec videos and four 6 sec videos. We also produced a series of 8 statics for social, digital and OOH platforms that spoke to the various need states and produces. Finally, utilizing existing product imagery, stock ingredient shots and self-generated assets, our studio produced a range of supporting static assets that educated audiences on some of the effective ingredients in Saje’s products as well as ease of adding them into your daily routine.
Results
After the platform launched, year over year sales rose by +7%, transactions were up +5%, and the conversion rate increased by +3%.
Saje Team Members felt the shift, too:
“The campaigns are now cohesive and stir emotional responses from our consumers.”
Nick (Sudbury)
“The biggest change for me is that we used to just read the campaigns, but now we can actually feel them.”
Julie (District Manager)
“I can finally see myself in our brand.”
Lil (Queen Street Manager)
