Client
MOJO Ad
Type of Work
Strategy and Creative
Overview
As part of MOJO Ad, a premier student-staffed agency specializing in the Youth and Young Adult (YAYA) market, my team was challenged by Bath & Body Works to re-engage the 18- to 24-year-old demographic. While the brand enjoyed high awareness and a strong nostalgic connection, it faced a growing disconnect with the values and daily needs of modern YAYAs. Our objective was to transition Bath & Body Works from a brand that is simply seen as a "scent superstore" to a "must-have" partner that is truly felt in their daily lives.
The Ask
How can we build off tween fandom to inspire YAYAs to engage and foster lasting loyalty with Bath & Body Works?
The Strategy
Research revealed that the YAYA demographic is homed in on their ambitions, education and goals, oftentimes feeling overwhelmed. They crave clarity, routine and the energy to be the best version of the complex person they know they are.
Qualitative Research
I led the qualitative research of 30 in-depth interviews to uncover the underlying habits and motivations of the YAYA consumer. Our research was guided by four key objectives: understand the role that personal care plays in their lives, uncover motivations when curating and designing their living spaces, understand the role that fragrance plays in their lives and identify ways that Bath & Body Works can authentically integrate into their daily lives. The YAYA consumer has transitioned from using fragrance as a tool for social conformity to a holistic pillar of personal well-being, prioritizing scents that offer functional benefits like mental clarity and self-expression. We discovered a widening value gap where participants struggled to reconcile Bath & Body Works' perceived lack of ingredient transparency and youthful image with their adult demands for quality and intentionality. Ultimately, while scent remains a transformative power in their daily routines, the brand is increasingly viewed as an outdated "scent superstore" that feels disconnected from the sophisticated, health-conscious, and minimalist lifestyles they lead today.
Target Profile
From our research, we built our target audience, the Holistic Hustler. Holistic Hustlers are 18-to 24-year-olds who are serious about their future. They see personal care not as a chore, but as a crucial part of their holistic well-being. Many participants spoke about how they looked forward to their personal care routines and that their routines brought them joy. By investing in their physical and mental health, they are laying the foundation for achieving their academic and career goals. For Holistic Hustlers, a disrupted routine isn't just an inconvenience; it's a source of real distress. We herard many of our participants say they would feel "gross and unprepared" or "not 100%." They choose scented care products that reinforce their identity and make them feel like the best version of themselves. They understand that taking care of themselves inwardly allows them to present their best, most confident selves to the world outwardly. The Holistic Hustler is someone who aspires to excel in every aspect of their life. They are a multi-faceted, complex individual whose life comes together as parts of something interconnected, only explained by reference to the whole. They care about their well-being, social life, education, and career; every part of their life informs who they are as a whole person. In our interviews, our participants valued academics and their future the highest, with their health as a close second.
Big Idea
Bath & Body WORKS, so you can too. Every day, you’re working towards personal accomplishments. Nothing feels quite as good as when you finally press submit on that agonizing paper you’ve spent hours writing or when you secure that second interview for your dream job. There’s a proud feeling that takes over you when you hit your newest PR in the gym. Sure, there might be a bump in the road here or there, but you put in the WORK. Your life is intentionally focused on striving for excellence, meaning you have little room for deviation in your carefully crafted equation for success. There’s a science to all this working, and it's powered by intentional balance, creative concoctions, thought-out formulas and unique equations. Just like all the ingredients in one busy YAYA consumer’s life, Bath & Body WORKS purposefully and mindfully to support the work you put in every day through hands-on experiences, real life events and relatable figures.
Presentation Photography
In addition to my role as strategist, I captured a series of narrative photos and video clips featured throughout the final presentation to illustrate our target person's journey.
In Collaboration with
Ashley Rodio, Elise Jessee, Ellie Weien, Harper Kehl, Isabella Trost, Kara Jayne Moulder, Karissa Wichmann, Lily Burger, Sophie Van Dyne, Sydney Brown
