Manav woke up a bit earlier than usual. He was all charged up. He went for a bath and decided it had to be the shower gel and not the usual soap. He changed the cartridge of his razor and took his time to shave. He brought out the most expensive shirt in his wardrobe, crisply ironed for the day ahead. A generous spray of the deodorant and he was all set to go. And yes, he almost forgot, the new mouthwash that he bought last week. Just a quick rinse and he felt ready to take on the world. Manav had a big day in front of him. He was going to present the annual plan to his super boss. Ever since he joined this new place he had been waiting for a chance to impress his superiors, and this was his moment. For important days like these Manav liked to break his routine with little acts that helped him feel good about himself and his prospects. Walking into the conference room he was primed for prime time.

We are expected to perform at our peak always. We?re constantly competing against our peers, fixated on the next raise, the big promotion, the sexy job profile that everyone?s gunning for. To help our mental make-up, we?ve started resorting to a host of products and services that transform us, give us a confidence boost and help us stay on top of our game. These are instant performance enhancement solutions that seemingly give us an edge facing any situation, any time of the day. They come in the form of sprays, liquids and gels applied on various parts of our bodies with the promise of instantly switching you on for any life situation.

Camera Ready Generation

Managing Facebook versions of themselves is an overwhelming obsession particularly with the young. They?re constantly updating, editing and managing their profiles, advertising the best version of their personalities for the world to see on their timeline. A large part of identity construction online is in selecting the right profile picture which defines ?you?.

And it?s not just the profile picture alone. Because we can be clicked anywhere there?s a sudden explosion of pictures on the web. We?re recording every little episode of our lives and putting it up on our social streams. Facebook IPO filings note that about 250 million pictures are uploaded on the social network every day! That?s a lot of private moments shared with our friends. You can be clicked anywhere, with or without an occasion and the moment will be exposed to your friends instantly. In fact, it?s not just the risk of being clicked at random, we want to be hyper clicked – we want to outshine, out-dress and out-do the number of likes on our friends? pictures. We want to be appreciated publicly. Apps like Pose help us announce what label we are wearing today. This new-age narcissism, coupled with omnipresent camera phones and the ability to instantly upload pictures on social networks is giving rise to a camera ready generation.

A Personal Care Armoury

Whether it?s a big occasion or a casual moment?our changing cultural codes expect us to look good at all times. There is no excuse for a casual sloppiness. Being camera-ready is a constant preoccupation. And we?re taking all the help we need from brands that help us in the act. And it?s not just the fashion brands who benefit. A wrinkle-free face, fair skin, fairer underarms, smooth shaven legs, sparkling white teeth, straight hair with streaks of electric blue are imperative for a socially competent existence. Dig deeper into their handbags and you?ll find a lip gloss, make up kit, hair brush, perfumes, deodorant, sanitary napkins, face wash, mouthwash, wet tissues, dry tissues, hand sanitizer and more. They?re going to war against forces that wear out the freshness as the day progresses. And what?s interesting is even as we?re saturated with solutions from the neck up, it?s the anatomy from the neck down to the toes is what?s getting our attention.

The Shelf and Beyond

The need to stay always on makes the personal care aisle one of the most engaging parts of the shopping trip with a 59% interaction rate, that is the percentage of shoppers who directly interacted with at least one product. Clearly, shoppers are curious and want to know more. About 21% of shoppers even read the back of the pack for further information. This results in 47% of shoppers spending more than three minutes in the personal care aisle. However, there is an untapped opportunity for brands outside the store. While sampling and sensorial experiences may trigger interest, the road to trial and adoption of new brands, variants, categories in personal care almost always starts with a recommendation of an expert, or a peer. Channels outside the store, like spas and salons, are deemed experts with whom extend a considerable influence over the audience. Cosmetic brands have realised this long ago and have completely adopted and even owned the salon as a sales channel. These channels can be used as plain media opportunities through simple product glorifiers or sampling and even experience zones. Tie it in with a couponing program and brands can close the loop at retail.

The article is an excerpt from the shopper study ‘Selfishness & Shampoo’ conducted by BatesCHI & Partners, co-authored by Praveen Vadhera, divisional CEO, BatesCHI & Wallstreet and Tanvi Singh, Planning Manager, BatesCHI & Partners.