Looking at SK-II’s brand cause, Live Clear, it seems difficult to understand the key message that SK-II is attempting to convey at the first glance. This is especially so for those who have minimal contact with the SK-II brand. This is mainly attributed by lack of marketing communication messages to effectively convey the intended brand meaning. Most of SK-II’s advertisements emphasize on the rich heritage and functional appeal of SK-II products that leads to crystal clear skin transformation, but fails to communicate the deeper brand message: SK-II does not only transform your skin, it transforms your perspective of life and ultimately, transforms your life. This is a message that will evoke the emotional aspect of the brand user, as the brand not only associates itself to the transformation of the user’s skin, but to the transformation of his/her life as well. However, the brand fails to utilize this emotional appeal to create strong emotional brand associations that will in turn, translate into emotional brand loyalty.

 

Furthermore, according to our primary research, many SK-II users themselves do not understand the essence of SK-II’s brand cause. Aside from SK-II’s promise of crystal clear skin transformation in 14 days, which is heavily promoted on both traditional and new media, majority of SK-II users are not aware of the brand’s true cause to help women Live Clear. Additionally, Live Clear is based on the brand’s belief in the transformative power of beauty to empower and help women achieve a life filled with optimism and clarity. If SK-II plans to expand further into the male consumer segment, this strong focus on women empowerment would be a mismatch with their future direction. Therefore, there is a need for SK-II to re-identify a cause that is more aligned with the brand’s future direction.