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Helping a leader in skincare bridge clinical efficacy with consumer empathy

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The challenge

A science-first skincare powerhouse wanted to move beyond functional benefits to build a deeper, more authentic connection with its consumers. Many of the brand’s users live with moderate-to-severe chronic skin conditions – conditions that carry a heavy, often unaddressed mental health burden. To lead with empathy, the brand needed a 360-degree understanding of the journey,  capturing the complex emotional experience of managing a chronic condition that fluctuates daily.
We knew that a standard interview couldn’t capture the volatility of a flare-up. We needed a longitudinal, “always on” approach to catch the real-time shifts in consumers’ mindsets.

 

The method

To break through surface-level insights, we designed a six-week immersive longitudinal study that lived alongside the consumer:
  • Real-time flare tracking: Mobile journals and online boards captured raw, in-the-moment emotions during active skin flares.
  • The support ecosystem: We Interviews with not just the patients, but also their loved ones, helped uncover how chronic skin conditions can have a significant and disruptive ripple-out effect.  
  • Deep dive IDIs: Follow-up sessions connected the dots between physical symptoms and the internalized mental health tensions discovered during the 6-week window.

The impact

Our research identified three core emotional tensions that were previously unaddressed in the category. These insights provided a clear framework for the brand to differentiate its messaging from competitors and served as the strategic foundation to develop creative content that better reflected the actual experiences of its community.

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