The Body Shop appoints new agency roster to deliver future vision for brand rejuvenation

The Body Shop’s strategy to rejuvenate its brand, demonstrating its activist credentials and its commitment to business as a force for good will be defined and delivered by three new agencies: Mother, One Green Bean and forpeople.

Work will focus on bringing The Body Shop’s purpose to life through an enhanced omnichannel experience.

Customers around the world will be encouraged to interact with the brand about social topics both on- and offline, with a focus on using store space to drive engagement and activism.

The Body Shop has announced a new vision for its brand rejuvenation, with a renewed focus on communicating its heritage as pioneers of brand activism and inspiring customers to join them in supporting social causes and driving lasting change.

The brand’s commitment to business as a force for good, feminism and sustainably-sourced ingredients will be shared through the strategy, designed to inspire and engage new and potential customers globally with a modern vision of The Body Shop’s heritage, as relevant today as ever.

Customers will be encouraged to interact with the brand through compelling and provocative conversation through social media, while new store formats will be rolled out, containing activism spaces designed to encourage conversation and action. Store staff in 70 countries around the world will campaign and lobby for The Body Shop’s social causes, encouraging customers to learn about key topics and join them in driving material and lasting change at both global and local levels.  With nearly 3,000 stores around the world, the brand is preparing to roll out a more engaging store design later this year, connecting customers and staff more closely to the brand’s social causes as well as its array of ethically-produced beauty products.

Brand campaigns will bring The Body Shop’s feminist, humanitarian and animal rights issues to the fore, staying true to Dame Anita Roddick’s vision of generating positive change for people and planet. The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International’s recent Forever Against Animal Testing campaign culminated in October 2018 bringing a record-breaking 8.3 million signatures to the United Nations demanding a global end to cosmetic animal testing, reinforcing The Body Shop’s long-term commitment to the cause. Building on its success and with this refreshed activist approach in mind, future campaigns will lobby for causes affecting women and girls in global society.

The announcement comes as a result of The Body Shop’s acquisition by Natura &Co, a global, multi-channel and multi-brand cosmetics group, which brings together The Body Shop, Brazilian brand Natura, Australian brand Aesop and, assuming consummation of the pending transaction announced in May 2019, Avon[1]. The brand rejuvenation aligns with Natura &Co’s commitment to generating positive economic, social and environmental change.

The Body Shop has appointed three new creative agencies to define and launch its revitalised vision: brand and creative strategy and ATL development will be led by independent agency Mother, with global PR strategy and creative delivery led by One Green Bean. London based design agency forpeople will deliver brand identity, global retail design and packaging design.

Mother’s overarching brand strategy and creative direction for The Body Shop and will span advertising, digital and design.

Commenting on the new strategy and agency appointments, Lionel Thoreau, global brand director at The Body Shop, says: “We are moving into an exciting new phase at The Body Shop. Our brand rejuvenation strategy will allow us to bring our commitment to business as a force for good to the very forefront of our interaction with customers throughout their experience with us. We want to inspire them to join us as activists generating positive change for causes that matter, and we firmly believe that Mother, One Green Bean and forpeople are the ideal partners to help us do that.”

Susan Hosking, executive creative director International at Mother comments: “This is a truly exciting time for The Body Shop and we’re thrilled to be a part of it. The Body Shop are passionate about creating impactful global campaigns, leading cultural change and ultimately helping to make the world a better place. All things that we here at Mother are passionate about too!”

Kat Thomas, founder and executive creative director at One Green Bean says: “The Body Shop couldn’t be more One Green Bean – we love brands that are provocative when it comes to purpose, that actively campaign for social change.  Delivering work with humour and humanity is part of our DNA and we can’t wait to rally the world behind The Body Shop cause once again.”

Will Williams, creative director at forpeople says: “It’s a privilege to work with The Body Shop on such a wide-reaching brand rejuvenation project. The collaboration with Mother on the brand platform was an exciting new way of working that built on the strengths of our two agencies. The opportunity to then develop the brand identity, global retail scheme and packaging has allowed us to develop a bold and coherent brand universe.”