Brand Health Check: Time for a new remedy at Eu Yan Sang

DIAGNOSIS 1
Swapna Nayak
APAC regional client services director
IPG Mediabrands

As a 135-year-old brand, Eu Yan Sang has an ageing population on one hand and a younger generation concerned about well-being on the other, as its target audiences comprise two opposing sides of the spectrum. This makes its demographic segmentation a tough task.

The brand has also placed most of its eggs in the China basket, tying its brand health with the economic health of China. There are few ad campaigns by the brand that are consistent and memorable. A legendary brand can’t continue to flourish purely based on its heritage. It needs a steady stream of brand messages to recruit new customers. 

From a branding perspective, it is important for the brand to identify key niche segments across all Chinese communities in Asia and develop targeted messaging—be it quality assurance, preventative health benefits or general well-being messages. It needs to engage with these communities by developing customised content. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t get the full spectrum of consumers.

On the retail front, Eu Yan Sang can go beyond its traditional way of selling OTC drugs and consider creative partnerships with lifestyle brands such as restaurants and health clubs. By doing so, it can position itself as a wellness brand rather than a purely functional traditional Chinese medicine brand.

DIAGNOSIS 2
Alex Mucha
Director & olfactory composer
Curious Consultants

The increased emphasis on ecommerce makes sense as a means to constrain the costs of physical premises and open up their brand to a wider audience. There’s a growing interest, especially in the West, in natural herbal treatments—a positive factor in their efforts to expand beyond traditional markets.

However, the brand looks a little tired, unfocused and lacking in appeal to its developing audience:

1 Brand mark: A banal sans-serif typeface and symbol lacking in detailing don’t evoke character. The identity is neither modern nor traditional, just dated.

2 Packaging: An uncoordinated plethora of colour schemes, styles and typographics. 

3 Social media: A hugely untapped area for the brand. The ecommerce website has no links to any social media channels. There is a Facebook page, but it has only one post.  

4 Customer trust: The Bo Ying Compound incident has hurt the brand, highlighting discrepancies in their standards across different countries and an approach to contamination which displays a lack of concern for the customer’s well-being. But it does present Eu Yan Sang with an opportunity: to set more stringent standard for contamination and apply it unilaterally, showing they place customer safety first.