Generating hair styling product ideas from men’s own routines

The question

A personal care company wanted hair styling ideas it could develop soon and further out, grounded in what men actually do in front of the mirror.

That meant seeing routines men rarely talk about, in the moment they happen, and turning what they shared into products and messages the brand’s teams would want to develop, with each idea specific enough for them to judge what it would take.

Our approach

We put men, hair and style experts, and the company’s own people on one online platform, so the people who would develop the ideas saw the routines firsthand.

The company’s core team took on the same challenges as the men, so its people saw the routines from the men’s side, and most of the ideation happened online, with a working session in person to shape the concepts.

Hair and style experts added a professional view beside the men’s own routines, so every idea could be checked against how styling works in practice.

What the team came away with

The team had concepts for the near term and further out, each with rendered visuals and the opportunity area it came from.

Every concept set out its technology, sensory cues, front label, instructions, pack and communications, with the questions still open, which part of the business would own it and the work needed to bring it to life.

Films of men’s styling routines kept the people behind the ideas in view, so colleagues outside the project could see what each concept was answering and why it mattered to the men who would use it.