Watsons, Asia’s largest health and beauty retailer and a member of the A.S. Watson Group, today launched its “Say Yes to Watsons Brand” campaign, designed to promote Watsons Brand, the store’s affordable, high-quality own brand, to the market in Malaysia. The launch, which took place at Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC), Empire Damansara, was also graced by the presence of Reggie Lee, one of Malaysia’s most popular cartoonists.

The integrated marketing campaign will feature cartoons penned by Reggie Lee, who was specially commissioned for this project. The campaign is timely in its implementation as cost of living in Malaysia has increased in recent months. According to Jessica Ng, Watsons Malaysia Marketing & Development Director, “More people are making savings their priority this year due to rising costs of living. More than half of Malaysian consumers surveyed last year are cutting back on clothing, entertainment and are switching to cheaper grocery brands. We see this as an opportunity for us to market Watsons Brands as we are always committed to providing our customers’ quality, value and choice. I believe Watsons Brands high quality, value for money proposition will help our customers continue to Look Good and Feel Great without burning a hole in their pocket.”

Watsons believes that Malaysian consumers will warm up to the unbeatable combination of quality, variety and affordability offered by Watsons Brand. According to Caryn Loh, Watsons Malaysia General Manager of Trading, “Watsons is a major player in the health and beauty private label market. In Asia alone, we managed to sell more than 260 million Watsons Brand products last year. In worldwide, Watsons Brand is also the trusted choice of customers at over 3,500 outlets in Asia and Europe. We want our customers to be sure of the quality of Watsons Brand, hence an extensive research and development programme and stringent quality process goes into each Watsons Brand item to create products that are safe and effective in meeting our customers’ needs. In fact, each Watsons Brand product is put through an 18-month quality control test. And we test them again throughout the production process, to make sure that our customers receive nothing but the best.”

Watsons Brand health and beauty products target the discerning shoppers that looks for great quality with good value, range from everyday essentials to the latest fashion trends, delivering fun and variety to suit any occasion and are synonymous with quality, vision and value. Its extensive range includes Baby; Bath & Body; Face; Hair Care; Health; Oral; Paper and Cotton; Feminine Hygiene and Travel & Accessories.

Thanks to a team of Watsons Brand advisors at over 300 Watsons outlets in Malaysia, customers are supported with professional counselling and highly personalized advice on all its health and beauty products. Naturals by Watsons, an exclusive premium range under Watsons Brand, offers beauty products that harness the power of nature. To date, Naturals by Watsons features the Olive Body & Hair Care and Argan Oil Body & Hair Care ranges that replenish, restore and renew.

Showing the lighter side of the “Say Yes” proposition in cartoons that form the creative backbone of this campaign is Reggie Lee, one of the most celebrated syndicated cartoonists in Malaysia. Reggie’s iconic cartoon characters frequently caricature local current issues in Malaysia’s major newspapers. Speaking at the launch, Reggie remarks that his observations about price increases helped inform his creative direction for the campaign. “As I was invited to work on Say Yes to Watsons Brand campaign, the first thing I looked at was the issue of rising prices in Malaysia. When you listen to people talk today, it’s usually about rising prices and what they intend to do about it. That’s where Watsons Brand comes in as a hero, to help ordinary Malaysians keep living costs down,” said Reggie.

The spectacular launch ceremony featured a chat session with Reggie Lee, Caryn Loh and Jessica Ng, after which Reggie was invited to sign three giant cartoon posters to officiate the launch. Also gracing the event on stage together with our VIP guests was Kulvinder Birring, Managing Director of Watsons Malaysia and Indonesia. Emceeing the event was popular TV presenter Reem Shahwa.

The “Say Yes to Watsons Brand” campaign is a 360 degree activation program which includes advertising initiatives, online media including a dedicated microsite and social media, and in-store promos designed to reflect the “value, trust and quality” proposition of Watsons Brand across Malaysia. The campaign will roll out nationwide during the next six months.

For more information about Watsons Brand, please contact Eric Wong eric@watsons.com.my / Abby abbykee@watsons.com.my or visit www.facebook.com/watsonsmalaysia or Watsons official website www.watsons.com.my . Don’t forget to ‘Like’ our facebook page!