MANILA, Philippines?In the Philippines, only about 31 percent of women use a face-care product, according to a survey. Hair care users are at 95 percent. Only about 2 percent maintain an anti-aging regime, though over half of the respondents expressed desire for younger-looking skin.

This is why Pond?s sees a big opportunity in the Philippine face-care market.

?It?s only 2 percent now, but it?s getting bigger,? said Manuel Alfonso, Pond?s? global marketing director for face care. However small compared to such markets as China or India, the Philippines is ?a very important country? for the Pond?s business, added the Thailand-based Spaniard who?s also vice president of the global relaunch of the beauty brand.

?We?re a leader here and we want to maintain that leadership,? he added. ?In the whole of Asia, our market is growing exponentially, and it?s very encouraging.?

Meryll Yan, Pond?s? assistant brand manager, said, ?If you add the figures of our No. 2 and No. 3 competitors in face care, our share would still be bigger.?

Campaign

This year, Unilever, makers of Pond?s, began a zealous campaign to relaunch the brand worldwide, with specific focus on skin-lightening and anti-aging products.

?The purpose is to bring the best formulations and best packaging that truly deliver both clinically and sensory-wise,? Alfonso said.

In April, the company opened House of Pond?s, a temporary plush setting of a spa-beauty bar in Makati City, to reintroduce the brand?s 65 mass and ?masstige? (premium mass market) products.

?When we planned the relaunch, we didn?t really focus on competing against the mass brands but against the prestige brands,? Alfonso said. A new look for the reformulated Age Miracle that debuted in 2007 was introduced. ?[Pond?s Phils.] has been doing a great job. The implementation of the relaunch has been very good.?

In a blind-test study conducted by the independent research institute Synovate, Age Miracle came out on top by a wide margin against three prestige brands in terms of overall satisfaction.

If its anti-aging cream is as good as the claims, why isn?t it sold at the $200-up range, the typical price of a prestige brand?

?We use premium ingredients and the latest in technology,? Alfonso said, ?but we want it to be accessible to more people.?

Feedback

According to Yan, the ?Marry Me Again? television campaign has been receiving positive feedback from consumers. It tells the story of an Age Miracle user who gets a marriage proposal?again?from her husband.

A populace weaned on telenovelas seems to relate well to Pond?s? promise of romance. ?Women say they broke into tears when they saw it for the first time,? Yan said. ?It strikes a chord among women. It?s a universal message.?

?Who doesn?t want to bring romance into their life?? Alfonso asked rhetorically. ?Even men.? The TVC, which was produced in Thailand, received a similar reception in other Asian markets.

Overall, Alfonso said skin lightening is still bigger in the region, as opposed to the North American and European markets where women?s main concern is wrinkles.

?But the anti-aging business is catching up. Asian women?s primary problem is age spots, not wrinkles,? he said.

?What?s interesting about Asians is that once they try a product, they use a lot of it. They buy the entire range,? he observed. Asians may not be particularly loyal to a specific product, but they stick to a regimen. ?If it works, they stick to it.?

And that may explain why Pond?s iconic cold cream remains a handed-down habit through generations.