Case Study
Solus Health
Health Tech | 2026
Reshaping a Pre-Launch Brand Through Consumer Research
Supporting Solus Health ahead of launch by designing a five-study consumer research program, translating findings into evidence-based brand decisions, and delivering an actionable brand book.
The Challenge
The brand was operating on untested assumptions. The working name, visual identity, tone, and persona architecture had all been defined on paper — but none of it had been pressure-tested with consumers.
The deeper challenge was the audience. IBS sufferers had tried elimination diets, tracking apps, lab tests, and supplement stacks, and most had given up on the loop between effort and outcome. Walking in with the wrong tone or visual register would lose them before launch.
The work wasn't to validate one decision. It was to validate every brand-defining decision the team had made — before a single dollar of production was spent.
Overview
Solus Health (then operating as SNIFR) was a pre-launch consumer health tech company building a passive gut health monitoring system — a toilet-mounted sensor that detects microbiome activity in real time.
Founded by engineers with technical conviction but limited brand-side experience, the team had a working prototype and a strawman brand identity — neither validated with the consumers they intended to serve.
Engaged independently by the CMO ahead of launch, I led the brand strategy and consumer research program required to confirm or replace the brand's core decisions before any production investment.
My Approach
Designed a Five-Study Research Program
Architected a sequenced five-study Lyssna research program covering every brand-defining decision ahead of launch — naming, modifier testing, messaging and tone, visual direction, and feature priority.
Translated Findings into Brand Decisions
Cross-referenced findings across all five studies to surface contradictions, reinforcing patterns, and clear directional signal. The team's central hypothesis — that irreverence would build trust with a burned audience — was definitively rejected. The brand pivoted to warmth, evidence, and clarity across name, tone, and visual direction.
Built a Decision-Ready Brand Book
Synthesized five studies of raw research data into a unified brand book, structured for the engineering-led founding team using acceptance criteria language familiar to them. The result was a decision-ready document the team could hand to any partner — investor, agency, or production — with the brand decisions and their evidence in one place.
Key Contributions
- Designed and executed a five-study Lyssna research program covering every pre-launch brand decision
- Drove the rename from SNIFR to Solus Health, validated through naming and modifier testing
- Replaced the team's tech-forward visual direction with a warmer, evidence-led register validated against the target audience
- Established the brand's tone of voice — credible and clinical, without the wellness-category posturing — across all five audience segments
- Synthesized findings into a decision-ready brand book covering all five personas, with each recommendation carrying an explicit confidence rating
Creative leadership without the full-time hire.
Let’s Talk
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Selected Works
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SOCIAL
Case Study
Solus Health
Health Tech | 2026
Reshaping a Pre-Launch Brand Through Consumer Research
Supporting Solus Health ahead of launch by designing a five-study consumer research program, translating findings into evidence-based brand decisions, and delivering an actionable brand book.
The Challenge
The brand was operating on untested assumptions. The working name, visual identity, tone, and persona architecture had all been defined on paper — but none of it had been pressure-tested with consumers.
The deeper challenge was the audience. IBS sufferers had tried elimination diets, tracking apps, lab tests, and supplement stacks, and most had given up on the loop between effort and outcome. Walking in with the wrong tone or visual register would lose them before launch.
The work wasn't to validate one decision. It was to validate every brand-defining decision the team had made — before a single dollar of production was spent.
Overview
Solus Health (then operating as SNIFR) was a pre-launch consumer health tech company building a passive gut health monitoring system — a toilet-mounted sensor that detects microbiome activity in real time.
Founded by engineers with technical conviction but limited brand-side experience, the team had a working prototype and a strawman brand identity — neither validated with the consumers they intended to serve.
Engaged independently by the CMO ahead of launch, I led the brand strategy and consumer research program required to confirm or replace the brand's core decisions before any production investment.
My Approach
Designed a Five-Study Research Program
Architected a sequenced five-study Lyssna research program covering every brand-defining decision ahead of launch — naming, modifier testing, messaging and tone, visual direction, and feature priority.
Translated Findings into Brand Decisions
Cross-referenced findings across all five studies to surface contradictions, reinforcing patterns, and clear directional signal. The team's central hypothesis — that irreverence would build trust with a burned audience — was definitively rejected. The brand pivoted to warmth, evidence, and clarity across name, tone, and visual direction.
Built a Decision-Ready Brand Book
Synthesized five studies of raw research data into a unified brand book, structured for the engineering-led founding team using acceptance criteria language familiar to them. The result was a decision-ready document the team could hand to any partner — investor, agency, or production — with the brand decisions and their evidence in one place.
Key Contributions
- Designed and executed a five-study Lyssna research program covering every pre-launch brand decision
- Drove the rename from SNIFR to Solus Health, validated through naming and modifier testing
- Replaced the team's tech-forward visual direction with a warmer, evidence-led register validated against the target audience
- Established the brand's tone of voice — credible and clinical, without the wellness-category posturing — across all five audience segments
- Synthesized findings into a decision-ready brand book covering all five personas, with each recommendation carrying an explicit confidence rating
Creative leadership without the full-time hire.
Let’s Talk
→
Selected Works
A
C
CONTACT
alexchennault /ət/ gmail /dɒt/ com
SOCIAL
Case Study
Solus Health
Health Tech | 2026
Reshaping a Pre-Launch Brand Through Consumer Research
Supporting Solus Health ahead of launch by designing a five-study consumer research program, translating findings into evidence-based brand decisions, and delivering an actionable brand book.
Overview
Solus Health (then operating as SNIFR) was a pre-launch consumer health tech company building a passive gut health monitoring system — a toilet-mounted sensor that detects microbiome activity in real time.
Founded by engineers with technical conviction but limited brand-side experience, the team had a working prototype and a strawman brand identity — neither validated with the consumers they intended to serve.
Engaged independently by the CMO ahead of launch, I led the brand strategy and consumer research program required to confirm or replace the brand's core decisions before any production investment.
The Challenge
The brand was operating on untested assumptions. The working name, visual identity, tone, and persona architecture had all been defined on paper — but none of it had been pressure-tested with consumers.
The deeper challenge was the audience. IBS sufferers had tried elimination diets, tracking apps, lab tests, and supplement stacks, and most had given up on the loop between effort and outcome. Walking in with the wrong tone or visual register would lose them before launch.
The work wasn't to validate one decision. It was to validate every brand-defining decision the team had made — before a single dollar of production was spent.
My Approach
Designed a Five-Study Research Program
Architected a sequenced five-study Lyssna research program covering every brand-defining decision ahead of launch — naming, modifier testing, messaging and tone, visual direction, and feature priority.
Translated Findings into Brand Decisions
Cross-referenced findings across all five studies to surface contradictions, reinforcing patterns, and clear directional signal. The team's central hypothesis — that irreverence would build trust with a burned audience — was definitively rejected. The brand pivoted to warmth, evidence, and clarity across name, tone, and visual direction.
Built a Decision-Ready Brand Book
Synthesized five studies of raw research data into a unified brand book, structured for the engineering-led founding team using acceptance criteria language familiar to them. The result was a decision-ready document the team could hand to any partner — investor, agency, or production — with the brand decisions and their evidence in one place.
Key Contributions
- Designed and executed a five-study Lyssna research program covering every pre-launch brand decision
- Drove the rename from SNIFR to Solus Health, validated through naming and modifier testing
- Replaced the team's tech-forward visual direction with a warmer, evidence-led register validated against the target audience
- Established the brand's tone of voice — credible and clinical, without the wellness-category posturing — across all five audience segments
- Synthesized findings into a decision-ready brand book covering all five personas, with each recommendation carrying an explicit confidence rating
Creative leadership without the full-time hire.
Let’s Talk
→
Selected Works
A
C
CONTACT
alexchennault /ət/ gmail /dɒt/ com
SOCIAL