With emerging technology, social commerce and more voices championing inclusivity, the world of beauty is open to more possibilities. To explore the latest offerings in this category, we spoke with Lianna Cabrera Tonner, senior manager, shopper marketing, at L’Oreal Paris Cosmetics.
P2PI: Tell us about one of your recent successful campaigns.
Cabrera Tonner:Back in April, singer Camila Cabello, our Lash Paradise mascara spokesmodel, hosted a performance on TikTok Live to launch her new album “Familia,” which was a global brand first. To capitalize on this major moment, we partnered to activate a Lash Paradise integration to build excitement leading up to the event. We leveraged paid media swiping up to Target, our retailer partner, and had influencer promotion on TikTok to keep Lash Paradise top of mind. On the event day, we continued to run paid ads throughout the performance and boosted influencer content showcasing brand love for Lash Paradise.
At the end of the activation, we exceeded benchmarks by reaching a total of 14.5 million impressions and more than 53.6 million total views on our paid content. We saw a greater than 18% sales lift that continued throughout the month of April. It was a really unique way to support our spokesmodel, test and learn new activation platforms, and drive incremental sales at one of our top retailers.
P2PI: How do you incorporate influencers into your campaigns?
Cabrera Tonner: The COVID-19 pandemic has really taught us the importance of a digital-first strategy. They are at the heart of every campaign we do, whether it’s micro influencers to build buzz, our L’Oreal League of experts to provide professional recommendations, or social media stars like Mikayla Nogueira to help us drive virality. Especially in beauty, honest reviews and recommendations are one of the best ways to build brand love and sustain repeat purchasers.
P2PI: Our society at large is more accepting of inclusivity and body/skin positivity. Consequently, how has that affected the marketing messaging and creative?
Cabrera Tonner: This has been a hot topic within the beauty category for a while now, and it’s an especially welcome industry shift for cosmetics. We as a brand are making a conscious effort to expand shade ranges within our face products. We also are ensuring color payoff within our eye and lip categories. Inclusivity of all skin tones is a big initiative for us both in-store and online.
Makeup is so heavily rooted in self-confidence and self-worth, and for L’Oreal Paris the tagline “Because You’re Worth It” has been a part of our ethos for more than 50 years. With campaigns like our International Women’s Day activation, we as a brand aim to continue empowering women to own their worth and celebrate diverse beauty. There is definitely more work to be done, but we are moving in the right direction.
P2PI: How has technology been helpful to the beauty category these past couple of years?
Cabrera Tonner: Virtual try-on, especially during the pandemic, was vital to help our consumer shop a category that is very much based on touching and feeling a product. With things like tester bars and sampling removed during COVID-19 times, virtual try-on was really a saving grace. We feel very strongly that this technology will only continue to innovate. We have it on our L’Oreal Paris product display pages and have partnered with some of our retailers to leverage this technology on their own sites.
For in-store experiences, we never thought QR codes would play this big of a role — but they really are back. We include them on our displays and wall merchandising to help better guide our consumer and influence purchase.
P2PI: What has been your biggest lesson learned or shift in strategy since the pandemic started?
Cabrera Tonner: We really learned the importance of future proofing our e-commerce business and taking a digital-first approach. From exploring new platforms such as TikTok Live and YouTube shoppable ads to something as simple as elevating our product display page content strategy to be more accessible and inclusive, we really meet our consumer at all touchpoints to pave their path to purchase.
P2PI: Is there any way to anticipate which beauty products might go viral and create a sudden demand?
Cabrera Tonner: That is the million-dollar question! We’ve had several core products that have been in our portfolio for years that suddenly went viral, such as our L’Oreal Paris BB cream and Telescopic mascara. It was a result of organic user-generated content showcasing how they truly love the product — and that buzz took off like wildfire.
I think it really comes down to keeping your finger on the pulse of the latest trends, being agile and prescriptive with your brand storytelling, and the timeliness of your response to trends. The beauty landscape is always evolving and you have to stay relevant to make an impact.
P2PI: What advice do you have for CPG marketers looking to leverage social media?
Cabrera Tonner:Authenticity and entertainment are key. Consumers are smart, and in 2021 they were watching something like 100 minutes of video content every day. So as marketers, we must work hard to make creative, entertaining and genuine connections to break through all the noise.
P2PI: What’s next? What can consumers expect to see this year?
Cabrera Tonner: The beauty category is constantly reinventing itself and we’re very much in a digital-first era. From the metaverse to immersive, real-life experiences and TikTok edu-tainment with humor-inducing influencers of all ages and ethnicities, the possibilities are endless. It’s up to us as marketers to adapt and think outside the box.
