Schwarzkopf Leverages Post-Scan Mobile Video

Schwarzkopf, a Henkel hair care brand, knows the unease or downright fear consumers might feel before changing their hair color. To help ease some of that stress before buying, Schwarzkopf developed 18 different mobile videos, each for a different Color Ultime hair dye product, that shoppers could scan and view over the Shopkick platform while in the aisle at Walmart stores.Leveraging Shopkick’s post-scan video technology, shoppers using the Shopkick mobile app could scan the front of any of the 18 packages (no QR code or bar code required; just hold up the package and scan) and a short video popped up inside the app with info about that specific color.Schwarzkopf launched this engagement for Color Ultime in November 2018 and ran it up to the New Year, although an update to the campaign is already being planned, according to Mai Crone, a Henkel shopper marketing manager based at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. “The video brought the color to life for the shopper, providing a clearer idea of what the color would look like on them,” she says.After scanning, Shopkick users received a number of “kicks,” the app’s form of reward currency to be exchanged for retailer and brand gift cards.“Choosing the perfect hair color for an at-home job is notoriously tricky. Customers often don’t know what the color will look like in real life, or if it’s the right color for them,” Crone says.“We felt it is important to reach shoppers at the time they are making their decision to help them make the best choice for their individual needs and desires,” Crone added.She says that Shopkick’s pay-for-performance model allows for the brand to drive incremental traffic, engagement and sales without a need to couple the videos or scans with additional coupons or offers at Walmart. The brand promoted this video-scan feature within the Shopkick app but also through some of its social influencers, all of whom can be found at TheFashionColorExpert.com.The influencers also talked about how the Color Ultime products worked for their hair care transformations, and that campaign element worked alongside other tactics such as print co-ops, on-pack IRCs and targeted digital ads that drove shoppers to Walmart.com.Crone says the Shopkick videos “exceeded industry norms” by achieving a 96% video-completion rate. Shopkick, based in Redwood City, California, says that its average video completion rate is 94%. (Schwarzkopf’s U.S. headquarters are located in Culver City, California.)Schwarzkopf has worked with Shopkick before but never to this extent and with the post-scan video tool. “Innovation is central to Schwarzkopf’s mission,” Crone says. For example, last summer Henkel launched a personalized hair care brand called My Specialist in China, available only on the T-Mall online shopping site. The product works by a consumer mailing in a hair sample that a Henkel scientist tests microscopically to grade its level of dryness, damage and other factors. The consumer also fills out a questionnaire to supply more information. Henkel then sends along a highly detailed report on the hair and personalized products.Crone says it provides a one-on-one approach to hair care products and that “integrating immersive in-aisle video experiences with the help of Shopkick’s unique product offering is another way we’re working to propel our brand forward with the use of new technology.”

Schwarzkopf Leverages Post-Scan Mobile Video

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