L’Oréal eyes digital media to connect closer to consumers

Speaking on a conference call regarding the French firm’s fourth quarter results, managing director of Strategic Marketing Marc Menesguen announced that based on positive results in 2011, the company will look to invest further in digital media; a strategy that consumer goods giant Procter and Gamble will also follow, as announced last month​.

Beauty is one of the most discussed topics on social networks as shown by a survey of 25,000 women conducted by the Forrester Institute in the US, which has it topping the list.

The power of digital​

In addition, one in three skin care purchases in the US are preceded by a search for information on the Web, with over 400 million beauty related searches performed on Google each month.

“This affinity is a great opportunity for our brands to develop a new closer relationship with consumers the world,”​ explained Menesguen.

“In 2011, we strongly increased our investment in digital media by 45 per cent,”​ he added. “For example in Taiwan, our Garnier team devised a 100 per cent digital campaign to support the launch of the skin lightening cream, Light.”​

This campaign was based on the testimonial of beauty blogger, Niuer, gradually relayed by a whole group of Taiwanese bloggers in a display campaign that went viral and propelled Light to number one in the market in 2010.

Tried and tested​

“A year later in 2011, Light is still the market leader with a budget that is still 100 per cent digital, accounting 25 per cent of an average offline budget,”​ explained the L’Oréal man.

Another example used by Menesguen, was the launch of Trésor Midnight Rose, allowing L’Oréal to create additional emotion and imagination while not being subject to the limitation of a 30-second TV spot or double page magazine spread.

“For this fragrance targeting the young, the Lancôme team chose a multichannel campaign with strong aligned presence via displays and mobile applications generating over 50 million targeted contacts.”​

Key to success​

The decision to bring on board Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, a digital icon with over 4 million fans on Facebook, further increased the choice of the campaign, which was ultimately a resounding success.

“Digital changes everything, particularly in the field of beauty. The digital revolution as Marc’s shown changes the relationship with the consumer interaction both in style and substance and it’s key for L’Oréal to be a leader in this revolution,”​ added L’Oréal CEO Jean-Paul Agon.

“We are the third advertiser worldwide, number one in beauty, and it is key for us to be at the cutting edge of this digital transformation and that is what we are doing.”​