For the campaign, Kiehl’s has teamed up with the trendy water bottle company Drop Bottle. Drop Bottle itself is an interesting case, as a study of packaging-driven luxury in the contemporary marketplace.
The empty containers (which are the company’s only product) are functional showpieces: “Handle the Drop Bottle with care, glass bottles will break if they are handled roughly or inappropriately,” emphasizes the company site. “For example, do not carry it in you handbag or gym bag. Instead, when transporting the Drop Bottle, it is best to hold it or use the handle on the lid.”
“Remember your Drop Bottle is delicate so, keep the bottle on your desk at work, sit it on your bedside table or coffee tables at home, place it on display and you will be the envy of all your friends!”
More to it
Drop Bottle isn’t just a bottle brand. The company’s stated purpose is about wellness and charity. The company’s goal is “to revolutionise the way people drink water and stay hydrated while leading the way for socially-conscious businesses,” according to the Drop Bottle site.
The company has fashionable international influencers posting on Instagram, provides recipes for adding fruits, herbs, and other superfood items to water for flavor and health benefits, and Drop Bottle gives a portion of its sales to the Drop4Drop charity (which works to bring clean water to countries that need it).
At Kiehl’s
In partnership with Drop Bottle, Kiehl’s is inviting consumers into stores to have their skin hydration level tested (part of the brand’s move into personalized skin care), “enjoy a freshly brewed elixir,” “pick up tips and recipes to maximize your skin’s hydration,” and take advantage of discounts and freebies.
Offering consumers beverages that play off the brand’s own topical skin care product formulas and doing so in partnership with a stylish water bottle maker reinforces the beauty-wellness correlation that’s something of a movement in the industry just now.
Taking it a step further, some of Kiehl’s emails and consumer messaging for the campaign include beauty-from-within language, like “hydrate your skin from within.”