L’Oreal shifts ad strategy to focus on emotion over product
L’Oreal is shifting its ad strategy to focus on creating an emotional connection with its consumers instead of highlighting its products as the beauty brand promises to create an increasing amount of content-led advertising.
Speaking at Dmexco, L’Oreal’s CMO Europe, Blasco de Felice, said while the brand has historically focused on its products in advertising messages, it is now looking to create different types of communication.
“We are traditionally a company that has been focused on product and we know how to advertise great products,” he said.
“Emotions are there but less at the centre of that communication. What we are doing now is trying to focus on new sorts of content that can trigger this type of impact.”
De Felice revealed that as part of this strategy the company has, in the past few weeks, added US brand NYX Cosmetics to its portfolio, which includes Yves Saint Laurent and Kiehls, to capitalise on its deep connection with the online audience.
“This brand was built on very close relationships and very close emotion with YouTubers and consumers. They generated over 2bn view which is impressive for brand that makes $100m dollars of sales.
He added that L’Oreal is undergoing a “major shift” in where it invests its marketing spend in an increasingly digital world, admitting that the change has been “a challenge” company-wide.
De Felice also predicted that L’Oreal’s new makeup genius app, which uses facial mapping technology to allow consumers to ‘try on’ different products in real-time, will hit 10m downloads.
