The making of No7 ‘Unstoppable Together’, the most effective use of influencer marketing

No7 has an 85-year history of supporting women, as the brand has pioneered changing views of women in society. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, four times more women left the workforce than men, resulting in an unprecedented She-cession. Studies have shown that one in five women turn to their female friends and colleagues as their preferred support systems.

Because of the disproportionate impact that the She-cession had on 40+ women within the No7 target, they wanted to take action to help these women overcome their challenges so they could get back into the workforce. No7 decided to take a negative situation and turn it into a positive action to support women as they navigated responsibilities during the pandemic at work and at home.

The strategy

When the She-cession hit, it was vital for No7 to join the conversation and provide tangible resources to women by leading the Unstoppable Together movement, hosting the first ever Unstoppable Together Job Summit and providing small group coaching sessions throughout Women’s History Month.

The campaign

To kick off the campaign, No7 released a female-produced film that captures the feeling and magnitude of the She-cession’s impact by not only presenting facts and figures, but through vivid visual representations of women’s stories and inspirational examples of how women keep rising. Overall, the film serves as a call-to-action for how people can learn more about the She-cession, support each other in these unprecedented times, and get access to helpful No7 resources that will assist in the recovery. The film was shared across social by influencers like Padma Lakshmi, Kate Walsh, Maria Shriver, Tamron Hall, and Niecy Nash to extend the reach.

In February, No7 hosted a free, virtual Unstoppable Together Summit along with Hello Sunshine, The Female Quotient, and Fortune, designed to provide women with useful tips and advice as they re-enter the job force.

High-profile influencers such as Padma Lakshmi, Tamron Hall, Maria Shriver, Arianna Huffington, Kate Walsh and Niecy Nash raised awareness about the She-cession while sharing relatable and actionable advice about re-inventing their careers.

The results

The Unstoppable Together campaign is No7 USA’s most successful to date, with brand mentions up 142%. The campaign content garnered over 37M views, achieving more than 442.4M impressions and 171 press hits including coverage in WWD, AdAge, Elle, Forbes, Essence, BET and US Weekly. The campaign has improved brand SOV to 18% and generated 4.1X more press than competitors with views in the multi millions. It’s been adapted for the UK market and will be launching this Spring.

The Unstoppable Together campaign was named the #1 equity campaign in No7’s core competitive set* by PR metrics (since February 2020). No7’s core competitive set is inclusive of L’Oreal Skincare, Neutrogena, Clinique, RoC Skincare, and Olay. Influencer content drove $401K in EMV (+267% v. goal); with notable personalities – like Reese Witherspoon – who organically voiced support for the program. The campaign secured featured coverage with about 7 avg. mentions of No7 in each story and 79% of coverage identifying No7 as a beauty or Walgreens Boots Alliance brand.

No7 continued the summit’s momentum by offering free coaching sessions to all attendees throughout March, ultimately impacting the careers of over 10,000 women. They are so pleased with the performance of this campaign that they are extending it to the UK market this Spring and will be following it up with a year 2 effort to support and change the lives of more women.

This project was a winner at The Drum Awards for PR 2021. To find out which Drum Awards are currently open for entry, click here.