Winners & Shortlists

#SELFEYE

Title#SELFEYE
BrandMAX FACTOR
Product/ServiceCOSMETICS
Category A09. LAUNCH OR RE-LAUNCH
PR Agency KETCHUM London, UNITED KINGDOM
Entrant Company KETCHUM London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
Leah Randle Ketchum Associate Director
Alexandra Marsh Ketchum Account Director
Nicola Hulme Ketchum Senior Account Executive
Natalie Silverman Ketchum Account Coordinator
Susan Smith Ketchum Director
Pippa Dinnage Procter/Gamble Brand Operations
Bianca Morris Procter/Gamble Communications
Sarah Huntley Procter/Gamble Community Manager

The Campaign

Sometimes a simple idea can take off in the blink of an eye. The agency was tasked with an awareness campaign for the U.K. launch of Max Factor’s latest mascara and look of the season, Excess Volume. We knew our target audience. She increasingly looks to social media and fashion trendsetters for recommendations. We also knew our fashion trendsetters, the utterly fabulous and highly selective U.K. influencers who fiercely guard their reputation. And we recognized a bigger opportunity. The fashion world revolved around cameras and models, and the social media space revolved around the “selfie,” the smartphone self-portrait that had entered the global lexicon. In which case a “selfie” of a single, thick-lashed eye would be a “selfeye.” Add a hashtag and it’s the perfect vehicle to demonstrate the Excess Volume look, fuel social media sharing and create a branded phenomenon for Max Factor. The beauty of the #selfeye is that it flattered our most important stakeholders. We convinced 70 of Britain’s high-maintenance, influence wielding fashionistas to voluntarily post #selfeyes of their own lush lashes, unleashing a social and traditional media waterfall. We turned up the volume with supermodel and friend of Max Factor Coca Rocha sharing a #selfeye with her 1.7 million global Facebook, Instagram and Twitter followers. We caught the eye of P&G brand advertising, which added our hashtag to Max Factor Excess Volume TV, print and digital ads. Millions of alluring views later, the #selfeye continues paying dividends. Not only raising awareness of Excess Volume in Britain, but elevating Max Factor’s social media presence worldwide.

The Brief

The client’s objectives were simple: raise awareness of the launch of Max Factor’s next generation mascara, Excess Volume, in the U.K. and help drive trial. We also sought to use the opportunity to boost overall brand presence in the social space.

Results

In just three months the #selfeye campaign generated a total global reach of 233 million in quality editorial, with an above-the-line reach of 29 million in the U.K. A total reach of 7.5 million was generated on Twitter alone. PR coverage generated more than 100 stories in national press, leading online sites and women’s glossies. Max Factor UK specifically saw an increase of 13,000 Facebook and Twitter followers since the campaign launched. During the time the campaign was in market, the brand increased its position on the Digital IQ Index, making Max Factor the highest ranked P&G beauty brand in the U.K., ahead of prestige perfumes, skin care and longtime rivals Revlon and L’Oreal. Given a simple goal, we went above and beyond, helping Max Factor earn long lasting looks the world over.

Execution

Phase One pre-seeded the campaign by inviting influential make-up artists, bloggers, fashion media, and in-store beauty consultants to try Excess Volume and post a #selfeye. We turned up the volume with supermodel and friend of Max Factor, Coco Rocha, issuing her own #selfeye call-to-action to her 1.7 million global Facebook, Instagram and Twitter followers. Influential print media were handed a fun, visually alluring story that put them on top of the breaking trend. Phase Two oversaw the launch of the product and the release of the social media waterfall, as consumers were encouraged to try the mascara for themselves and post a #selfeye of the results, dialing up the share factor with a competition to win a Nokia Lumia smartphone. In the meantime, P&G had picked up on the buzz and added our #selfeye hashtag to its Max Factor Excess Volume TV, print and digital banner advertising.

The Situation

Procter & Gamble enlisted the agency to help launch Max Factor Excess Volume Extreme Impact Mascara in the U.K. The product was synonymous with the “new look” Max Factor was promoting, hoping to create an ownable trend in the competitive beauty sphere. At the time the agency was also helping Max Factor increase its presence in digital media. We approached the company with an idea that would not only promote the U.K. product launch, but give Max Factor some major buzz in global social channels.

The Strategy

The make-up of the cosmetics business had changed. Today’s beauty consumer looks to social media for product recommendations, and to independent fashion influencers to define the trends. Neither consumer nor influencer is easily sold. This second, much smaller group was our primary target. We needed to attract UK’s notoriously independent fashionistas and get them to freely endorse our branded product. Instead of a hard sell, we let them “discover” something fun to pass along. Something that flattered them as well. Our inspiration came from the social media channels they would be using. We took the ubiquitous smart phone self-portrait known as a “selfie” and turned it into the “selfeye,” a single, thick-lashed eye made larger than life by Max Factor’s new look, Excess Volume. We got 70 of the most influential U.K. trendsetters to share their own #selfeyes. Then we prepared for a social media waterfall that would take us above and beyond the U.K.