Campaign: Launching Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion +

Client: Clinique

Agency/partner: AdRoll

Background

Estée Lauder’s prestigious make-up brand Clinique has been providing skincare since 1968. Its famous Three-Step Skin Care System is underpinned by the belief that great skin can be created and its hero product – Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion – is Clinique’s number one selling product.

The moisturiser, which is so popular that it’s also the number one selling skincare product in Australian department stores, represents 13% of the Australian prestige skincare market. However, despite being a much-loved product, the formula needed improvements to adapt to new and changing environments since it was originally launched, such as air-conditioning and increased pollution.

To reinvigorate it, Clinique launched a new and improved formula: Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion + (DDML+) in July 2013. While the lotion was Clinique’s biggest product launch in seven years, it also presented a major challenge: how to attract new customers to grow Clinique’s market share without alienating existing, loyal customers.

Objectives

Overall, Clinique wanted to educate the market around the new product and its benefits, get the product in consumers’ hands to trial as well as attract a wider customer base, which in turn would help Clinique grow its skincare market share from 15% to 16.7%.

Digital was identified as a key channel to achieve success against the following objectives:

• Drive word of mouth,
• re-engage customers using the existing product to let them know about the new and improved formula,
• remind consumers about the product while browsing online,
• convey the benefits of the product,
• engage Facebook fans and encourage them to find out more about the product,
• encourage trials of the new product, and
• educate consumers of the benefits of using the complete Three-Step program by encouraging them to sign up to a 10 day trial of the program.

Strategy

Building awareness of the product and providing opportunities for Australians to trial the lotion were key to the strategy. Clinique, therefore, developed a multi-faceted campaign which comprised of traditional advertising, experiential marketing, PR and digital.

The digital component was designed to drive word of mouth and engagement through online advertising and social media. An accelerated retargeting strategy helped to ensure the brand was kept top of mind for customers who didn’t purchase the product straight away, bringing them back to the website.

Execution

Using an increased digital spend of 34% from the previous year, Clinique employed a number of tactics across online channels to help achieve their objectives. The strategy was executed across three phases:

Phase one: engaging high value customers and Facebook fans

Three weeks out from the launch, Clinique contacted 100 high value e-customers and 100 Facebook advocates to take part in a pre-launch seeding program. Each user received a full size bottle of DDML+ to try. Customers were then encouraged to post a review across Clinique’s website as well as their own blogs and social pages.

Phase two: online pre-launch

Two weeks before launching on store shelves, DDML+ was released online, in conjunction with digital promotion and advertising.

This included search, blogger engagement and social media to help drive additional online ratings and reviews, plus retargeting to keep DDML+ top of mind.

The retargeting campaign used AdRoll’s dynamic ad solution, LiquidAds to create custom ads with images of DDML+. The ads were served to site visitors who had previously viewed the product online, yet hadn’t made a purchase, and encouraged them to return to the site or seek more information. AdRoll’s technology also allowed Clinique to serve ads about the new and improved formula to existing customers using the old product.

In addition to LiquidAds, Clinique employed AdRoll’s Facebook retargeting product on Facebook Exchange, which serves personalised ads to Facebook users on their News Feed or right-hand column. Clinique used this strategy to invite its Facebook fans to a specially orchestrated online live customer service chat event by serving an ad into their news feed. The event provided website customers with the chance to ask the national education manager any questions about the new product as well as receive personalised skin care advice.

The retargeting and Facebook campaigns were a huge focus within the digital mix as they allowed Clinique to personalise its advertising and remind customers of their interest in DDML+ across multiple online platforms, ultimately driving them back to the website to purchase the product.

Phase three: official store launch

After building excitement online, Clinique officially launched DDML+ in stores on 14 July 2013.

In additional to the digital strategy, phase three incorporated on the ground pop-up events in shopping centres, above the line marketing including TV, out of home bus shelters, billboards and print advertising as well as street furniture and in mall digital screens.

Results

The DDML+ Australian launch was one of the most successful campaigns in Clinique’s history. The region was also one of the best performing markets.

The campaign achieved the following results:

• Total sales for the product up 231% on previous year,
• between July and August 40% of all consumers visiting the Clinique website were new customers,
• since launch, 25% of new DDML+ customers have returned to the site and increased their engagement with the brand by purchasing additional Clinique products,
• 150 individual chats during the online customer service chat event,
• 144 customer product reviews, with 97% of those positive about the product,
• more than five custom ads created at scale, and
• between July and September, the retargeting campaign produced 883 total conversions (click and view through conversions combined) and generated an ROI of 6.9.