2019 Winners & Shortlists

LIFE IS SWEET

BrandETUDE HOUSE
Product/ServiceETUDE HOUSE
EntrantFLC GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryCommunity Building / Management
Idea Creation FLC GROUP Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Background.

Consumers in the Middle-East are increasingly invested into beauty and are on a constant lookout for new products to better their experience, for which they rely heavily on the opinions of beauty/makeup influencers. With massive competition in the market, such as Sephora, Huda Beauty, Benefit, Bobby Brown, MAC, NYX and many more, it was a big hurdle to enter an established Beauty segment. Transform the brand philosophy to the region by positioning it as a fun & playful make-up brand with premium imagery.

Describe the creative idea.

Tapping into the consumer’s mindset through a strategic tie-up with top influencers from the region through several phases across the year. Thereby, leverage their credibility and use their share of voice to endorse Etude House and build a strong presence in the Middle-East. While also creating a premium brand imagery & engaging with the targeted audience through local content & regular competitions. The foundation of the idea revolved around: o Relevance: translate Etude House brand message, in a context that makes it more relevant to the audience, thereby entering their consideration set. o Authenticity: generating a valuable community for Etude House built on trusted, two-way conversations through influencers & social media competitions. o Reach: influencers to reach the brand’s targeted audience which was already receptive to their opinions and likely to share it further, thereby having an inherently multiplicative effect.

Describe the strategy.

The Target Group: primarily Arab women aged from 18 to 35 who are interested in fashion and beauty. - Beauty conscious- & seeks an experience - Follows influential beauty & make-up influencers - Indulge in makeup & skincare products Approach: Each phase contributed to achieving a defined objective. Pre-launch: o Sweet Sunday weekly competition: Building curiosity & engagement. o Influencers’ Trip to Korea: building awareness, reach, conversation. o Interactive brand experience with Influencers: creating buzz & excitement around the brand’s launch. o Local relevant content: create a premium brand imagery for the targeted audience. Launch: o Store launch with influencers & social media: creating buzz, building curiosity & product experience. o Hashtag driven campaign: encourage social sharing in order to build a strong community for the brand. Post-launch: o Monthly influencer campaigns for occasions & product launches: engagement and conversation. o Weekly & monthly competitions: higher engagement & reach.

Describe the execution.

o Asking the followers questions about the brand, it’s history & it’s products for the chance to win a sweet surprise. o Tying up with 3 influencers with million followers each (Maya Ahmad, Sondos Al Qattan, Fatima Almomen) to travel to Korea, relive the brand's journey and introduce the brand on social media. o 60+ influencers invited for an exclusive event, an interactive brand experience which was further shared on their social channels. o Creating content that the target audience can resonate with. o Encouraging consumers to tag, share & win a sweet surprise at the store opening. o Monthly influencer campaigns: • Tying up with influencers to talk about the brand’s focal products • Pink Play Concert- flying 10 influencers to Korea to experience the #SweetDreamTour & share their journey on social platforms. o Running exciting campaign driven competitions on the brand's social media or through influencers.

List the results.

Making a place for Etude House in the Middle East Market within one year. Pre-Launch: January to March 2018 Facebook: o Engagement: 215k (8% engagement rate) o Followers: 14.5k o Reach: 3.9m o Impressions: 4.9m Instagram: o Engagement: 111k (14% engagement rate) o Followers: 16k o Reach: 748k + 1.6m (influencers) o Impressions: 973k Post Launch: March to December 2018 Facebook: o Engagement: 1.3m (4% engagement rate) o Followers: 57.8k o Reach: 25.2m o Impressions: 28.7m Instagram: o Engagement: 675k (7% engagement rate) o Followers: 46.6k o Reach: 9.1m + 15m (influencers) Impressions: 11.5m

Credits

Name Company Role
Ganesh Iyer FLC Group Managing Director
Adriana Usvat FLC Group Managing Director
Nidhi Sehgal FLC Group Director- Strategy & Planning
Saravana Ramakrishnan FLC Group Creative Director
Esraa Ahmed Amorepacific Marketing Manager
Vriti Sachanandani FLC Group Content Manager
Sajith Lal FLC Group Graphic Designer
Bharat FLC Group Account Manager
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