The OUT @ L’Oréal thinktank is a dynamic group of employees who work together to advance initiatives that protect LGBTQ rights and promote well-being across the largest subsidiary of the world’s largest beauty company. For World Pride 2019, held in our own backyard, OUT @ L’Oréal spearheaded a campaign of inclusivity called March for Me. The goal of the campaign was to make sure that all L’Oréal employees (and consumers!) from across the world had the opportunity to represented at the World Pride celebration, even if they couldn’t be there in person.
March for Me was a call to march for those who couldn’t, and represent L’Oreal’s global community of LGBTQ+ employees and allies on the streets of New York. L’Oreal USA asked those who couldn’t attend WorldPride to share a selfie in an Instagram Story, tag it #MarchForMe, and add custom celebratory stickers to it (designed in partnership with the talented LGBTQ+ artist, Zipeng Zhu).
Then, at WorldPride, L’Oreal USA displayed these collected photos on their Pride float as 860 of their LGBTQ+ employees and allies marched through the streets of New York City. During the march, we captured celebratory content showing L’Oreal USA supporting the global LGBTQ+ community, and turned it into an emotional video that we released practically overnight.
In the end, #MarchForMe wasn’t just a campaign. It was a movement that brought the global LGBTQ+ community even closer together by connecting everyone who attended at WorldPride to those who wanted to be there.
L’Oreal USA made this happen by creating:
Development of custom Instagram #MarchforMe filters which people throughout the world shared their photos
Photobooths stationed throughout NYC to capture images and videos
Social content that encouraged participation with the hashtag and featured L’Oréal employees telling stories of why marching at World Pride is meaningful.
A hero video which recapped the event.
Creation of a parade float with LED screens that display [cut: UGC] photo and video submissions from employees and followers around the world who could not attend the Parade.
What makes this campaign unique: March for Me used social media to merge the digital and the physical, and created a globe-spanning moment of celebration and love, driven by L’Oreal’s employees with support from the organization.
We received more than 1,000 submissions for #MarchforMe. These submissions were collected from L’Oréal employees and the general public through social media, email, and photo booths hosted at The Shops at Hudson Yards. The campaign had over 3 million impressions and over 50,000 video views. There was a significant volume of positive conversation about L’Oréal USA during the parade and on social.
Here is a sample of campaign reactions collected:
