For more than 100 years, the Beauty industry has thrived and flourished upon word-of-mouth consumer recommendations. LORAC Cosmetics strived to tap into the same momentum, only this time with the help of an evolving support mechanism that we lovingly refer to as 'Social Media'.
LORAC Cosmetics tasked Social House, Inc. to propel the independent cosmetics corporation into the hearts and minds of consumers everywhere. The objective was to generate brand awareness and drive user traffic in an authentic way, with the aim to elevate the "cool" factor. The strategy was simple: Leverage the power of beauty influencers paired with original content and highly creative launch strategies, to quickly attract and build a cohesive and powerfully engaged social community.
Fast forward to the end of 2014: LORAC Cosmetics was ranked one of Women's Wear Daily's (WWD) Top 20 Buzziest Brands of 2014, having garnered over $23.4 million in earned media value, according to Tribe Dynamics. Explosive growth across all major channels for LORAC has been the result of strong strategic planning, elevated original content and the reinforcement of strategic best practices that deliver the business results that matter most.
This entry deserves to win the Shorty Award for the Best in Fashion, Beauty and Luxury because as an agency we have strategically cultivated an experience that has led LORAC Cosmetics to socially compete with – and pave its way into – the upper echelon of the cosmetics world. Go LORAC!
Users now have the opportunity to explore, learn and become a part of LORAC Cosmetics, an independent, luxury cosmetics brand, with a BIG story to tell. We've elevated the brand's aesthetic and consumer perception on social as well as strategized and implemented successful campaigns in 2014 to drive new audience awareness.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS - 2014:
#1 - MEGA PRO PALETTE - LAUNCH CAMPAIGN "FAN-DEMONIUM"
OBJECTIVE // Conceptualize and execute a social campaign that will build fan excitement and anticipation for the launch of the new LORAC Mega PRO Palette (Eye Shadow Palette - 32 colors).
STRATEGY // Utilize Instagram as the main entry point where users will both "Like" and "Comment" about their favorite MEGA PRO Palette eye shadow color. This was done via image tiling on Instagram, which caused a frenzy of social engagement amongst bloggers and fans alike.
RESULTS // The LORAC MEGA PRO Instagram Giveaway garnered MORE than 31K entries and 8K new followers in just 48 hours leading up to the online launch of the coveted MEGA PRO Palette. The limited-edition LORAC MEGA PRO Palette sold out online within a few hours of its release
#2 - GROWTH NUMBERS:
ANNUAL GROWTH // In 2014, LORAC's cumulative social footprint increased from 434K to 1.2 Million (+176%) in just 12 months, with minimal social ad spend. We started in 2012 with just 25K cumulative fans on Facebook and Twitter.
INSTAGRAM GROWTH // As of Q4 2014, our community gain roughly 17K new followers per week on Instagram alone – equaling an average growth rate of 74K new followers per month and growing!
POST ENGAGEMENT // Nearly 1,300% increase in average engagement per post on Instagram — from only 736 per post in October 2013 to 11,000+ in December 2014
#3 - THE SOCIAL HEARTBEAT OF LORAC
THE LEGENDARY CAROL SHAW (WIKI) // Carol Shaw is a pioneering makeup artist whose career spans pretty much every A-List celebrity you could imagine (i.e. Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Winona Ryder). We wanted to bring Carol's iconic career to life by creating a Tumblr, designed for her fans to explore her daily inspiration and directly ask her questions. After all...LORAC is Carol spelled backwards.
VOICE // The voice of LORAC was carefully crafted by our Content team in order to create a consistent feel across all outlets. This required a carefully established list of brand filters in order to bring the voice of The Red Carpet Authority to life.
ELEVATED CONTENT // With a tagline like "The Red Carpet Authority" we knew we needed to visually elevate the brand's social aesthetic. We've created a cadence across all outlets with luxury driven, original content and imagery that continues to inspire and engage audiences worldwide.
