| философия | Insight • Increasing demand for beauty - In the Philippines, the demand for personal care products has increased due to economic growth. With Filipinos gradually becoming more sophisticated with beauty and personal care, they now consider products as tools for overcoming daily challenges in their fast-paced lives. Whitening, to some, is not vanity, but correcting blemishes incurred in their daily grind. • Reaching out to the unlikely market - In predominantly Catholic Philippines, beauty products mainly cater to women and until recently, men. One segment has a high demand for beauty but no brand dares to talk to- the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT), despite the fact that LGBTs purchase personal care items nearly twice as often as their straight counterparts. As beauty is quickly becoming gender neutral, Belo Essentials resolved that it’s about time for beauty products to follow suit. • Going against the giants - Belo Essentials positioned itself by specialising on the Filipino’s unique needs. Its credibility roots from its founders, Dra. Vicky Belo and Cristalle Henares, industry leaders in the cosmetic and dermatological care. Despite this, competing multinationals Unilever and P&G have dominated the market ever since. If it was to do well in a cut-throat industry, the brand had to create a strong differentiation and a genuine connection with Filipinos. Strategy For the first time in the country, a beauty brand dared to sell directly to the LGBTs. As some brands already attempt to send an inclusive message of beauty, it was critical for Belo Essentials to differentiate itself by celebrating beauty beyond gender- sending an embracive message to the LGBTs without alienating its pre-existing market. This is where the strategy was risky. It had to unite everyone behind an idea- Belo BB Body Cream equips them to celebrate the beauty of who they are. The brand had to personify this empowering message through a real person that embraces his/her own authenticity. Addressing the cynics, the brand also had to make sure that while its chosen ambassador connects to the typical middle-class Filipino- with relatable blemish-correcting concerns, he/she pursues her ambitions and has achieved great things through hard work. Execution Despite having a roster of endorsers with a higher clout, Belo deliberately chose Dora Lulab Dorado, a revelled young gay dancer, as its main influencer. This goes against its tradition of hinging on the popularity of country A-listers. He is a member of the A Team, a dance crew which won the 2014 World Hiphop Megacrew, and the 2016 Labyrinth Ball Vogue Performance Champion. The dance industry was a perfect space to demonstrate the product as dancers are expected to be stage-ready when rigorous rehearsals leave them with scars and bruises. To highlight the concealing power of Belo BB Body Cream and teach how to use it, Dora applied the product and flaunted it in a product dance demo video- breaking it down to three easy steps: shake, spray, spread. Other influencers were tapped following the similar video tutorial format, including celebrities Vice Ganda, an openly gay prominent celebrity, Teacher Georcelle, a reknowned dance influencer and coach for celebrities, Soshal Network, a satire blog, and UPeepz, another campus dance crew. Integral to the execution was dispelling doubt for the product effectiveness. Supporting materials on social media illustrated use cases for the product. Sustaining efforts included “Sample Room”, a collection of solicited product reviews from beauty insiders, even founders Dra. Vicky Belo and Cristalle Henares, who also command a strong social media clout, and activated several other Belo endorsers. Results Having an openly gay influencer was ground-breaking for a beauty product in the country. No other brand dared to put an LGBT front-and-centre in a campaign. Not only did the brand discover an outspoken community – it found ambassadors who came out of hiding to enthusiastically rave about the product and spread its message. It got 32,701,012 in total impressions, 6,557,554 in a total post engagement, 113% increase in retail sales and a whopping 400% increase in e-commerce sales, all with ZERO ATL support. |