Revlon is hoping their new “Love is on” campaign will earn them more love from consumers.
The “Love is on” campaign was announced on Tuesday, and will feature television, print and digital ads, a social media push, and an interactive Times Square billboard that lets people share “love moments.” The interactive billboard allows users to tweet photos using the hashtag #loveison, after which their “love moments” may be shared on the billboard.
Creative marketing tactics like this are becoming more and more common, as companies try to engage consumers through social media. Marketers have spent an estimated $135 billion on new digital marketing collateral in 2014.
This campaign comes as Revlon has been struggling to regain its momentum in the competitive beauty industry, which is dominated by giants Estee Lauder and L’Oreal.
According to Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys in New York, a brand and customer-loyalty consulting firm, Revlon has been moving down the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index for years. The company was ranked 10th out of 12 cosmetics brands on the 2014 list, ahead of only Almay, another Revlon Inc. brand, and Coty. (L’Oréal was No. 1.)
“It doesn’t matter if you have ubiquitous distribution, if people know your brand name, celebrities using the makeup, beautiful photography,” Mr. Passikoff said. “Consumers are looking harder for a reason to believe and a reason to bond with — and buy — one brand versus myriad, ‘me-too’ products.”
The cosmetic giant intends for this campaign to represent an opportunity to “relaunch the Revlon brand to the world,” said David Israel, an executive creative director at AR New York, which has been working with Revlon for the past several seasons as lead creative agency of record. They’ll do so by telling “a more emotional story that allows Revlon to have a larger voice in everything from print and social media to digital, TV and in stores.”
The campaign also offers “a more positive message” that “invites women to step into this world of love,” Mr. Israel said, which will hopefully serve as a pleasant contrast to the negative criticism of the unrealistic portrayals of women in beauty advertising.
“I think this is a really positive message,” said actress Olivia Wilde, who is the brand’s celebrity ambassador. “I don’t think anything negative can come out of letting love be your guide in life.”
Time will tell if the “Love is on” campaign guides Revlon to more commercial success.
