Accessible brands? L’Oréal’s new ‘Beauty for All’ manifesto

13-Mar-2014 - Last updated on 13-Mar-2014 at 16:06 GMT

In a video planted across the web, L’Oreal’s has released a new ‘brand manifesto’ which looks to re-imagine the company’s identity as a more accessible brand for consumers, in its latest marketing move.

The video exchanges the traditional cast of models and celebrities and ‘because you’re worth it’ strapline, for the new ‘beauty for all’ campaign consisting of ‘real’ consumers.

The move follows the lead of several fellow beauty brands that have placed the consumer as subject as well as object of recent campaigns, and suggests brands are working to increase their accessibility in the eyes of consumers.

Consumer response

The marketing move takes its cue from the success of recent campaigns which emulate the ongoing success of Unilever brand Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign, which was conceived in 2004.

With the rise of social media, beauty brands across the board have increased the communicative nature of their campaigns, making use of social platforms like Facebook, YouTube and photo-sharing site Instagram.

Lancôme’s recent #BareSelfie campaign via Instagram and Benefit’s ‘Inner Beauty Challenge’ offer two recent examples of companies drawing the consumer into the marketing itself, giving the appearance of ‘accessible brands’.

Jason Stoffer, Partner in venture capital firm Maveron and industry expert, notes that the consumer demand for participation in campaigns and brand identity means from now on, new brands are likely to start online.

“We believe the next great beauty brands will start online and move multi-channel over time – and their early adopter customers will come through effective use of social channels such as YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook," he told Cosmetics Design, USA.

The campaign

The new manifesto comes as the first leg of L’Oreal’s branding reshake, redirecting focus away from its collection of celebrity ambassadors like Jennifer Lopez and Ryan Reynolds and onto the consumer.

A winner of ‘Genius’ status for its online marketing across its brands in several markets, L’Oreal is no stranger to making the most of online platforms.

The brand stated its aim of ‘universalization’ for the new video:

“It illustrates the Group’s mission – Beauty for all – and its strategy – Universalization, or, in other words: globalization but with clear respect for differences.”