Urban Decay revamps content management and ecommerce

02-Dec-2015 - Last updated on 02-Dec-2015 at 16:55 GMT

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The L'Oréal brand has teamed up with technology integrator OSF Global Services on a new CMS and Demandware digital commerce solution to help Urban Decay better serve consumers internationally.

All of the Urban Decay online retail channels are now making full use of the new solution, which was first rolled out on UrbanDecay.com in mid-November, according to a media release from OSF.

Borrowed expertise

Since its 2012 acquisition, the Urban Decay brand has put its trust in the multi-national L'Oréal team. The decision to partner with OSF on a new CMS and ecommerce solution is a case in point.

"L'Oréal has given us the resources to grow beyond U.S. borders, so when we were scoping out our project, we spoke to L'Oréal's teams at the corporate level," John Perasco, AVP of digital for Urban Decay, tells the press. "We chose OSF because they had previous success with other L'Oréal brands."

Branded experience

Differentiation in the beauty marketplace is as much about ambiance and energy as it is about product. So it’s crucial that an edgy, urban, prestige brand like Urban Decay shares that energy with consumers online.

"We're very branding-centric, down to the pixel," says Perasco. "OSF Global Services took that in stride and diligently worked with us to bring UD All Access to life-making the UD perspective on beauty available to our online retail spaces internationally."

The new solution is designed to be closely controlled where it needs to be—“for international audiences, the group integrated e-Spirit's FirstSpirit CMS very tightly with Demandware”—and simultaneously adaptable to the nuances of specific markets.

“The CMS allows Urban Decay to manage the proliferation of content, then localize that content for each individual site - even with selectivity in markets with differing cultural norms and sensitivities through a feature on UrbanDecay.com called ‘UD All Access’,” according to the media release.

Social content production

Urban Decay is also using the new solution to better leverage the brand’s existing social media success. “We’re trying to bring some of [the vocal interaction on Instagram and Facebook] back to our site so we can consolidate and curate some of the excitement,” Perasco told the press earlier this fall.

Creating short-form branded content that resonates with consumers and drives sales looks to be a priority for L'Oréal just now. Just last month the company opened a branded content production studio in Montreal, Canada.

“The strategy behind the Content Factory is to develop engagement with consumers, which is generated in-house through social media,” explained the company in a press release about the factory.