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Estée Lauder partners with travel site Expedia

17-Jan-2018 - Last updated on 17-Jan-2018 at 20:42 GMT

Experiential retail, the travel blog phenomenon, and influencer marketing all seem to have converged for this latest consumer engagement initiative from the prestige beauty giant. It’s the first time Estée Lauder has teamed up with a travel company, and the aim is to inspire consumers on a bigger scale than ever before.

Central to the partnership is a travel giveaway. But the project is more about branding, storytelling, and consumer contact in a time when brand loyalty is fleeting and truly novel, shareable moments are at a premium.

"We are thrilled to work with Expedia on this exciting initiative," Lisa Sequino, senior vice president and general manager at Estée Lauder North America, tells the press. "As a brand, we are committed to creating meaningful experiences for our customers and this collaboration allows us to offer a unique opportunity combining beauty and travel."

Omni-channel beauty

Estée Lauder’s contest runs through mid-May. And shoppers must visit a brick and mortar location to be eligible—so, it’s clear that Estée Lauder is building an omni-channel consumer journey here. Rather than reaching out to shoppers at multiple touchpoints, Estée Lauder’s Expedia initiative has consumers reaching out to the brand from every touchpoint.

Once consumers make a qualifying purchase (of $37.50 or up) at a department store in the US or Canada they’ll receive a gwp item; and from there, the contest gets digital.

Shoppers are asked to share a “an original selfie of your best dream trip destination makeup look on Instagram with the hashtag #esteexexpediacontest along with the contest's unique hashtag, for example #flymetobali, #flymetopalmbeach.” And, they must “tag @esteelauder and @Expedia to enter to win.”

Travel destination

The Expedia partnership isn’t a one-off adventure. There are nearly 10 sensational travel destinations and shoppers will be entering to fly away every couple of weeks during the deal.

Among the locations consumers can enter for a chance to visit are Bali, Palm Beach, Santorini, Hudson's Bay (Canada), Capri, Von Maur, Tahiti, the French Riviera, Belk, Morocco, and Riviera Maya. Each destination corresponds to a particular retailer and a fixed set of dates, ensuring that there will be adventurous travelers from around the region gushing about Estée Lauder for weeks (maybe months) to come.

"At Expedia we know that travel is such an enriching and integral part of life, which is why we strive to help people get away and see the world," says Gary Morrison, senior vice president and head of retail for Expedia. Which makes the brand’s partnership with Estée Lauder more of a lifestyle venture than a pure beauty play.

He goes on to share this: "We're excited about this unique opportunity to collaborate with Estée Lauder because of our shared desire to offer customers the chance to experience, and be inspired by, the beauty of travel."

For the beauty maker, the initiative fits well with its founder / origin story (which is just the sort of thing consumers love today). According to the company press release, “The Estée Lauder Spring 2018 Gift-With-Purchase Program is inspired by Founder Estée's love of travel and the destinations that inspired her color collections.”

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.