As the world’s first professional Down’s syndrome model, Madeline Stuart, wowed New York Fashion Week with her catwalk performance last month, Ashley Graham became the first plus size model to adorn the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.
Suddenly, the industry seems to have its sights firmly set on challenging traditional perceptions of beauty. But why now?
For years the beauty industry has enjoyed a dictatorial role in shaping consumers’ aesthetic aspirations, with traditional mass market advertising providing a one-way channel of prescribing beauty ideals.
But the digital world has undoubtedly shaken up the model with vloggers (like Zoella, pictured) now forcing beauty brands to reconsider their strategy.
Over the past decade, the vlogging phenomenon has exploded on YouTube, attracting a monumental 700 million monthly video views according to a 2014 Pixability report.
The appeal is simple. Unlike the unrealistic airbrushed models plastered over billboards and TV ads, vloggers represent real people. They are authentic, relatable and truly resonate with the audiences they target.
Of course, beauty brands have been rushing to capitalise on this new generation of online influencers. Take Avon, for example.
In a purposeful move away from the inauthenticity of traditional beauty advertising, the brand has recruited well known beauty bloggers to appear in their latest TV ad, blind testing their products. More commonly, brands simply pay vloggers to feature their products in videos.
However, all of these marketing efforts would appear to be a little misguided. Vloggers may have significant cultural influence but their advertising value is far less powerful.
According to a report by the GlobalWebIndex (GWI), vloggers are in fact the least effective source of product discovery, with only 7% of all internet users saying they find out about new products, services or brands via vlogs.
It seems to me that beauty brands are missing the point. Instead of working with beauty vloggers, isn’t the answer simply to be more like them?
Vloggers are brilliant at understanding their target audience and how best to connect with them. They ask questions, listen to the responses, and use this insight to inform and tailor their content. Vloggers also offer consumers something that traditional advertising cannot: the opportunity to experience products and make an informed judgement prior to purchase.
In order to keep up with shifting consumer expectations, brands must do the same.
It may seem logical, therefore, for brands to pay vloggers to review their products but surely this just adds an unnecessary layer which takes away from the objectivity factor that vlogs provide. Wouldn’t a far better idea be to get products in the hands of consumers to review for themselves?
Targeted product sampling is a powerful way for cosmetics brands to connect with their target audience. Consumers today clearly crave authenticity and what could be more authentic than firsthand experience of a product in all its tangible glory?
Providing specific consumer segments with complementary products makes consumers feel special, appreciated, and most importantly, aids product discovery. What’s more, sampling campaigns also provide a platform for cosmetics brands to gain valuable and honest feedback from consumers on how they feel about a specific product, as well as the brand as a whole.
It’s this insight that will ultimately enable beauty brands to adjust their marketing mix to adapt products and campaigns in line with changing consumer attitudes towards beauty.
The rise of the vlogger has empowered consumers and is a contributing factor in forcing the industry to reassess how it markets ‘beauty’. Consumers no longer rely on blanket marketing messages and have sought refuge in the authenticity of these new digital influencers.
Brands certainly need to reinvent themselves in line with shifting consumer attitudes and trends but this doesn’t mean throwing money at celebrity vloggers. It means taking a leaf out of their book and finding smarter ways to engage with their target market.
By Hannah Campbell, Operations Director at The Work Perk