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On August 1, Nicole Richie (7.3 million Instagram followers) posted a Reel, which served as a teaser for her new campaign with Estée Lauder. The campaign promotes the brand’s OG hero product — the 42-year-old, $128 Advanced Night Repair Serum — and its new $98 Overnight Treatment, which launched on July 1.
In her post, Richie gets a knock on her door and is presented with what appears to be bottle service, with sparklers and all. “We love a sparkler moment! I just don’t really go out anymore,” Richie says in response. But it’s not alcohol — its Estée Lauder’s aforementioned sleep repair products. Cut to: a well-rested Richie waking up and proclaiming, “My Advanced Night Repair really went all out last night. I mean, look at me! Is it 2007 again?”
The post, which teased the wider campaign that launched on Thursday, has so far garnered 2.7 billion organic impressions. That’s the most impressions the brand has earned on a campaign, said Cyndi Pierre, executive director of consumer marketing and public relations for Estée Lauder and Aerin Beauty in North America.
Now, Estée Lauder is bringing the campaign into full-throttle with paid media across Taxi TV, streaming ads, in-store displays and paid social media. It’s also a global campaign, so it will be promoted on relevant channels in other regions. Though Pierre declined to specify the investment made in the campaign, she said it was on par with other tentpole campaigns. The featured launches, she said, are “five-star launches” and among the biggest for the brand of the year.
Overall, “we’re increasing our earned and paid investment in nighttime skin care double digits versus last year, reflective of the overall opportunity, given shifts in consumer behavior and high engagement in the night skin-care occasion,” said Jennifer Johns, vp of marketing for Estée Lauder and Aerin Beauty in North America.
An additional campaign spot, which went live on Thursday, and was also posted to Richie’s Instagram feed, focuses on the brand’s latest product in its sleep-centered franchise, the $135 Revitalizing Supreme+Night Power Bounce Creme Moisturizer. It launched on August 1 and will hit more retailers in September. In this ad, parallels are drawn between the club and the benefits of an effective night cream. Richie tells the camera: “People always ask me — don’t you miss going out every night? And I just smile and say, ‘Are you f*cking insane?’ The only VIP I care about these days is Very Incredibly Plump. … Skip the lines, get all of the bounce. … Make your skin bounce — no club required.”
Estée Lauder’s night-focused skin-care portfolio represents over 30% of its total skin-care business. Earlier this summer, prior to the debut of the marketing campaign, the brand spoke to Glossy about the importance of the new sleep-focused launches in its portfolio.
Though the brand has always been “science-led,” millennials wanted more, Pierre said.
“Our marketing [focus] has been evolving and leaning into the cultural conversations where we can find a synergy with us and the product,” she said regarding the genesis of the Richie campaign, titled “Night Night Club.” The campaign and the products target millennials in their mid- to late-30s. They remember bottle service fondly, but now feel that “sleep is the new luxury.”
Pierre said that part of her job is to “modernize what people think of when they see Estée Lauder.”
“Part of that modernization is these amazing talent partnerships. We’re looking for dynamic women who are self-assured, who are culture movers, who are conversation starters and who are also business owners,” she said. “So Nicole popped off the page. We were like, ‘OK, this is who we need. She’s the target. She’s witty and self-assured, and she’s the resident old-school party-girl-turned-boss who’s doing so many things. She aligned nicely with our founder, [Estée Lauder].”
She added, “Estée Lauder was a boss. She grew a global company, she ran a family, she had friends and she was self-assured. Those are the talent personalities we’re looking for when we’re going out for these kinds of partnerships.”
In addition to Richie, Estée Lauder tapped other influencers to echo its message around the “new bottle service” across social media. They include Chloe Flower (@misschloeflower; 406,000 Instagram followers), Jeannette Reyes (@msnewslady; 628,000), Nicole Guerriero, (@nicoleguerriero; 1.7 million), Achieng Agutu (@noordinarynoire; 832,000) and Patti Roberts (@taskyourself; 229,000).
The skin-care market has become incredibly saturated in recent years. There are countless new entrants that legacy brands have to compete with ranging from “cool-girl” players like Dieux to affordable darlings like Naturium. High-earning millennials may buy from Augustinus Bader or plastic surgeon Dr. Diamond’s Metacine, which launched just a year ago.
When Estée Lauder Companies reported its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings last week, net sales for skin care were down 3%, which was primarily attributed to challenges in mainland China. Conglomerate brands including La Mer on the luxury front and The Ordinary on the affordable, younger side of the spectrum, however, both showed growth.
If the full “Night Night Club” campaign performs as well as its soft launch, perhaps it can contribute to the turnaround the company is hoping for. In addition to the 2.7 billion impressions, the campaign’s first pulse also earned the company a 90% annual lift in earned media value for its skin care and an uptick in in-store sales, Pierre said. “It’s really a testament to this campaign and how buzzy it’s been,” Pierre said.
Collab of the week
Glossier x Mette
Glossier’s beloved “You” franchise is growing. On Wednesday, the brand launched a new “You”-scented product: a $45 body butter dubbed Crème de You. The campaign is fronted by Mette Towley, the singer, dancer and actor who opened some of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shows in London.
Of the collaboration, Mette said, “Glossier has been in my basket and on my beauty counter for years now. I was always hoping I’d catch their eye, and I’m so happy we got to create together. I’m a true fan of their Body Hero: Dry Touch Mist, which I use on stage, for shoots and in everyday life.” As for Glossier’s part, Marie Suter, Glossier’s creative director, said, “Mette’s energy and expressive individuality pair perfectly with the luxurious world of Crème De You”
The expansion of ‘You” is something the Glossier community has been asking for, Suter said. Shop it here.
Rare Beauty x “Only Murders in the Building“
In celebration of the return of her hit show, “Only Murders in the Building,” which came back for its fourth season on Tuesday, Selena Gomez and Rare Beauty have bestowed upon the world a new limited edition set. It includes one of Rare’s iconic Soft Pinch Liquid Blushes and one of its Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oils. The included blush shade, “Resilience,” is exclusive to the $30 kit, which is currently available on Rare Beauty’s e-commerce site.
“We were thrilled to collaborate with Hulu on a limited-edition makeup set inspired by our founder Selena Gomez’s [“Only Murders in the Building”] character, Mabel Mora. Our bestselling Soft Pinch Liquid Blush and Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil in wearable, rosy brown hues are perfect for creating easy, everyday looks that fans of the show can recreate,” Katie Welch, CMO at Rare Beauty, told Glossy. Shop it here.
Guerlain x Pucci
True fashion fans will want to get their hands on a piece of this luxurious collaboration, which combines the codes of the iconic house of Pucci with Guerlain’s most classic makeup items. That includes its $105 Terracotta Sun bronzing powder, its $92 Météorites Swirl powder and its $69 Rouge G Kiss lipstick. “Collaborating with an external designer allows you to go where you wouldn’t spontaneously go. … You feel immersed in the other person’s creative space. It’s a really rewarding experience. This time, for example, I felt totally connected to the world of Pucci,” said Violette Serrat, Guerlain’s creative director of makeup. Shop it here.
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