Despite the lack of in-person exposure, beauty brands are continuing to make an impact with their creative virtual events and experiences. And it isn't just about trying to promote the newest blush or mascara, either. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) Some brands like Refinery29 and Smashbox are choosing to host community-focused events that explore bigger issues and themes—mixed with a little makeup. Here's a look at some key takeaways, ideas and lessons learned from recent virtual beauty events.
Throughout the experience, interactive icons prompted guests to watch or read educational content on the Silymarin CF product and a skincare quiz offered a personalized approach.Photo: Courtesy of Dera Lee Productions
1. Create a virtual experience that the brand can use again and again.
To introduce its newest product—Silymarin CF (a vitamin C serum for oily and blemish-prone skin)—to members of the media, SkinCeuticals tasked Dera Lee Productions with building an immersive experience that would “deliver the same level of interaction and excitement as an in-person press event,” explained founder and owner Dera Lee. The skincare brand hosted a total of 120 attendees spanning three separate smaller events of 40 people each in November and January.
The centerpiece of the experience, which was developed with Renhaus Visualization Studio, was an immersive landing page that aimed to simulate an in-person visit to a SkinCeuticals lab. Following the media events, the brand has been able to repurpose the site for internal sales and marketing team uses, as well as for its partnerships with dermatologists.
In addition to educational content, attendees were able to tune in for an interactive livestream that included a Q&A where they could ask questions. Lee explained that in order to grab the attention of an audience like the media, “you need to really diversify what you're doing compared to other people. Differentiating it, making sure that it's fresh and new and it's something that they really want to watch.”
She also stressed the importance of making the video content informational but also entertaining, similar to a TV broadcast, and to make sure the information is accessible, allowing guests to visit the experience when it’s convenient for them. “I think that learning things on their own time is really beneficial for the immersive experience that we built,” Lee said, adding that the site was available for media to view for a week after the event.
Following the livestreamed presentation, which was hosted behind the “treatment room” door, attendees participated in a trivia game to reinforce the information that was covered.Photo: Courtesy of Dera Lee Productions
Attendees received a mailer that included the new product, as well as items that played off of the ingredients in the new product including milk thistle tea with a customized label and vitamin C juice shots.Photo: Courtesy of Dera Lee Productions
In order to keep engagement up, Lee explained that the overall program lasted 30 to 40 minutes.Photo: Courtesy of Dera Lee Productions
2. Design for a global audience.
In February, Benefit hosted a virtual launch event for its new They’re Real! Magnet mascara that invited the public into the brand’s Lash Factory, located at the “earth’s core”—a concept that was inspired by the mascara wand’s magnetic core and the magnetic mineral-enriched formula.
Inside, guests were able to explore rooms that included a photo booth with a custom Instagram filter, an augmented-reality try-on experience, an assembly line-type game and a “control room” featuring videos from influencers. The experience, which was accessible for one week, drew 77,000 users from 168 countries and was available in 21 languages. Unlike an in-person event, the consumer-facing virtual experience allowed the brand to promote its new product far and wide.
“Benefit is well known in the industry for throwing big IRL events, especially for key launches like this one,” explained Rena Gillen, senior director of marketing communications at Benefit. “We knew early on though that due to COVID-19, and the rolling limitations market by market, an in-person global launch event was not in the cards. A virtual event also gave us the opportunity to bring consumers into the experience with us, which was a great upside.”
When it comes to designing an experience for consumers as opposed to solely media or influencers, Brian Feit—founding partner at BMF, the agency tasked with creating the launch event—said while the same basic principles apply, inclusivity is even more important.
“While there are core synergies across all audiences when it comes to sociability, functionality and user interface, when creating a virtual event for consumers and the general public your demographic and global reach can be much greater and less targeted as your ‘guest list’ is not controlled,” Feit said. “We think through how to engage these users at each touchpoint of the virtual event and how we can amplify the experience to be inclusive and impactful for a large audience that expands beyond the target demographic.”
The experience also included influencer meet-and-greets from seven different countries that featured preselected questions as well as a live chat.Photo: Courtesy of BMF
3. Recreate an in-store experience—but make it better.
Earlier this month, bareMinerals hosted its "Virtual Villa" event that featured bareMinerals Clean Beauty Ambassador Hailey Bieber, who guided consumers through the experience, sharing her favorite products which visitors were able to purchase in real time. Bieber was filmed on a full-body green screen, so it appeared as if she was really in the "house," explained Amelia Friedman, production manager at Eventique, the agency that built the virtual environment.
BareMinerals Clean Beauty Ambassador Hailey Bieber guided consumers through the experience, sharing her favorite products, which visitors were able to purchase in real time.Photo: Courtesy of Eventique
The immersive experience also included a discussion with Global Dermatology Ambassador Dr. Joyce Park about the ingredients in some of the latest launches and a makeup tutorial with Bieber’s makeup artist and the brand’s Global Makeup Ambassador Denika Bedrossian. Of course, the video content production needed to adhere to COVID-19 protocols. Christopher Mattina, VP of operations at Eventique, explained that Dr. Park and Bieber were actually in two different locations—Bieber in LA and Dr. Park in San Francisco. “We took inspiration from the Oprah and Obama interview,” he added.
Inside the virtual boutique, visitors could browse 3D renderings of actual bareMinerals products, which they could click on to get more info. From there, they were sent to the bareMinerals website to purchase the product.
Consumers were able to explore bareMinerals' "Virtual Villa," which featured a resort-like aesthetic.Photo: Courtesy of Eventique
Christopher Mattina, VP of operations at Eventique, explained that Dr. Park and Bieber were actually in two different locations—Bieber in LA and Dr. Park in San Francisco. “We took inspiration from the Oprah and Obama interview,” he added.Photo: Courtesy of Eventique
Inside the virtual boutique, visitors could browse 3D renderings of actual bareMinerals products, which they could click to get more info. From there, they were sent to the bareMinerals website to purchase the product.Photo: Courtesy of Eventique
4. Go beyond beauty with community-minded programming.
In December, beauty brand Smashbox hosted its inaugural Smashbox Jefacon, an all-access program of seminars, panels and workshops with Latina entrepreneurs who discussed business-minded topics. Inspired by the Spanish word for “boss,” the event, which was hosted by CEO and founder of Rizos Curls Julissa Prado and founder of Hija de tu Madre Patty Delgado, “was created to celebrate the immense power of all women” and “to spotlight the Latinx community in Los Angeles and across the U.S.,” explained Kimberly Villatoro, vice president and general manager of Smashbox Cosmetics.
She added that Hispanic-owned businesses rose at a 40% growth rate from 2012 to 2018—more than two times the U.S. average—”despite the fact that the Latinx community has faced a funding ceiling that hinders entrepreneurship in the U.S.”
Kaitlyn Jackson, account director at BMF, explained that the “workshops were thoughtfully curated to leave the audience with impactful next steps for themselves and their community and encouraged interaction throughout the program.” During the daylong event, participants were able to build a profile, connect with other women in the community, tune into an exclusive playlist, shop curated product kits and interact via a live chat.
“Through thoughtful post-production, we packaged each session to ensure both a consistent look and feel, transition and timely run of show,” Feit explained about producing the panel discussions.Photo: Courtesy of BMF
Two beauty boxes were created for the event in collaboration with Prado and Delgado and contained a collection of Smashbox products to create each entrepreneurs’ signature look. The kits also included a personalized “letter to your future self,” mirror decals and a co-designed tote.Photo: Courtesy of Smashbox
5. Make social media more social.
Unbothered, Refinery29’s community created for and by Black women, hosted a virtual event in January called Wash Day that featured tutorials, conversations and workshops around hair care and self-care. “For Black women, our hair is our crown, our hair holds generational knowledge and serves as a connective tissue for our community. Caring for our hair is a community ritual, and at Unbothered, we’re dedicated to protecting those sacred spaces for each other,” said Chelsea Sanders, VP of brand innovation and strategic partnerships at Unbothered.
She explained that Wash Day had started as an editorial beauty series that received an “overwhelmingly positive response,” which prompted the media brand to expand upon the concept, creating this daylong virtual event that included hair care advice like deep-conditioning hacks and protective style how-tos, along with inspirational content such as developing positive self-talk and setting goals.
Presented by natural hair care brand Emerge, the virtual event was free to all via Refinery29’s Facebook Live channel. "Knowing that our audience was feeling fatigued by virtual events and a barrage of Zoom parties and talks, we knew live engagement and a two-way dialogue with the audience would be essential to break through and recreate the open atmosphere of a salon,” Sanders said.
“At a time when we were all yearning for a sense of community and connection, Facebook Live allowed our audience to interact directly with us as well as one another. We also wanted the experience to live on post-event day across all of our social platforms in order to reach audiences who weren’t able to attend in real time. Facebook Live let us be nimble with our approach, helping to expand the reach and impact of Wash Day.”
Before the event, attendees posted photos of their own wash days, used and shared custom Wash Day Instagram filters and organically created their own reels.Photo: Courtesy of Refinery29
