2002 BEST USE OF ONLINE WINNER

WINNING ENTRY - L'Oreal Beauty Club

COMPANY - Optimedia

CLIENT - L'Oreal Australia

SPONSORED BY

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to strengthen L'Oreal brand loyalty in a category cluttered with choices, dominated by heavy magazine advertising. The key business issue required a communication program to help L'Oreal form deeper and direct relationships with consumers. For L'Oreal to continue to lead the market, they needed to create a forum with its consumers, a place where women could interact with L'Oreal in a meaningful way.

CAMPAIGN

Use of online among women is around 50%, and the most common application is email. Rather than building an expensive "entertaining" web site, the decision was made to create a club whereby consumers received a monthly newsletter by email, packed with value, aimed specifically at L'Oreal consumers. Survey data collected from club members provided a rich source of consumer information, enabling tailored newsletters to be distributed to different segments within the club. Club membership was promoted to the existing database of L'Oreal consumers, by an online advertising campaign, with support from magazine editorial (leveraging L'Oreal's substantial advertising spend) and in-store promotion.

RESULTS

The key indicator of success was loyalty, and 99.96% of club members wish to remain members. After six months, the club is 10% ahead of expected memberships - and the magazine and in-store component is yet to be implemented.