When L’Oreal found a shower thought post on Reddit that wondered if there was a connection between Michael Cera and their skincare brand CeraVe, a campaign was born that would snowball into the brand’s first-ever Super Bowl spot and several Cannes Lions awards.
“It really shows how we have to listen to the conversations to create insights and build up from there,” said Alexandra Bolten, global head of social & content marketing, L’Oreal, in a panel at Brand Innovators Marketing Innovation stage at Influential Beach at Cannes.
The brand tapped Michael Cera, a celebrity that was not on social media, for a fake news conspiracy theory-inspired social media campaign promoting his so-called “namesake” brand. The effort culminated in a Super Bowl ad with CeraVe dermatologists debunking Cera’s wild claims. The campaign has 32 billion earned impressions and the brand is one of the few cosmetics brands leaning into the big game. “This was an entertaining way to talk about skin care,” added Bolten. “We are redefining the way that skincare can play in culture.”
The three-week campaign included a robust influencer marketing strategy with numerous influencer partners on TikTok.
Beyond the CeraVe effort, L’Oreal is leaning heavily into working with influencers and creators. The company works with 60,000 partner creators. “We have the strong belief that creator-led content can build brands,” said Bolten.
Mastercard is also leaning into the creator economy. The company invited creators to remix their sonic branding and turned it into their own music. “Creators can create and use the site and take that music and then make it their own,” said Cheryl Guerlin, EVP of brand, advertising, media, digital marketing and research at Mastercard, on another panel.
Tapping creators gives brands an opportunity to connect with the coveted Gen Z audience, so long as they show up in authentic ways. “The impetus behind the creator economy is to reach Gen Z,” added Guerlin. “Gen Z are influential and they are being influenced, so we need to meet them where they are.”
When 7-11 wanted to rebuild its social strategy, the company turned to their customers to see how brand fans were handling Instagram and discovered that there was a large number of images of people taking photos of their cars in front of 7-11 stores. So they started doing the same.
“We are basically a car account at this point because that is what our customers love,” said Marissa Eddings, head of advertising & media at 7-Eleven, during a Brand Innovators fireside chat during Cannes. “It came to us organically. Once we started to do that, it caught fire. We more than doubled our Instagram followship.”
“The brands that will be able to create fandom to create this sense of belonging and make people come together will succeed. It is the future,” concluded Bolten.
