Although L’Oréal Paris enjoys a good relationship with Quebec women, the brand also was viewed as slightly aloof, an image it is hoping to change with a series of mini TV shows airing right now on TVA.
"L’Oréal Paris typically works with mass media in a traditional way," Lucie Dumas, VP, Marketel, tells MiC . "The strategy was to develop a way to get the brand closer to Quebecers, who already really like the brand and use it. There’s a natural match between L’Oréal from Paris and Quebecoise."
The shows, called Mes Secrets de Beauté , are one-minute each, airing at 8:59 p.m. three nights weekly, once on Friday mornings at 6:45 a.m. and on the weekend at 8:50 a.m. They were not purchased as commercials and are in TVA’s schedule as regular content. The brand name is only mentioned in pre- and post-roll billboards, although the women in the shows can refer to product names such as Voluminous mascara, as mentioning L’Oréal would change the mini-program’s classification from "show" to "commercial."
Each program features a Quebec woman, chosen from an open casting call, who tells the audience about a personal beauty tip. The women were chosen to represent all facets of society, Dumas says, and for the unique nature of the tip they had to share. The women are featured in their homes, demonstrating their tips using L’Oréal products.
The shows started running earlier in the month, and have already generated calls to L’Oréal’s public hotline, Dumas says. Since the products are not referenced as L’Oréal products, the calls are sometimes queries about "where they can get that mascara in the red tube," she laughs.
The promotion also features a customized website, MesSecretsdebeauté.ca , where the beauty tip theme continues, and a Facebook page where visitors are encouraged to share their tips as well.
The shows were co-produced by Montreal-based Match Prod. A media agency was not used in the execution of this campaign.
Me Secrets De Beauté will run throughout the summer on TVA, and Dumas says the hope is to bring them to English Canada sometime in the future.
