L’Oréal moves from traditional ad approach in conjunction with Canadian Idol

L’Oréal thinks it has the answer to the degradation in value of traditional advertising in the face of personal video recorders, audience fragmentation, and alternative platform advertising such as SMS messaging. The Paris-based cosmetics company was able to extend its brand through a sponsorship deal with CTV Inc.’s hit reality TV show Canadian Idol that involves not only broadcasting the company’s ads during the show, but also embedding product information into the program, using related web sites, and holding a contest tie-in with Shopper’s Drug Mart. "It’s really much more than sponsorship, it is a fully integrated effort through all disciplines," says Debbie King, executive VP and COO of Toronto-based ZenithOptimedia, the company that coordinated L’Oréal’s strategy. She adds that research shows the L’Oréal-Canadian Idol deal worked on a number of fronts. Because fewer L’Oréal products are sold in English Canada than in Quebec, it was important to tie in with a national English-language program, King notes. Through Canadian Idol, she adds that the company was able to reach a younger demographic than its traditional reach. "(L’Oréal) really targets as its core women aged 25 to 54, and Canadian Idol based on our audience estimates gives it the opportunity to expand their market, specifically to youth - the 18- to 24-year-old group - which would be migrating to the L’Oréal franchise. Also, (that age group) is important because it’s a huge market for hair colour and skin care," King pointed out during her presentation at the Staying Tuned: The Power of Audience Research conference held in Toronto on February 23. The makeup and hair for the Canadian Idol contestants were done by L’Oréal staff, and one of the program segments showed the idols going to a section of the cosmetic company’s web site to see what they would look like with different colour hair. Viewers were encouraged to do the same. At the same conference, Roma Khanna, VP interactive at CHUM Television, noted that things such as contests can give viewers a reason to watch commercials and cause viewers to return to appointment viewing. Viewers could be enticed, for example, to tune into programming at specific times and to pay attention to the ads for the chance to win some prizes, she noted. That’s an approach that was taken by L’Oréal in conjunction with a contest operated with the support of Shopper’s Drug Mart that was promoted in flyers, in-store, and through newspaper, radio and outdoor advertising. The prize up for grabs was two tickets to Canadian Idol’s grand finale, a performance, and a private dinner with the top ten finalists. This component of L’Oréal’s Canadian Idol advertising campaign was given exposure at 800 end aisle displays at the retail level. As well, 1.2 million viewers were exposed to the brand on the idol.ctv.ca web site, 215,000 at the L’Oréal web site, and 85,000 at the Shopper’s Drug Mart web site. The additional exposure was coupled with the 2 million-plus viewers that tuned into the TV show each week in 2003. Research conducted by the cosmetics company demonstrated that the campaign was overwhelmingly successful, stated King. The company surveyed just over 600 women, aged 15 to 49, that included both viewers and non-viewers of Canadian Idol. According to the survey, 51% of respondents had viewed at least one episode, and 22% had viewed four or more. "On an unaided awareness basis, 68% of all those who responded could identify L’Oréal as the sponsor (of the show)," King noted. "In terms of the overall presence, 79% of respondents thought that L’Oréal presence embedded in the programming was just right (versus being excessive or not enough), and that figure climbed to 84% for Quebec. And the one (statistic) that I find phenomenal is that 13% actually felt that the overall presence wasn’t enough," she stated. "In terms of the beauty tips embedded within the show, 34% remembered at least one. And 37% felt the beauty tips segments were positive and had a positive effect on their opinion of L’Oréal, and 17% said their opinion of L’Oréal had positively increased as a result of the visibility."

L’Oréal moves from traditional ad approach in conjunction with Canadian Idol

News | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

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