Event agency Matt Circus used the beauty of social media to build a big buzz in Germany for make-up brand Maybelline New York, all in honor of its 100th anniversary.
The event team keyed on the notion of Maybelline and its products empower the women who use them. And to spread that message, the campaign and all its aspects worked to interconnect online and offline experiences to ensure that a broad, diverse target group was addressed across an array of channels.
The event was designed in two parts. Make-up Day—a public promotion—ran May 13-15 in a public square in the middle of Berlin. Make-up Night, on May 15, was a private event for 500 guests including VIPs, journalists and bloggers.
The essence of the campaign was—no surprise—encouraging women to express themselves using Maybelline products.
The Make-up Days offered a pop-up store in Berlin's famed Potsdamer Platz, from which 100 make-up teams fanned out to offer as many free makeovers as possible. Participants were encouraged to post their photos on social media.
For each makeover, Maybelline parent company L'Oreal donated a euro to Germany's bone marrow donor registry. By the end of the campaign, the number of makeovers totaled 25,000. L'Oreal contributed doubled the figure and donated 50,000 euros on Make-up Night.
Make-up Night took place in Berlin's iconic Kraftwerk Berlin, a former industrial building turned events venue. Along with models and Maybelline brand ambassadors, the event featured a performance by former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland. Guests were treated to an elaborate video and show production, including hip-hop duo Wang Ramirez.
The other stars were the guests. Photographers shot portraits of guests; the portraits were artistically edited in street-art style and mixed in with some Maybelline looks. Once the portraits were posted on a 10- by-10-meter (33- by-33-foot) wall, guests used RFID cards to decide when their images would display. The result: Guests controlled the presentation, all while sharing the event in social media. Aiding in the social media push was the hashtag #100YearsofMaybelline.
All told, the campaign generated PR/ad value of more than € 1,000,000.
The Special Events magazine Advisory Board thought the campaign was a beauty too. They just nominated it for a 2016 Gala Award.
Matt Circus Venloer Strasse 517-519, Cologne 50825, Germany; 49 221 998895 0; www.mattcircus.com
