Malaysian Media Awards Winners Showcase

Objective & Challenge
/* BACKGROUND: 2021’s COVID 2.0*/ One year into pandemic, Malaysian women had adjusted skincare rituals, sought new brands, simplified routines as they WFH and traded down to hedge against an uncertain economy. Traditional channels like department store retail counters were closed. Shiseido’s competitors were outspending them eg Lancome spends were 3x-5x those of Shiseido. Ecommerce platforms offered little brand differentiation. Facing these challenges, we had to re-launch Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate. The objective: boost engagement and sales on Shiseido’s own virtual store, via some e-commerce differentiator.

Insight & Strategy
/* INSIGHTS & STRATEGY: TRANSFORMING LIMITATIONS INTO DIFFERENTIATIONS */ Due to limited budgets, it was critical to find the right audience and create a differentiated proposition for our relatively expensive product. Three key data insights: Insight #1 — Malaysians flocked to online entertainment and gaming, viewing increased 5x times for casual gaming videos from March 2020. (source: Google Malaysia) Women outnumber men for casual games by 3:1. (source: YouGov) Insight #2 — Skincare searches include growing informational intent, signalling a behaviour shift towards self-discovery fuelled by the rise of ‘prejuvenation’ — preventing tell-tale signs of skin aging before they begin. (source: Google Trends) Insight #3 — Covid-19 cases soared in Q1’2021. Consumers were more pessimistic about 2021 vs 2020 (Invoke poll: Statista) /* HONING IN ON ULTIMUNE™’s PRIME PROSPECTS */ The gaming tribe had high affinity for skincare, wellness, technology and had strong passion for understanding how things work. They admire brands that innovate, embrace trends authentically and actively empower. As per insights below: · I research before buying, 65% Non-gamer Females vs. 73% of Gamer Girls (12%+ Overindex difference) · I am confident using new technology, 38% Non-gamer Females vs. 51% of Gamer Girls (34%+ Overindex difference) · I have personal interest in beauty / cosmetics, 63% Non-gamer Females vs. 72% of Gamer Girls (14%+ Overindex difference) · A brand role in consumer’s life should be: Innovative, 53% Non-gamer Females vs. 63% of Gamer Girl Tribe (19%+ Overindex difference) · A brand role in consumer’s life should be: Improve knowledge & skills, 40% Non-gamer Females vs. 51% of Gamer Girl (28%+ Overindex difference) · I tend to buy premium version of products, 13% Non-gamer Females vs. 17% of Gamer Girls (31%+ Overindex difference) Prime prospects: female 16 – 34, interested in games,.22 million in Klang Valley (GWI Q1’2020 to Q1’2021) THE STRATEGY: /* LIFTING BRAND PRESTIGE THROUGH TRANSFORMATION OF ECOMM JOURNEY */ The challenge for e-commerce was to create engagement that drove purchase. We devised our communicative objectives: “LEARN & YEARN” · LEARN: It was imperative that our audience learn of this much-awarded product’s formulation and superiority · YEARN: Analysis of past campaigns revealed that while video ads generated awareness, ultimately product trials drove highest conversion. We needed to convert learning to yearning experience for consumers (via purchase or trial) A legacy brand amongst the older generation, in an era of k-beauty prominence, Shiseido had to WOW the younger cohorts. Given the target audience (gamer girls), the experience needed (smooth and engaging) and the drawbacks of traditional video (don’t convert, slowburn) we decided to bring the glamour and stye of Shiseido’s flagship store in Tokyo to Malaysia by launching a category-first Virtual Reality Tokyo Ginza Street, an E-commerce enabler that would excite interest and boost better conversion on their existing Shiseido Virtual Store.

Execution
/* HOW: REENGINEERING BRAND DELIGHT */ We crafted a premium, cool yet geeky experience with gamification to skincare edutainment, instilling charm together with science via a new, interactive, immersive medium. Our VR world had 7 engagement levels: 1. The Ultimune™ Museum uncovered the secrets behind previous generations of this prestigious product, creating credibility. 2. In the Botanicals Boutique, users interacted with key Ultimune™ ingredients learning of the brilliant anti-aging effects of Reishi Mushroom Extract and Roselle Extract, to help achieve their personal prejuvenation goals. 3. The Beauty Lab provided users a front seat into understanding Shiseido’s technological prowess in science and botanical expertise fusing together in pure skincare synergy. Users were then quizzed to give them a chance to win the product itself. 4. Shiseido Virtual Store gave users a novel experience of shopping in a VR world. At the beauty product bar a user could browses products just like in a physical store, and buy immediately. 5. To lower barrier to entry, samples were offered. Prospects could register when they learnt of Ultimune™’s key USP of ‘visible change in 3 days’. 6. We built an Entertainment Hub, a virtual arcade ‘Red Power Game’ situated on Tokyo Ginza’s Game Street for Gamer Tribe to try their hand at winning prizes worth RM450 each. 7. Recognising women’s interest towards holistic wellness, the platform offered invites (FOC) to real world Flow Studio Pilates and Yoga Classes. We drove traffic to our VR platform using paid search, Facebook and Instagram ads, targeting Gamer Girl Tribe by age, gender, geo-locations, handset type, psychographics, and more. We constantly optimised the process, based on feedback data from our platform, to drive better quality traffic.

Effectiveness
/* NEW MEDIA BRILLIANCE SURPASSING TARGETS */ The virtual world surpassed all expectations within the campaign period July 12 – August 31 2021 · Over 1.8 million reach on social (Facebook and Instagram) · Over 9 million impressions · 1.16 million video views, +677% achieved vs booked KPI · 102,100 link clicks, +240% from booked KPI · Over achieved Shiseido member registrations Highly engaging VR experience: · Low bounce rate <1% on landing page vs. category average of 20% to 30% · Average time spent: around 3 minutes · 93% of virtual visitors completed the games · Sample registrations, overachieving 116% against target · Garnered highest interest in its largest-volume 50ml set at the Shiseido Virtual Store Above achievements directly contributed to JUMP in Shiseido’s online sales, with DOUBLE DIGIT growth during the campaign, its highest ever. PR coverage worth RM150,000+. The campaign has won 5 awards so far (D-awards 3, Marketing Excellence 2) Shiseido Ultimune™ Ginza Tokyo Street delivered A CATEGORY FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND e-commerce innovation via VR.