The inherently visual nature of beauty has come to life within the marketing strategies of beauty brands for years — think Youtube and Instagram. However, as the pandemic accelerated the consumer shift to the digital audio space, beauty brands were tasked with honing in on the beauty listener.
The draw of audio has become more clear to beauty brands as platforms like Clubhouse and TikTok served as incubators of meaningful conversations and connections in a time of isolation. But many have failed to take advantage of digital audio by looking at it as either a means to broad-scale awareness or as a direct response channel, rather than holistically.
Dina Fierro, Nars vp of global digital strategy and social engagement, said, depending on the initiative, beauty brands should look at the potential of digital audio as a way to reach both local and global audiences and ensure their participation in relevant conversations relating to beauty.
This starts with “identifying and partnering with perhaps a small group of podcasts that you feel align beautifully to your brand identity, your brand values, your points of difference,” Fierro said on Tuesday, during the second event in Glossy’s Glossy U series on The Audio Opportunity. Fierro was joined by Priya Rao, Glossy’s executive editor. “Tapping into, for example, their hosts [via] host-read ads” or “offering some kind of exclusive gift with purchase or discount code to ensure that you can measure acquisition in a tangible way” are both opportunities that Nars is looking at.
Nars has adopted a multi-faceted approach to digital audio. The brand tapped into Clubhouse with a series of conversations about ‘skinimalism’, diversity and inclusivity, and the future of beauty post-Covid in April. Included in the conversations was talk of the brand’s Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer; it played into the conversations, thanks to its new expanded shade range. Nars’ choice to not host the series on a branded account and also to partner with two leading clubs on Clubhouse allowed the brand to meet its audience at a middle ground between commercialization and authenticity.
Nars’ U.K. region also recognized the sampling opportunity within Spotify, allowing consumers to access product samples of their choice through the streaming platform. In doing so, the brand was able to reach a new audience and gain insight into the products its audience gravitates toward. It plans to execute a similar strategy in its top five markets, including the U.S. And as the potential of digital audio continues to expand, Nars is looking at Twitter Spaces and Discord, which have multimedia capabilities, for activations.
“We’re looking at digital audio and podcasts, in comparison to a lot of these saturated social spaces,” said Fierro. “You just have a great opportunity to have a meaningful interaction with that listener and to actually drive action.”
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Watch the full video of the conversation below.
