Brand innovation update: August

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Check out the newest launches and initiatives that are breaking down industry boundaries this month…

Guerlain’s Sound of Craft ASMR campaign

French beauty brand Guerlain has introduced Sound of Craft – a series of sensory videos that display the craftsmanship involved in making its products.

The series of four videos are designed to appeal to viewers’ senses, with beautiful images accompanied by sounds made during the production process that trigger an autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR).

Viewers can watch honey being harvested or lipstick being made as an ode to the wonders of nature fused with human expertise. 

Guerlain Sound of Craft campaign
Guerlain Sound of Craft campaign
I Am Proud launched mascot Sami the Duck
I Am Proud launched mascot Sami the Duck

Gen Z-favourite brand I Am Proud has introduced a mascot, Sami the Duck (they/them) and has been documenting the giant orange duck's adventures on TikTok in everyday moments such as after-work drinks or jumping on viral TikTok trends.

The brand said that Sami’s content has delivered 1.5m video views so far and has had over 40,000 acts of engagement across likes, comments and shares with a 500% increase in views.

Global Marketing Director, Nora Zukauskaite explained: “With the introduction of Sami, we are aiming to increase brand engagement by giving our brand a personality and inject a little humour which we are sure our consumers and community will appreciate. We know that engaged communities often increase loyalty and loyalty contributes to commercial success of the brand.”

Clinique has hired an ophthalmologist
Clinique has hired an ophthalmologist

The brand has hired New York-based ophthalmologist Ashley Brissette, MD, MSc, FRCSC in a newly created role. Dr Brissette will join Clinique to help the brand educate consumers on the importance of eye safety, offer her expertise and guidance for NPD, and contribute to educational content for consumers and Consultants.

Clinique already had a focus on eye wellbeing with its Eye Promise rule, which ensured all its eye makeup products were ophthalmologist-tested and endured hundreds of rigorous safety evaluations to ensure they were safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.

Dr Brissette is set to feature in Clinique's new campaign for its High Impact High-Fi Full Volume Mascara.

Janet Pardo, Senior Vice President, Global Product Development at Clinique said of the collaboration: "We look forward to this partnership including the critical expertise and insights she brings in helping Clinique continue to carry out our commitment to safety at every step."

ClearBlue is launching a menopause testing kit
ClearBlue is launching a menopause testing kit

Clearblue is launching a Menopause Stage Indicator, which will combine women’s urine FSH measurements with their age and cycle history to indicate their likely menopause stage.

According to Clearblue Brand Director Leah Wood: “The topic of menopause has 10x more searches than fertility, yet only makes up 25% of the conversation size.”

She continued: “The silence around it is palpable and it’s our hope that if women have more information about where they are in their menopause journey, they’ll feel more empowered to turn up the volume, talk about it, and embrace this new stage in life.”

The results are stored on a free-to-download app and consumers can generate and print their personalised report to take to their healthcare professional. The app also allows women to track symptoms and cycles and offers educational content on the menopause.

Lush is opening a hair salon
Lush is opening a hair salon

The UK-based beauty brand will open its first hair salon in Brighton, The Lush HairLab, which will cater to all hair types, reduce salon waste and feature a ‘spa for your head’.

The brand said the salon is taking a “holistic approach to hairdressing and barbering, welcoming clients with all hair types to be free to be themselves and leave as they’d like to be.”

The salon will feature a botanical washroom where clients are bathed in light and sound. They will have the choice of having their hair and scalp treated with hard or soft water, with a range of Lush’s hair care products and herbal infusions.

Hair will be coloured with henna hair dye. Plus, the HairLab will offer no-mirror and silent treatments, quiet hours with reduced music and lighting, and gender-affirming events, such as trans masculine shaving workshops.

The brand said it’s “determined to revolutionise the hair industry, using natural hair colouring and reducing salon waste.”

Sephora has launched a music collective to represent emerging artists
Sephora has launched a music collective to represent emerging artists

Sephora Sounds is a music collective to support emerging artists through Sephora’s social platforms. The beauty retailer said it: “seeks to amplify and support diverse voices in the music artist community and continues to enable creator representation.” 

So far, the initiative has welcomed over 55 musical artists, who reflect the authenticity of Sephora’s broader beauty community, with more than half of the signed artists being BIPOC and female. 

The program incubates new talent to create a “more welcoming and representative musicscape across Sephora’s social channels such as TikTok, Instagram and more,” said Sephora.

Artists within the programme will have their music featured in Sephora’s social content for followers to listen to, engage, and re-use in their own content.

Brent Mitchell, Vice President of Social Media and Influencers at Sephora said: “Inclusivity among creators doesn’t just end with beauty. We believe it should exist across all forms and industries, and that begins with giving voices a platform to be heard.”