The term NFTs (these days) is commonly associated with art these days. According to The Verge, NFTs can really be anything digital (such as drawings, music, your brain downloaded and turned into an AI), but a lot of the current excitement is around using the tech to sell digital art.
However, this is not about art, today our blog is about how Benefit Cosmetics leveraged NFTs to increase consumer engagement and sales during the pandemic by building a bespoke Virtual Atoms (a form of NFTs) powered platform.
Launch amidst lockdowns
When the UK announced nationwide lockdowns in 2020 and early 2021, Benefit Cosmetics needed a way to engage their consumers and encourage sales to mitigate closure of their stores and concession stands. Lockdowns were hard enough on sales of cosmetics, but even harder on launches of new products in cosmetics, skin care and hair care. And this was exactly the challenge Benefit Cosmetics needed to overcome. They had a new mascara product to launch when lockdowns hit. The new product being launched was They’re Real! Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara. The company needed a way to launch the product, reach their target consumers (‘BeneBabes’) and drive conversion.
A new way to reach their target
They needed a new approach to their sales strategy and the new consumer engagement platform needed to appeal to a jaded and frustrated audience who were now bombarded with Facebook & Instagram ads. Benefit Cosmetics describes its target consumer as ‘committed to the brand and active in social media interactions’. This meant that any ads or campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, would be just another ad to the target Benefit consumer. They needed a way to get their attention.
To do this we used a pioneering new technology, Virtual Atoms (VA) – a form of NFTs, to create a ‘lashtastic’ virtual-media campaign with real-life results.
Virtual Atoms (VA)
Benefit Cosmetics used a new technology, Virtual Atoms (VA), to create a virtual media platform and campaign to reach and wow their consumers. The VA campaign was multi channel and gave ‘BeneBabes’ a full 360degree experience if they so wished. Ads on social media encouraged fans and potential consumers to sign up to the VA platform. The platform engaged its users through virtual and real life experiences that had gamification at their core and drove them to buy the new magic mascara.
Users were asked to drop a pin to share their location. Then using AR, registered consumers used their device camera to view and collect ‘surprises’ they could see around them within the safety of their home/wherever they were then.
The surprises, Virtual Atoms, were stored in their Virtual Atoms’ wallet and could be redeemed to ‘spin the wheel’ and win prizes such as virtual beauty consultations, mascaras and product discounts. Winners were then redirected to their virtual store where they could collect their prizes and also buy product.
The platform also housed exclusive content from well known beauty influencers and promoted the campaign with nearly 1.4million followers on Instagram.
The results
Through the innovative use of NFTs and Virtual reality, Benefit Cosmetics created an omni-channel campaign that was fun for its target consumers and also delivered results. The campaign delivered a conversion rate of 55.4% vs a target of 46% and a click through rate (from registration to the platform) of 39.4% vs a target of 35%. The average dwell time was 2 minutes and 22 second, 29,870 new BeneBabes registered and 16,534 prizes were collected.
Not only was invaluable data captured through this campaign, but the platform helped Benefit Cosmetics connect with new and existing target consumers during a time when other companies struggled to do so.