Case Study: Beauty Brand attracts ‘Likes’ with Smart Cause Marketing.

Clarisonic started its Facebook page in summer 2009. The company uses the page to interact with customers, educate people about products and build brand awareness, said Carrie Mass, internet marketing manager.

In May 2010, Clarisonic joined forces with Look Good…Feel Better, which hosts self-help beauty workshops to help improve the self-esteem and quality of life for people battling cancer. For Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2010, Clarisonic launched a campaign in which the company donated $1 for every new “like” the Clarisonic Facebook page received.

The campaign helped add a social media layer to Clarisonic’s more traditional cause marketing for the nonprofit, to increase awareness of its own brand and Facebook page, as well as raise money and support for Look Good…Feel Better. The company also hoped to encourage sales of the special products, such as Pink Clarisonic products, that benefit the organization, and to expand its marketing beyond its typical audience of affluent women.

Strategy

The “like” campaign ran from September 27, 2010 through November 11, 2010. Clarisonic bought Facebook advertising at the start of the campaign, but noticed that word-of-mouth picked up as the month went on. The company spread the word via email blasts, Twitter, YouTube and its own blog, Sonic Chatter. Look Good…Feel Better used email, its Facebook page and Twitter to extend the reach of the campaign, Mass said.

A tab devoted to the campaign on Clarisonic’s Facebook page encouraged fans to send email messages, post on their friends’ walls and participate in polls. But other parts of the page continued to focus on matters related to Clarisonic, its products and messages of empowerment.

“Empowerment is a key word for Clarisonic. It is one of the reasons that Look Good…Feel Better as a charitable partner resonates so well.”

—Lou Yaseen, director of cause marketing at Clarisonic, in an interview with eMarketer

For this “like” campaign, Mass said, the audience was broader than the company typically targets, encompassing men and women of all ages who support cancer organizations. Traditionally, Clarisonic customers are women ages 25 to 55 who are more affluent and more likely to shop in prestige retailers.

After the campaign ended, Clarisonic wanted to keep its fans interacting with the page. The company donated the proceeds from auctions of celebrity-signed Clarisonic products, and honored actress Mila Kunis as its first Empowered Woman of the Year. Clarisonic also regularly posts about its ongoing support of Look Good…Feel Better on its Facebook page, keeping the page active and ensuring that fans who joined via the “like” campaign remain engaged.

Results

Clarisonic boosted daily “likes” and views of its Facebook page significantly during the campaign.

Facebook User Metrics for Clarisonic, Nov 2010

“We were able to help increase awareness, but we also raised $30,000 for the program,” Yaseen said. The company originally presented a $30,000 check to Look Good…Feel Better before the campaign was over, and included the rest of the “like” donations in a subsequent check. In total, the company donated more than $1 million to Look Good…Feel Better in 2010.

Mass said “likes” and interactions on the Facebook page have continued to grow. And in 2010, unit volume for the “Hope” edition of its Mia skincare brush more than doubled over 2009, Yaseen added.

“I don’t know if you can directly attribute it to the ‘like’ campaign,” he said. “But we certainly had substantial increases of our limited edition products over the previous year, and Pink product sales in general.”

Key Takeaways

Connecting a company to a cause is a popular way for a brand to stand out. It can affect the company’s reputation and attract consumers who are interested in the cause. And, as Clarisonic showed, such campaigns can influence sales, if connected properly to products and services.

“It’s difficult to ascribe a certain amount of growth to Look Good … Feel Better,” Yaseen said. “But it sure seems to us that, the adage ‘if you do good, you do well’ definitely rings true. If women have a choice to get involved with a company that is supportive of causes that are near and dear to their heart, they’re more inclined to participate.”

For more information at http://www.emarketer.com