It always surprises me when people who should know better—usually those outside the industry—think of beauty as fluffy and superficial. Makeup, skincare, haircare, and overall wellness are about so much more than the newest shade of lipstick or the longest lashes. How we look is integral to how we feel; we all want to feel good about that reflection in the mirror, presenting ourselves to the world in the best possible way. Beauty and wellness are at the heart of that desire—nothing skin deep here.
For anyone experiencing acne, that goal of looking your best is a much steeper climb than for the rest of us. Whether one has suffered from acne in their teens—when the social stigma of acne exacerbates all the other developmental issues of that tender time of life—or as an adult, treatment can be a challenge, with endless creams, medications, and dermatologist visits. Acne can affect every aspect of one’s social interactions and self-esteem.
Our agency, Base Beauty Creative Agency, was delighted to work with Face Reality, a professional brand that combines comprehensive training with superb products for a truly holistic approach to acne treatment. Throughout our two+-year, multidisciplinary collaboration, we focused on the heartfelt message: here’s a brand that understands the profound personal toll that acne can exact and has solutions that deeply support patients. Our brand messaging campaign launch (coinciding with Acne Awareness Month) acknowledged the very real feelings of acne sufferers while demonstrating that a truly effective treatment can improve their outcome and their outlook.
The highlights of our campaign included:
- Research: a consumer survey measured the emotional impact of acne, producing dramatic data and insights to fuel our approach.
- The Campaign: we created an evergreen campaign coordinated with Acne Awareness Month with an emotional appeal.
- Earned Media: we expansively amplified National Acne Survey results with both consumer and trade digital, broadcast, and podcast media.
- Paid Consumer Media: we connected with consumers via Teen Vogue’s partner content program.
- Influencer Partnerships: we created partnerships with influencers who have openly and honestly shared their experiences of the emotional toll of acne.
- Influencer Seeding: we seeded product packages to skincare influencers who talk freely and authentically about acne and body positivity.
Here’s some of what we accomplished for our client:
- Earned Media: The highest impact of any acne brand during Acne Awareness Month with 730M+ consumer and media impressions and 449 broadcast airings.
- Paid Consumer Media: 9.4K clicks to dotcom, a 7X native article click-through rate vs. benchmark, and 100K targeted email opens.
- Influencer Partnerships: Partner and TV personality Frank Grimsley’s Instagram content created an engagement rate of 3.95% (vs. 0.87% benchmark), starting meaningful conversations with followers; partners Shanice Hills and Elaine Perry also exceeded TikTok benchmarks with 2% engagement.
- Influencer Seeding: 98 packages were delivered to a mix of Skincare Influencers, Estheticians, and Derms, including Lucy Hale (IG 24.5M), Emily Mariko (IG 1.3M), Franny Arrieta (IG 480K) and Dana Patterson (IG 426K); recipient @michaelgrullon’s (TT 75K) organic content exceeded TikTok benchmarks with an engagement rate of 21%.
Base Beauty’s COO, Aleni Mackarey, Ph.D., MS, and I were especially invested in this collaboration, having observed through our many years in the beauty and wellness industry the physical and emotional challenges of acne and how many brands have missed the mark in helping patients. We are so gratified with our work to elevate Face Reality so they can help more acne clients.
If acne has affected your life, please share your story…and your solution!