— A successful case of utilizing consumers’ attitudes and values
Kicking off in 2015, SK-II has initiated global “#Change Destiny and Dream Again” campaign which aims at increasing the awareness of the inner beauty of women, as well as empowering women to take the control of their destiny – whether in life or in their skin. The campaign lasts for two years and has gone through several stages. It is regarded as a great piece of work that “fits in seamlessly with the beauty brand’s ongoing mission” (Campaign, 2016). Therefore, this essay discusses each stage of the campaign, investigating how it can achieve success from consumer’s perspectives.
The 1st stage (Jan 2015) — Meet the Women of Change
The #Change Destiny campaign started with inviting and shooting videos about female celebrities from different regions and age groups to share their stories about the moment they change the so-called destiny and how they have gone beyond societal limitations to succeed. Later on, rockstarlets and KOLs in various fields also joined in this campaign.
By sharing the stories of these inspirational women, about how they have overcome the obstacles and pursue their goals and dreams bravely, SK-II shows people that the “destiny” is not a constraint, rather, it can be changed and controlled by ourselves.
The 2nd stage (Apr 2016) — Stand Up to Marriage Pressure
When introducing its #Change Destiny campaign in China, SK-II probed into the pressure women were facing in society. The campaign film is customized to reflecting the heated topic of “left-over” women (剩女) in China. Titled “Marriage Market Takeover”, the film reveals women’s marriage pressure from both family and society – to marry before 30 and follow the social conventions. This film features ordinary but strong and confident women who have determined to follow their heart instead of being pressured into marriage.
This social topic has been discussed a lot in China and even became a buzz worldwide. The “Marriage Market Takeover” campaign grabbed this opportunity, playing a role in the discussion and delivering a message that women have the right to pursue their lives and are worthy of respect for their choices. The film speaks out for women and aroused strong sympathy, especially of those who face the similar condition.
The 3rd stage (Jun 2016): Kids Counseling — Dream Again
The inspiration of the third stage stemmed from the Global Dreams Index Survey conducted in early 2016. With 5,400 women in 14 countries engaged, the result showed that half of the world’s women have given up on their dreams. The key barriers were limited financial support, stereotypes of women, and not fitting traditional definitions of success. In Asia, such situation was even more serious, with women becoming less satisfied with their lives as they grow older. Japan and Korea had the highest number of women who had stopped pursuing their dreams, at 81% and 67 % respectively.
Therefore, in order to raise the awareness that female should be empowered to pursue their dreams, SK-II launched a series of four-minute films in 10 Asian cities. The films featured children partnering up with local personalities to encourage the adults to reconnect with their dreams. Inviting children as counseling, the campaign provided not only warm-hearted feelings, but also the reminding of how much optimism, courage and dreams get lost as people grow up. Dream Again campaign also achieved great performance: within the first week, the film acclaimed over 7 million views on YouTube.
Why is #Change Destiny and Dream Again Campaign so successful?
According to the statistics (AdMaster, 2016), after this campaign launched in China market, up to 60% of netizens show their willingness to purchase, and nearly 90% have a positive impression towards SK-II. The key to success is how the brand utilizes consumers’ emotion and value.
Today more and more people believe that women should be encouraged to make the decision about their lives and exceed the societal limitations. SK-II noticed these social topics and seized the opportunity of branding. It came up with a very touching theme: Change Destiny and Dream Again, demonstrating its supportive attitude towards women and its position of encouraging them to bravely pursue dream life. Such theme highly comforts to the social value and consumers’ value, especially in Asia market. By arousing the sympathy, the campaign helps strengthen the emotional tie between the brand and customers, which further positively impacts people’s consideration process when buying products.
Moreover, its three-stage strategy allows the brand to effectively demonstrate its attitude and value. From celebrities, KOLs in different fields to ordinary people, the theme #Change Destiny is delivered from three perspectives, with stories more and more closed to consumers. Thus, stage by stage, the brand can be favored by more and more customers. In addition, this global campaign follows the rule of “think globally, but act locally”. The campaign is customized to adapt different cultural and social contexts to achieve a more powerful effect.
To conclude, SK-II’s #Change Destiny and Dream Again campaign is very constructive for high-end brands. It doesn’t introduce the product in the video directly. Rather, it shoulders social responsibility and plays a role in spreading a value that consistent with its target customers and society. By evoking emotions and building sympathy, SK-II not only improves its brand image, but also gains a great number of potential customers and loyal fans.
References
1. 看完她们改变命运的故事，你还会抱怨人生吗？
2. SK-II | Change Destiny
3. SK-II invites women to dream again
4. AdMaster数据诠释：SK-II 作为有态度的品牌怎么样“改写命运”
I think SK-II is doing so successful in the whole range of campaign. They have good advertisement by having celebrities as spokesperson and getting well-know long time ago.
ReplyDeleteBut it is impressive that they act fast to catch the digital trend. The campaign message is spread viral through digital platform. And I also agree that doing branding instead of hard-selling products would be one of the marketing trend nowadays, as people refuse to receive direct promotional message.
Another good example is SK-II launches a "Beauty Bound" competition, recruiting beauty blogger from Asia to join and showing how those participates show their ability to #ChangeDestiny. This idea is quite new and creative that they provide interesting content to seek people attention and at the same time promoting their brand message in a soft way.
by Cynthia Liu Tung Mei (1006601593)