Dive Brief:

• DFS Group, which operates duty-free luxury shops at airports, and Estee Lauder are running a #BeautyAllNight campaign during May that was inspired by the popularity of online beauty tutorials, the retailer announced in a press release. 
• The campaign creative follows three travelers who snap selfies and share on social media as they unpack and apply beauty essentials during visits to New York, Venice and Hong Kong. The effort also includes special offers, displays in several locations featuring an interactive photo booth and multimedia. 
• WeChat helps bring the effort to life for followers of the retailer’s channel in what it is calling “a beauty digital first.” The dedicated WeChat page leverages facial recognition technology and enables users to choose between “staying in” and “going out” looks, select exclusive products to virtually try on and share their looks on WeChat Moments. 

Dive Insight:

The campaign reflects how beauty shoppers are embracing digital platforms to see, test and share beauty looks before stepping into a store, per DFS in the release. The goal for the retailer is to drive awareness and engagement around beauty essentials with millennials.

So far in 2017, beauty retailers and brands have avoided broader downward trends impacting the retail industry at the same time that these marketers have been embracing a number of digital innovations, including AR, AI and shoppable social media ads. 

While messaging apps are a popular channel throughout many beauty campaigns this year, WeChat — and its new multimedia Moments ads — is shaping up as an important avenue for luxury brands, per Jing Daily, which covers the Chinese luxury market. On Moments, brands can include short videos that users click on in their timelines to see the full ad. Early adopters include Miu Miu and YSL.

WeChat is popular around the world but has never caught on in a big way in the U.S. Plans for WeChat Pay and Alipay to enter the U.S. market could help change this, although the push is primarily targeted at the growing numbers of Chinese tourists in the country.