Dive Brief:

• L'Oréal Professionnel launched "Run Le Hair Show," a seven-episode online video series about the cultural impact of hairdressing, per details emailed to Marketing Dive. Made in collaboration with agency Publicis Luxe, the show premiered on May 16 and features interviews, classes, tips and more.
• The show was conceived and directed as a TV show, and is hosted by designer Charlie le Mindu, color specialist Min Kim and fashion journalist Peggy Frey. Each episode runs for 30 to 45 minutes on YouTube and is available in six languages.
• "Run Le Hair Show" sees L'Oréal shift its marketing focus from product to content as a way to better engage with the haircare professionals who buy its products by bypassing traditional channels.

Dive Insight:

L'Oréal Professionnel's "Run Le Hair Show" seeks to reach hairdressers around the world who buy its products that are made for salons. Instead of product marketing, the digital-only series uses content marketing to forge deeper connections with its consumers than possible with traditional advertising channels. The show was developed with Publicis Luxe, a full-service agency under the Publicis Groupe that focuses on luxury brands.

In-person hair shows have long been part of the professional hairdressing industry. However, with events in many industries going virtual in the past year, L'Oréal Professionnel's new show meets this tradition while speaking to the uptick in online viewing that has grown during the pandemic. Though people are beginning to warm up to in-person events again, virtual events are likely to stick beyond the health crisis.

By developing "Run Le Hair Show" as a TV show, L'Oréal can deliver a mix of technical classes, interviews, tips, trend analysis and hair science tutorials in a multi-segment format familiar to most viewers. With its three hosts, the show adds an influencer component that is popular with younger consumers, especially among Gen Zers, 44% of whom made a purchase decision based on a recommendation from an influencer, per a Kantar consumer study from 2020.

The brand's transition to content marketing follows industry-wide trends around the format. Marketers boosted their spend on content marketing before the pandemic, and are forecast to continue that spending, according to a survey by the Association of National Advertisers and The Content Council. Marketers are putting 20% of their digital ad budgets into branded content and influencer marketing combined, representing a larger portion of digital marketing budgets than any other category, a survey by Advertiser Perceptions found.

While L'Oréal Professionnel is focusing on content marketing, the company's consumer-facing brand continues to roll out augmented reality (AR) tools, especially as the pandemic limited or changed the moments when people wore makeup. L'Oréal USA in April released the first beauty AR lenses for Snap's desktop app, while L'Oréal Paris in November introduced its first line of virtual makeup for Instagram, Snapchat, Snap Camera and Google Duo.