Sphere No.49 (Aug 2019)

SPHERE #47 2019 18 YOUNG AT HEART Capturing the hearts and loyalty of customers is achieved via a process of knowing them, pleasing them and respecting them. ASW does this through a lot of caring, a lot of listening and a lot of cutting-edge technology. Younger customers and younger staff – Gen Y and Gen Z – are digital natives and are ASW’s fastest-growing customer segment around the world. They share their loves and likes constantly through online and mobile platforms. Customer Love Scores, like online basket sizes and visit frequency, combined with visualisation provided by WatsonView, help the team at ASW to carefully track the purchases and behaviour of loyalty members and identify those who deserve a little extra care. Members feel the love and are more than willing to help with the process. They know their opinions make a difference; over 500,000 provide their feedback monthly through online platforms. Each market is empowered to develop their own culturally appropriate rewards systems and member privileges to build long-term loyalty. S TAFF, MEET CUSTOMERS A great example is the wildly successful Watsons O+O campaign in China that saw millennials, Gen Y and Gen Z customers interact through the hugely popular app TikTok (known as Douyin in China). The TikTok platform allows users to overlay fun filters and effects on super short videos (3 to 60 seconds) to share with friends, and to tag those videos to specific locations. The China Douyin Challenge saw people rushing into Watsons to shoot their videos and enhance them with Watsons’ specific overlays to share with friends in return for coupons and other rewards. Over 320,000 user-generated clips had over 2.6 billion playbacks, a stunning result and a case study in successful, O+O engagement. Watsons became the number one TikTok account in China in the hotly contested beauty category in just six months. Staff got in on the fun too. An internal challenge saw them generate their own videos, with one reaching over four million views. Staff discovered they could do more than just sell health and beauty products; they could be stars! NOW STARRING IN EUROPE: PREDICTIVE MODELLING Jeffree Star is a truly modern media creation. This make-up mogul has over 15 million followers on YouTube, and founded the company Jeffree Star Cosmetics based on his online success and all-consuming passion for bringing out people’s inner beauty. To break into Europe, Jeffree Star turned to ICI PARIS XL and Marionnaud. Belgium and The Netherlands were the opening target markets. ASW’s rich data sets and deep understanding of the market were the foundation for a digital marketing campaign targeting the under-35 make-up consumer. The results were fantastic. Over 280,000 social media sign-ups across Europe. Sales up 12% in a month. And 32% of customers who bought Jeffree Star Cosmetics also bought other products. The man behind the brand couldn’t be happier, saying “AS Watson has been an amazing partner, providing me with an efficient distribution platform as well as the tools to be able to target my fans and beauty lovers “ASWatson has been an amazing partner.” Jeffree Star 280,000+ social media sign-ups across Europe of customers who bought Jeffree Star Cosmetics also bought other products Sales up 12% in a month Jeffree Star Cosmetics X AS Watson 32%