September may be Fashion Month, but beauty brands around the globe didn’t shy away from the spotlight. In Australia, influencers celebrated Morphe’s launch at leading beauty retailer MECCA, while KKW Beauty unveiled a makeup collection in collaboration with Canadian model Winnie Harlow. Meanwhile, in Italy, Kérastase and Cotril curated red carpet moments at the Venice Film Festival. Here are the global influencer marketing strategies that top international beauty brands executed to drive growth in Earned Media Value (EMV) in September.
MECCA is the hub of Australian beauty—so it’s no surprise that Morphe’s EMV surged 107% month-over-month following its launch at the retailer this month. The brand tapped makeup guru Lily Brown to host a meet-and-greet at MECCA to celebrate, which she promoted ecstatically on Instagram. Other beauty influencers including Dawn Duong (@dugongss on Instagram) didn’t hesitate to share their excitement, helping #MorpheAtMECCA power $103.5k EMV from 12 content creators as one of Morphe’s top 10 hashtags. Altogether, the brand closed September with $1.5M EMV, ranking No. 5 in Australia.
Winnie Harlow isn’t just a top influencer—she’s an icon. So, you can bet any collab with the Jamaican-Canadian model will spark buzz online. This month, Harlow teamed up with KKW Beauty to launch the KKW x Winnie Collection, comprising an eye palette, highlighter duo, and three lip glosses. The model posted prolifically about the opportunity, thanking BFF and brand founder Kim Kardashian West for inviting her to “be free in my creativity,” and involving her in every step of the design and production process. In all, Harlow mentioned KKW Beauty in 41 posts over the month, powering 67% ($1.6M EMV) of its $2.4M EMV total, which fueled the brand’s impressive $246% month-over-month growth. The KKW x Winnie Collection garnered $1.6M EMV from five content creators.
Before Fashion Week rocked Milan, Italy’s A-list flocked to Venice for the 76th annual Venice Film Festival—and several haircare brands got in on the action. Both Kérastase and Cotril boasted impressive EMV gains thanks to their relationships with attendees. Kérastase styled a bevy of beauty tastemakers, including TV personality Giulia De Lellis and actress Paola Turani, helping #Venezia76 and #VeniceFilmFestival accrue a respective $1.8M EMV and $804.0k EMV for Kérastase. Meanwhile, Cotril also styled top influencer attendees such as Cecilia Rodriguez and Ludovica Pagani, collecting $625.4k EMV across mentions of #Venezia76 and $269.6k EMV from #VeniceFilmFestival. Buoyed by this red carpet hype, Kérastase’s and Cotril’s September EMV roared ahead by 755% and 950% month-over-month, respectively, with Kérastase accruing $4.7M EMV and Cotril netting $2.7M EMV.
From cosmetics to haircare, these beauty brands dominated international conversation in September. But they were hardly the only players to make moves this month. Download Tribe Dynamics’ Q3 2019 Global Beauty Report for in-depth coverage of international beauty industry trends and brand activations, along with EMV rankings for the top 10 beauty brands in each market.
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