Benefit swimmingly embraces Shark Week in Instagram scavenger hunt
Beauty brand Benefit recently took Instagram users on a virtual underwater mobile scavenger hunt, playing on consumer interest in contests, games and Discovery?s Shark Week in an attempt to preserve its image as a genuine brand that enjoys having fun with its fans.
Benefit introduced a unique new contest on social media during last week?s airing of Shark Week programming to catch the eye of those who love the predators, giveaways, scavenger hunts or simply fun social experiments. The brand leveraged the cult-like following that the television event harbors, while generating its own buzz surrounding a new product in its fan favorite collection, They?re Real.
"Benefit launched a new collection on June 26 for They?re Real! mascaras and eyeliners in colors beyond belief," said Ginger Pelz, social media manager at Benefit. "The main visual, we call it Power Visual, for the launch was shot by David LaChapelle, which included a Beyond Belief scene featuring, among many other things, a shark.
"We leveraged the shark throughout Benefit?s launch campaign including organizing a Swimming with Sharks beauty vlogger event to announce the products in early June and an inclusion in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, airing on July 22 at 9/8c on SyFy," she said. "The instagram game, #BeneFINtoWin, was specifically timed to run during Shark Week as a way to build off of the killer internet buzz but also bring awareness to our product launch and Benefit?s penchant for laughter and fun which sets us apart from other beauty brands."
"At Benefit, our mantra is 'laughter is the best cosmetic,' and we like to inject fun and humor into everything we do on and off-line."
BeneFIN to Win
The cosmetics brand incited a social media fan frenzy, as Instagram users took to the mobile application in an attempt to win $575 worth of Benefit products. On its official US Instagram page the brand gave users instructions to a scavenger hunt to promote the launch of its KillerColors, in part of its They?re Real collection.
They?re Real is a Benefit line that has a significant fan following in the realm of makeup and beauty. The brand has a reputation of unique and engaging campaigns that consumers are excited to be apart of, so it was vital that Benefit created something distinctive for the newest addition to the sought-after collection.
Users were taken on a journey through various Instagram pages with images that incorporated original Benefit branding with underwater scenes. Interested contestants had to follow Benefit?s new Instagram page, BeneFIN to Win and follow the directions to scavenger hunt.
Once found, the user clicked on the image and continued on by clicking the link to the next Instagram paged tagged on the image. Users proceeded through various pages created by Benefit in a similar manner, finding the next page after finding the image with the shark fin, until landing at the final page.
Contestants that were sure to like every photo including a fin, were entered to win the collection of They?re Real products by commenting on the final image.
Each BeneFIN to Win profile featured a username that coincided with the page?s image. For instance the final profile was named Beauty Booty, and its image featured a pirates ?booty? treasure chest.
The campaign received significant engagement rates, with more than 7,500 likes featured on the final page, and an equal amount of comments.
Social scavenger hunts
Nissan Motor Co. took a similar path when it showcased the 2015 Altima sedan and took its interactive social media strategy to the next level following the success of last year's scavenger hunt by posting clues on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram that asked guests to find a hidden vehicle and offer the chance to win a 2015 Nissan Altima (see more).
Also, CBS Local Digital Media launched a photo gaming application for iOS named Pingo from which different brands across the board have benefited (see more).
"Instagram is a really strong platform for us, and the beauty industry as a whole," Ms. Pelz said. "Simply it is where our girl is going to quickly digest the latest beauty trends, looks and products in an instant.
"We wanted to create something that is not only very fun and feels very Benefit, but that also brings in our girl and gets her to spend a little bit more time with our brand than her typical scroll-scroll-scroll instagram habit," she said. "The ten levels feature an underwater adventure, showcasing our new They?re Real! mascaras and eyeliners and a scene that feels very beyond belief, tying back to our campaign visual.
"We think a scavenger hunt on Instagram is new for many people and we received a lot of great feedback thanking us for building something innovative and entertaining. We are at a point with social where as marketers we need to think a little bit more creatively in how we can make something engaging with these native platforms outside of posting straight photos or videos at a cadence."
Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer