Marc Jacobs and Pur Cosmetics: all aboard the vlogger bandwagon

Recently, Marc Jacobs held a campaign called #castmemarc to recruit new bloggers to represent its brand, while Pur Cosmetics has teamed up with Angel Merino and Jade Marie to launch its new ‘Royalty’ collection.

It follows the move by L’Oréal UK earlier this year to team up with five beauty bloggers to shake up its digital content offering,​ working with them to curate content of an interactive, social nature.

“Our customers are heading more and more to social media to find advice and get more knowlege - beauty products, reviews, application techniques - and for us its important to be present in that field with an authentic voice​,” Adrien Koskas, general manager for the L’Oréal Paris brand in the UK, told Cosmetics Design of the campaign.

Marc Jacobs: hunting for talent​

The recent Marc Jacobs campaign called out for ‘the next beauty social media sensation’, and invited applicants to send a video on Instagram explaining what inspires them and why they should be chosen. Three winners will be selected to be part of a spring 2017 video series.

Making the selection process public and social is likely to further promote the campaign among consumers looking for authentic online beauty voices, with Marc Jacobs noting that the winners will be genuine Marc Jacobs fans.

“​Marc Jacobs Beauty encourages pushing boundaries and creating your own style, and we're thrilled to see how our incredible fans share their artistry and inspiration on a global platform​," said Catherine Gore, Vice President and Global General Manager for Kendo beauty group.  

Pur Cosmetics: using voices​

Pur Cosmetics move, like that of L’Oréal, looks to partner up with existing social media influences, rather than create its own.

This approach, too, can lend beauty brands more authentic voices, provided that the campaign is communicated as a genuine partnership rather than traditional forms of sponsorship.

In this case, Pur Cosmetics has worked with Angel Merino and Jade Marie to curate the campaign-specific collection in a bid to appear real and relatable.

A study last year from retail giant Feel Unique found that 44% of consumers decide to buy a product when endorsed by a family, friend or colleague - as opposed to just 5% who respond to celebrity endorsers. It seems like popular vloggers may be the bridge between these groups, and the industry is certainly making efforts to find out if this is the case.