Because UK brings Benefit Cosmetics’ innovative ‘They’re Real! Magnet’ Mascara to life with an innovative Virtual Atom campaign.
We’re firm believers in getting yourself conquer-the-world ready, even if the plan is only being executed from your living room. ‘Putting on a face’ is one of the many ways of doing just that, it injects confidence and a little go-get-’em oomph into your attitude and gets you in the right frame of mind to tackle the tirade of Zoom meetings that await.
Spending time on you is important, as is fun, laughter and a bit of escapism now more than ever, which is why we were so excited when Benefit Cosmetics appointed Because UK to help launch, They’re Real! Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara.
Feeling good is at the heart of everything Benefit Cosmetics stands for, that and the belief that ‘laughter is the best cosmetic’ – with a winning formula like this you can help anyone take on the world.
They’re Real! Magnet Mascara is powered by an innovative magnetic formula that draws out lashes to extreme lengths, making them look up to 40% longer*, and lifts your lashes to extreme lengths for up to 36 hours.
To showcase such an innovative product, we needed a pretty innovative idea, which was made possible by a little something (or somethings) called Virtual Atoms.
Virtual Atoms (or VAs) exist as a form of virtual media on a ground-breaking new platform that allows the distribution of infinite digital tokens virtually. These smart digital assets integrate AR, geolocation, Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, 5G connectivity, and gamification into one unique little pixel product. Sound interesting? You can read more about it here.
In this instance, we’ve used Virtual Atoms’ Augmented Reality technology to create a gamified, covid-safe, at-home experience that rewards fans in an engaging new way, and drives direct to purchase.
Here’s how it works: after signing up and dropping a pin to indicate their location, fans are able to use their phone camera to view and collect Benefit’s ‘magnetic surprises’ that appear in their space. Each item they collect will be stored in their Virtual Atom wallet and can then be used to spin-and-win some “powerfully attractive” instant prizes such as virtual beauty consultations, full-size and mini mascaras and product discounts You can check it out here: Benefit UK’s IG stories
Benefit have also partnered with beauty influencers who will share exclusive content showcasing the product on the Virtual Atom platform, and promote the campaign with their 1.4m strong Instagram community to ensure a seamless mobile experience.
Ella Pearn (Digital Manager, Benefit Cosmetics UK & IRELAND) says, “COVID-19 has greatly impacted our traditional experiential model and has meant that we needed to navigate and cater to an entirely new beauty shopping and engagement journey. We have had to completely re-think how to engage with our customer and meaningfully insert ourselves into their life. Our focus was to connect the online and offline experience seamlessly, ensuring physical and virtual omnipresence, encouraging customer involvement and exploration at every touchpoint.
Working with Because on this project has been an absolute delight. They understood the challenges that we faced not being able to execute our biggest launch to-date in our usual way, our need for full digital integration into the experiential strategy and were able to provide a solution using their cutting-edge Virtual Atom technology. Because understood the importance of our brand DNA, which has shaped the look and feel of this campaign, whilst keeping the storytelling of our unique launch innovation at its heart. This has enabled us to connect with our customers in their own homes in a unique, fun, and engaging Benefit way. We are incredibly excited to see how we can evolve this further and continue to leverage this technology moving forward. The opportunities really are limited only by the imagination.”
They’re Real! Extreme Lengthening and Powerful Lifting Magnet Mascara is available now. The Virtual Atom campaign runs until the 7th of March, so keep an eye on your socials. It’s going to be lashtastic!
*than bare lashes