How Shiseido created an integrated retail store experience in Hong Kong

In a competitive year for the Event Marketing Awards (EMAs), Shiseido Hong Kong scored the Grand Prix award for its retail popup that demonstrated a clever integration of online and offline tools.

The winners of the EMAs were announced this morning.

In 2021, the brand launched a new version of its Ultimune serum, and it had a clear objective: to acquire new customers and reinforce a market-leading position. But the pandemic had other plans for the serum category. According to research, a majority of users would only buy this type of product from a new brand in a physical store, to allow for testing the product in-person. Shiseido needed a way to gain new users without leaning on physical-store footfall and in-person beauty consultancy.

So the brand created something called ‘The Powerful Heartbeat Experience’ inspired by the Japanese hospitality spirit of omotenashi, which is to wholeheartedly look after one’s guests. To replicate the experience of beauty consultants, Shiseido invited popular (and busy) boyband Mirror as campaign ambassadors.

To increase online-to-offline engagement, a three-day virtual event was held for users to engage with the ambassadors as well as participate in mini-games to diagnose their skincare conditions and learn about the new serum. A physical popup was also held, where users could touch and feel the product. Plus digital OOH billboards were employed in key retail areas, promoting complimentary samples. AI, livestreaming and gamification were leveraged across all experiences.

As a result, the brand garnered 145,000 views in three days, and the campaign brought in nearly three times more customers than the same period the previous year. It also raked in over HK$43.5 million in earned-media value, which nearly tripled that of the launch of the previous edition of the serum.

See all winners of the 2022 Event Marketing Awards.