French luxury fashion brand Dior Beauty is exploring new ways to work with influencers. The company recently ran a campaign with brand ambassador @Jisoo on Instagram that allowed fans to communicate directly with the global icon.
The four day effort gave followers of the brand access to exclusive content and the chance to join her exclusive WhatsApp group to engage in conversations with Jisco around a new Dior Addict shine lipstick. Members could also see exclusive videos and behind-the-scenes footage of Jisoo’s life as a Dior ambassador. These consumers also got first access to buy the lipstick once it dropped, as well as access to a new brand Instagram filter.
“This campaign has pushed the boundaries of how luxury beauty and technology must collaborate to deliver innovative experiences across the channels we know our customers love,” said Arthur Poulain, digital innovation & strategic planning manager at Dior, in a statement shared with Brand Innovators. “Using WhatsApp meant we could think outside the box in terms of how we engage our dedicated Instagram community, giving them the opportunity to chat to Jisoo like they would a friend and empowering them to choose the content they want to see next.”
This is the first time that Dior has used WhatsApp in a campaign and was testing the waters to connect its audience with influencers.
“Dior had spoken to Meta about wanting to create an influencer engagement campaign, and the partnership came through that,” said Adrian Benic, chief product officer at Infobip, the company that worked with the brand on the campaign. “We collaborated with Dior to build a unique chatbot via WhatsApp where Dior’s followers would feel like they were talking to Jisoo. We tested multiple journeys of automated conversations and content to ensure followers had a rich choice. Infobip’s team worked closely with Dior throughout the launch to ensure the project ran smoothly from a technical perspective.”
Some 68% of WhatsApp users think it is now the easiest way to connect with a business and 64% of people prefer messaging to a call or email, according to data from Infobip. “These stats show how there are huge rewards to be reaped by those brands willing to embrace it as a channel to engage or support their customers,” explained Benic. “Dior chose WhatsApp so they could elevate engagement with its dedicated Instagram community and use all of the channel’s rich capabilities – from sending videos, files, links, audio and buttons – to create something truly unique and special.”
