How Maybelline is empowering people to talk about issues they are struggling with

To mark the occasion of World Mental Health Day 2022, Maybelline New York brought to life its ‘Brave Together’ campaign in partnership with NGO Sangath. As an ode to young people’s experiences in dealing with anxiety and depression, the event brought together experts, lived experience advocates, academicians, and organisations who are working towards improving mental health to encourage youth to talk about mental health and seek help.

Maybelline New York and NGO Sangath curated a host of events, including a panel discussion with mental health proponents Shaheen Bhatt, Mallika Dua, Arjun Gupta, and Dr Anant Bhan, along with the campaign ambassador PV Sindhu, to take the mantle forward.

In conversation with Adgully, Zeenia Bastani, Brand General Manager, Maybelline New York, L’Oréal India, speaks about the objective behind the campaign, the marketing and media mix strategy, embracing technology over the years, leveraging influencers, and more.

What was the objective behind this campaign on mental health?

Maybelline has gone ahead with this campaign and brought it to life because as a brand, it is our mission to empower our consumers and to give them the confidence. Beauty brands are all about giving women the confidence to express themselves in any way that they feel comfortable to express their own individuality. Today, one in six Indians are experiencing anxiety and depression, brought about by the global pandemic and its aftermath. Therefore, it is very important as a brand that we empower our community with the confidence to talk about issues that they are struggling with. While there is a crisis of mental health in the world in the post-pandemic period, India doesn’t have the infrastructure to deal with it. The ratio of psychiatrists is 0.75 for every 100,000 people. Ideally, there should be at least three psychiatrists per 200,000 population. Thus in India, it’s a critical topic that we need to address. That’s why this campaign is very important for us and something that we feel very strongly about.

And as far as PV Sindhu is concerned, we feel she’s an amazing brand fit for several reasons. One is, of course, she is very open about her own struggles that she has faced with her friends and family. She has been a very vocal advocate of mental health. We don’t want to have somebody who’s just going to do lip service, and doesn’t really believe in this cause, but Sindhu really does believe in it. Secondly, she’s somebody who our target consumers aspire to be and they look up to her as well. She’s very inspirational. We want consumers to say okay, if she can talk about it, then so can I.

What are your marketing and media mix strategies going forward?

The way digital is growing today, it has become a larger part of most of the media mix. Today, every brand needs to not only have their own media, but at the same time have very credible voices that support the brand and use the brand. Working with key opinion leaders is also a very important part of how we spread awareness. This will continue to be the way forward for the brand. We are a brand for young consumers and we need to be aware where our consumers are.

What are your observations on consumer behaviour in the post-pandemic period?

Consumers are returning to the stores in a big way and they are making big purchases for parties, festivals and the wedding season. During the pandemic, it was all about the eyes, because that was the only part of the face that was visible while the rest was covered by the face mask. But now, consumers are really back with a vengeance and they are ready to play with colour.

During the pandemic, there was a huge surge in e-commerce. And while that continues, there has also been a huge rush of people back in stores. And that’s something that we are thrilled to see because as a make-up brand, there’s no better way than to experience the products by really trying them on. As a brand we had adapted to when consumers couldn’t go to the stores by introducing virtual trials such as foundation finders, virtually trying on lipsticks, etc. But today, it’s a thrill to see consumers back in stores, really interacting with our products and trying them on for themselves. That’s the way that you can experience life and make-up.

How has Maybelline embraced new technology and adapted to the digital age to grow its business?

L’Oreal is one of the leading digital beauty tech companies in the world and Maybelline is not far behind. We have been one of the first companies to give the experience of virtual try-ons and foundation finders, etc., to our consumers on the platforms. So, I think from that perspective, we’ve always been at the forefront of that and we will continue to be.

How important a role do brand ambassadors and influencers play and how do you leverage their equity and expertise to build the brand further?

At Maybelline, it happens very naturally, because I’ve seen such great love for the brand from consumers and influencers alike. Consumers love to partner with people who they believe are already users of the brand. So, they are very happy to advocate and talk about their very real experiences. They become credible voices for us because they really use our products.