Estée Lauder commands boldness with Joan Smalls effort

Joan Smalls for Estée Lauder

Beauty marketer Estée Lauder is the latest brand to give a hands-on creative role to one of its ambassadresses.

Model and brand spokeswoman Joan Smalls worked with Estée Lauder to create a matte lipstick formula that commands attention with bold colors and finishes. Lately, brand ambassadors have taken on a more active role, stepping out of the lens of the camera and behind-the-scenes creatively.

Matte magic
 
To promote the Pure Color Envy Matte Sculpting Lipstick, Estée Lauder created a 15-second video clip of Ms. Smalls in casual clothes in different settings to appeal to a wider scope of its consumers. The clip also makes Estée Lauder and its products more approachable due to the laid-back nature of its content.

The brand featured an article on its blog, The Edit, where Ms. Smalls explains how she fell in love with matte finish lipsticks and why she worked with Estée Lauder on the product. The editorialized feel of the content presents consumers with additional context to understand the development of new items and gives a glimpse into Ms. Smalls’ opinions.

Estée Lauder also included a “shop the story” section to easily continue the consumer journey by featuring three shades of Pure Color Envy Matte Sculpting Lipstick in Commanding, Neon Azalea and Shameless Violet. The lipstick collection features 12 “statement-making” shades and retails for $30 per tube.
Additional features found on the page focus on content starring Ms. Smalls, such as a piece on fitness.

Matte Magic with Joan Smalls

Working with an ambassador on a collection furthers the relationship had between model and brand, but also strengthens the connection made with the fans of the spokesperson. Consumers gravitate toward favorite celebrities and will likely be more inclined to make a purchase if an idolized individual had a role in product development.

Recently, for example, British leather goods house Mulberry has once again turned to its ambassadresses as the source of creative inspiration.

In an email and social campaign Mulberry has announced that model and brand ambassador Georgia May Jagger has worked with the brand to create a “dream leather” biker jacket and accessories.
Recently, the role of the model has evolved to be much more than just an attractive face seen in advertisements and during runway presentations by becoming increasingly hands-on and collaborative (see story).