SEPHORA UAE
Beauty retailer Sephora found that adding Reels ads to its Instagram campaigns increased favorability by 80% compared to its business-as-usual video campaigns.
Founded in France in 1969, and launched in the Middle East in 2007 Sephora sells skincare products, makeup and fragrances for men and women. Sephora operates 66 stores in five markets in the Middle East region: UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.
increase in favorability when adding Reels ads, compared with business-as-usual video campaigns
lower cost in favorability lift when adding Reels ads, compared with business-as-usual video campaigns
lower cost in ad recall lift when adding Reels ads, compared with business-as-usual video campaigns
lift in brand awareness among 18- to 24-year-olds when adding Reels ads, compared to business-as-usual video campaigns
Working with global cosmetics brand Milk Makeup, Sephora wanted to amplify its business-as-usual Instagram strategy and engage with its core audience—women interested in cosmetics and skin care. It also wanted to connect with Gen Z (ages 18–24).
Sephora added Instagram Reels to its business-as-usual strategy in partnership with Milk Makeup, creating special assets for two Reels ads that showcased Milk Makeup content. The effectiveness of the new ads was tested on top of Sephora’s usual approach, which includes automatic placements with Feed and Stories.
To understand the impact of adding Reels ads to its branding campaigns, Sephora and its media buying agency, Publicis Groupe, planned a brand lift study to test the two different strategies and then measure the impact on standard ad recall, brand awareness and brand favorability. The multi-cell brand lift study pitted Sephora’s standard approach for branding—optimizing for completed views and using at least four placements—against a similar approach that added Reels ads as a standalone placement to reach the Gen Z audience.
The brand lift study showed that adding Reels ads to Sephora’s regular branding approach increased ad recall and favorability, at a lower cost per point of brand lift, and also lifted brand awareness, particularly within the 18- to-24-year-old (Gen Z) segment.
Running from August 9–31, 2021, the campaign and brand lift study measured:
80% increase in favorability when adding Reels ads, compared with business-as-usual video campaigns
65% lower cost in favorability lift when adding Reels ads, compared with business-as-usual video campaigns
38% lower cost in ad recall lift when adding Reels ads, compared with business-as-usual video campaigns
6-point lift in brand awareness among 18- to 24-year-olds when adding Reels ads, compared to business-as-usual video campaigns