L'Oréal: "Desafío Anthelios" (Anthelios Challenge)

Client: L’Oréal Argentina S.A. (La Roche-Posay / Anthelios brand)
Industry: Cosmetics and dermocosmetics
Year: 2012-2013

The Challenge

Anthelios, La Roche-Posay’s sun protection line, had been losing ground in the pharmacy channel to competitors advancing with discounts and price promotions. Dermo-consultants and pharmacy staff were not offering it spontaneously: in a prior audit, the brand was mentioned only in second or third instance, and its differentiating attributes versus lower-priced competitors were often left unmentioned.

The Solution

A 3-month Mystery Shopper program (November 15, 2012 to February 15, 2013) covering 250 pharmacies in Greater Buenos Aires and the interior of the country, run in 3 visit “waves.” Each visit assessed whether the salesperson offered Anthelios as the first option, mentioned its differentiating attributes (UVA/UVB protection, Mexoplex technology), or completed a cross-sell of another product from the brand. Staff who met the criteria received an instant-win scratch card (movie vouchers, dinner in Puerto Madero, Freddo ice cream) or larger prizes (tablets, a notebook, cameras, iPods), plus a final notebook raffle among all participants. The program was supported by a launch brochure, a dedicated website (desafioanthelios.com.ar), a meeting with dermo-consultants, and phone and email communication.

Results

Spontaneous offering of Anthelios rose from 45% in the first wave to 60% in the third. Anthelios sales grew 12% during the campaign, while non-participating pharmacies held steady at their usual level. Cross-selling rose from 2% to 15% between the first and third wave. 97% of participants rated the campaign as good, very good, or excellent, and 95% said they were interested in seeing it repeated.

Notable Details

Most of the pharmacies were small businesses unfamiliar with mystery shopper and incentive campaigns, fairly virgin territory that required extra work to establish the dynamic among the owners. As a result, the condition of in-store product displays (POS materials) improved markedly. The campaign won Gold at the 2013 FIP (Iberoamerican Promotions Festival), in the Mystery Shopper category.

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