Lush "Naked" Campaign
Lush is a global organization that sells fresh handmade cosmetics. If you haven't heard of them check them out on their website. Lush is all about environmentally friendly products. The company is strongly against animal testing and refuses to even purchase ingredients from companies that use it. They use 100% vegetarian and organic ingredients in their products. They utilize ethical buying and boast naked packaging. Naked packaging means that products either have no packaging at all or the packaging is made from recyclable, compostable, or reusable materials.
Back in 2007 and 2008, Lush created an extremely unique and attention grabbing promotional campaign that was focused around their naked packaging. The same campaign occurred in Lush stores during 2017 as well. During this campaign, employees in Lush stores stripped naked. They wore their lush aprons only.
This may seems crazy, but it actually fits with Lush's positioning perfectly. Their position is an eco-conscious company that cares about creating innovative products while preserving our planet and protecting animal rights. This campaign was extremely effective in not only drawing attention to Lush and their efforts, but it also drew attention to environmental issues concerning packaging. This campaign allowed the naked employees to begin an open discussion with intrigued people passing by about these topics and encourage them to try out Lush's "naked" products.
Talking about the stunt, Lush states: "Thanks to our cheeky nude stunts, we raised awareness about excess packaging through international media coverage and good old fashioned shock value. We hope have inspired people to consider purchasing unpackaged or sustainably packaged products whenever possible."
This campaign fits perfectly with Lush's positioning as a company and gave them immense publicity through social media, news reporting, word of mouth, and actual people seeing it happen.
What do you guys think about this campaign? Do you think it is crazy or crazy brilliant?
Talking about the stunt, Lush states: "Thanks to our cheeky nude stunts, we raised awareness about excess packaging through international media coverage and good old fashioned shock value. We hope have inspired people to consider purchasing unpackaged or sustainably packaged products whenever possible."
This campaign fits perfectly with Lush's positioning as a company and gave them immense publicity through social media, news reporting, word of mouth, and actual people seeing it happen.
What do you guys think about this campaign? Do you think it is crazy or crazy brilliant?
HI Emilia
ReplyDeleteGood Post and yes - intriguing! I believe that the company knew exactly how to get attention and how to do it in today's society. This type of "provocative" add draws much attention especially in the era of social media - which spreads topics like that like a wildfire! I am always amazed at the Kardashian familiy - very little talent yet super popular and gained most of their wealth from doing just that - being provocative!! I personally don't care to look at nude folks when i buy my beauty products and would not my small children being exposed to it; but certainly would not forget this place just like I won't forget the cowgirls in NYC time square lol!
on another note, I come from Poland where there was no packaging (at the time) - groceries, or any other goods were simply given to us as is and we had a reusable hand bag ready to place it safely. Even bread was simply handed to you - different world but certainly much less waste.
thank you
Izabela
Hi Emilia,
ReplyDeleteI love the branding strategy and decisions Lush chose to promote its "naked campaign". At first you may think it is a crazy strategy but I believe it fits in with company brand values and positioning. They did create a "buzz" and that is the most powerful form of marketing through personal referral and word of mouth.
My only concern about the campaign is that it make be viewed as unacceptable and offensive, in certain parts of the world or in certain cultures such as UAE or Muslim women who covered up in accordance to their religious beliefs.
Hence as Lush is an international brand, I don't think it was correct to launch this type of campaign. What do you think Lush could do to try and be more culturally sensitive?
Hi Emelia,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post. I agree with you that the promotional campaign that Lush used was very unique and attention-grabbing, but it communicates their brand and product positioning perfectly. The goal of promotions and ads is to obtain a customer response, and Lush achieved this because they brought awareness to their company, as well as the environmental impact of packaging. While I do think this promotional strategy is crazy, it is something that has never been done before, and that is what makes it brilliant.
Via this promotional strategy, they were able to show the brand-image of Lush. Their position as an eco-conscious company that cares about creating innovative products while preserving the planet and protecting animal rights is evident. As well, the naked employees had open discussions with intrigued people passing by about environment issues, displaying that they successfully communicated brand-information. This promotional strategy also exhibited brand-action communication because the naked employees were able to encourage curious people to try out Lush's "naked" products and they actively raised awareness for environmental issues and because they were able to inspire people to consider purchasing unpackaged or sustainably packaged products whenever possible. Overall, their promotional campaign was successful because they achieved a positive customer response via their communication strategy.
Do you personally view their promotional campaign as crazy or brilliant?
- Stefi Wysk