In his BRITE '12 presentation titled A New Path to Purchase, Moving at the Speed of Digital, Marc Speichert, Chief Marketing Officer, L'Oreal USA, used the 'loyalty loop' to demonstrate how Dermablend, a L'Oreal brand, raised awareness with customers using digital tools.
According to Branding in the Digital Age: You’re Spending Your Money in All the Wrong Places from Harvard Business Review, McKinsey & Co. introduced the loyalty loop in June 2009 to replace the funnel metaphor used to represent the buying cycle. The loyalty loop better captures the complexity that digital has brought to the marketplace. The loyalty loop includes four stages which the image below places into context:
- Consideration
- Evaluation
- Buy
- Advocacy
I was particularly taken with the example Marc shared to illustrate the consideration phase of the loyalty loop: Dermablend, a product used for skin coverage. As described in Dermablend's About Us: "For the past 30 years Dermablend has been recognized as an expert given the exceptional performance of Dermablend products in terms of coverage, wearability and skincare benefits. High performance wear and coverage has ensured its well-known and renowned recognition by the medical community and professional makeup artists."
In other words, this is a serious skincare product.
It's also a brand with a very low advertising budget, yet which needed to generate more awareness for itself.
The solution: Go Beyond the Cover with Zombie Boy.
Not only did this approach generate awareness, but it also created a powerfully visual and talkworthy story shared online through video. Read through the comments on Go Beyond the Cover; you'll notice conversation about societal perceptions, norms, individuality... This reminds me of Dove - What Is Real Beauty?
The Zombie Boy transformation is dramatic. The resulting story creates a powerful testimonial for those who have been disfigured and want/need to look 'normal'. Imagine the strength of this product's loyalty loop. It won't take much to transform buyers into long term brand advocates!
Results: Go Beyond the Cover with Zombie Boy generated 5.7 million views and 576k shares on Facebook in 10 days.
Marc concluded with the following takeaways:
- Know who is your shopper
- Understand the consumer journey
- Spend where it matters to connect with customers
- Measure, evaluate and experiment
For more on the presentation [including detail on the other stages of the loyalty loop, read L’Oréal USA’s CMO Highlights Company’s New Digital Purchase Path.
Also check out Marc Speichert's BRITE '12 presentation directly on YouTube.
What's your reaction to the loyalty loop? Do you find it helps put into perspective the changes you've noticed in your marketplace?
How might you create your own 'go beyond the cover with Zombie Boy' story?
