Bianca Ferreira believes that, in the future, luxury will be more diverse and inclusive
Owner of luxury brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Prada and Giorgio Armani, L’Oréal Brasil has been positioning its products to reflect the country’s diversity and promote inclusion. At least that’s what Bianca Ferreira, head of communication, sustainability and diversity at L’Oréal Luxo, explains.
“We believe that the luxury of the future will be increasingly diverse, inclusive and sustainable,” she explains. To achieve its goals, the cosmetics giant seeks to build what they call “Brazilian luxury”.
“We recognize beauty as a powerful tool for empowerment and social expression. And we know that beauty products are often the gateway to consuming an exclusive luxury brand”, highlights the executive in the following interview, in which she also talks about strategies for choosing her brand ambassadors.
Which brands are part of the L’Oréal Luxo portfolio in Brazil?
Globally, L’Oréal Luxo is the group’s largest division and has 24 brands in its portfolio. Locally in Brazil we have nine brands that operate in the fragrances, makeup and skincare categories. They are: Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Azzaro, Cacharel, Mugler and, more recently, Aesop, an Australian brand with high quality products, such as fragrances and care for the face, hair
and body.
How are L’Oréal Luxo brands positioned in the country?
L’Oréal Luxo brands position themselves in Brazil seeking to reflect and celebrate the country’s diversity. Today’s consumer, in general, is increasingly concerned about issues such as sustainability, diversity and inclusion. As we say a lot in our team, we seek to build exclusive, but not exclusive, luxury. And we understand this as a priority because we are in a country with such social inequality.
We recognize beauty as a powerful tool for empowerment and social expression. And we know that beauty products are often the gateway to consuming an exclusive luxury brand. Today, our brands are divided into three groups: lifestyle and access to luxury brands (such as Ralph Lauren, Azzaro and Cacharel), big dragons, which are the brands with the greatest penetration in luxury (such as Lancôme, Armani and Yves Saint Laurent ), and ultra-luxury ones (Prada, Mugler and Aesop). In all brands, in addition to seeking to have a portfolio that meets the different needs of Brazilian consumers, we also seek to include spokespeople in all communications that reflect this local diversity.
What are the flagship products in Brazil?
Over the years, most of our communication, advocacy and PR efforts have been directed towards the fragrance category, where we have iconic lines in our portfolio, such as La Vie Est Belle and Idôle, by Lancôme, Libre, by YSL, and Acqua by Gio, by Armani. Over the last year, we have seen significant growth in the makeup category. Some of our flagships in this category are Teint Idôle, Lancôme’s skin line, and the brand’s entire mascara portfolio, such as Lash Idôle, Monsiuer Big, Hypnôse Drama. Lancôme is a worldwide authority in this subcategory.
How is the company communicated? How do they awaken the desire of Brazilian women? Are there separate campaigns for brands?
We work with large and iconic global brands, which have incredible stories. Therefore, we always start from the DNA of each brand, but bringing a certain tropicalization to the narratives, whether through insights that respond to local social tensions and/or spokespeople that connect with Brazilian consumers. We seek to build what we call “Brazilian luxury”. Each campaign is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all formula. We design strategies based on the objectives and challenges of each brand. Starting this year, we are designing significant diversity and inclusion strategies to enhance communication with these audiences.
Can you give an example?
We recently launched a new fragrance from Lancôme’s Idôle family, Idôle Now. Idôle is a line that talks a lot about female empowerment and the role of women in being agents of transformation. But we wanted to approach this topic from a new perspective, a new nuance or angle that could provoke conversations and reflections. Thus, looking at the main barriers facing women today, we found some data that reveal the sad scenario of women’s abandonment, such as: 1 in 5 women is abandoned by their partners during pregnancy (Pesquisa Famivita, 2023); almost 40% of men cheat on their wives in the first 3 months after giving birth (study Dores e Amores do Puerpério, Gente O Globo, 2022); 70% of women diagnosed with cancer are abandoned by their partners during treatment (Estado de Minas, 2023). Given this, we understand the urgency of talking about female abandonment. And, more than that, talk about who truly saves the girl at the end of the story: her friends. So, driven by the desire to inspire women to see the powerful force of female friendship (which, according to studies, is as important for longevity and health as practicing physical activity), we invited Preta Gil, betrayed by her husband during his cancer treatment, to be the main character of the campaign. And it was based on a journey led by Preta, but so common to countless women, that we built the entire 360th of the campaign, bringing a deep reflection on the patriarchal rules that promote female rivalry and teach girls from a very early age to place romantic love in the top of the priority ranking. With this motto, the artist made a surprise appearance on the stage of Rock the Mountain, a festival whose last edition had a 100% female line-up, and read an open letter to an audience of more than 20 thousand people, moving with a powerful and inspiring. With a sensitive and empowering manifesto, the letter addressed to the 15-year-old Preta was also published on the singer’s social network, reaching more than 2 million views, countless publications in the press and thousands of comments from emotional women across the country .
