Kiehl’s Travel Retail APAC GM shares her thoughts behind the successful “Kiehl’s Loves” campaign
Petrina Kho, the General Manager of Kiehl’s Travel Retail Asia Pacific hails the “Kiehl’s Loves” campaign “a tremendous success through its journey across travel retail in the Asia Pacific”
Since its humble beginnings as a New York apothecary in 1851, skincare brand Kiehl’s has grown to become one of L’Oréal’s four “billionaire brands” enjoying double-digit growth, according to L’Oréal’s 2018 annual report. The other three brands are Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent and Giorgio Armani.
At the recent “Kiehl’s Loves Hainan” pop-up event in Sanya, Asia Duty Free Magazine speaks to Petrina Kho, General Manager of Kiehl’s Travel Retail Asia Pacific, to understand how the campaign has evolved over the years, Kiehl’s marketing strategy and her vision for the brand.
(From left to right) Grace Wang, Deputy Director of Perfume and Cosmetics, China Duty Free Group, Terry Chua, Petrina Kho, Asia Correspondent Elena Owyong and Salina Kwok, Merchandising Director of Fashion & Luxury and Executive Merchandising Director of Perfume & Cosmetics, China Duty Free- Sunrise Duty Free
The “Kiehl’s Loves” global campaign began in 2015 as a celebration of different countries. Each year, the campaign invites travelers to join Kiehl’s journey across different countries with immersive pop-ups and product packaging designed by renowned New York designers – as homage to the brand’s roots.
Delivering authentic experiences to travelers<
For this year’s edition, Kiehl’s kickstarted the “Kiehl’s Loves” campaign in Bangkok, followed by Hainan and Seoul, under the campaign name “Kiehl’s Loves Adventure”. The pop-up’s Seoul stop will be its finale.
The Kiehl’s Loves Hainan pop-up in Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex was designed to reflect the lush greenery of Sanya
Kho said the three Asian countries were selected because of their unique identities and rich culture, which are perfectly in line with the spirit of the campaign – offering global shoppers a sense of discovery and adventure.
Explaining how the campaign has evolved over the years, Kho said: “Every year, we push our creative boundaries to showcase pop-ups that are sensory-driven, and with a high level of digitalization. Our campaign is carefully crafted and tailored to the market to ensure the experience travellers receive is authentic and seamless.”
Citing the example of the “Kiehl’s Loves Bangkok” campaign, Kho noted that the Kiehl’s Loves Bangkok campaign features the iconic tuk tuk while the “Kiehl’s Loves Hainan” pop-up was inspired by the lush greenery of the province.
Beyond that, Kiehl’s creates an immersive retail-tainment experience by incorporating interactive kinetic installations and virtual reality (VR) games to help consumers better understand their products. For instance, at the “Kiehls Loves Hainan” pop-up, visitors can read about each product by touching the calendula flower petals on the digital display. They can also purchase the product immediately by scanning a QR code on the display – driving a seamless offline-to-online conversion.
Visitors can easily purchase Kiehl’s products by scanning a QR code on the digital display
Kho revealed that the Kiehl’s Loves campaign was developed with millennial travellers in mind as they see themselves as explorers and are incredibly passionate about the world around them.
“[Millennials] crave authentic connections, and understand the importance of natural, and sustainably sourced beauty products,” she said. Indeed, a 2018 study by Nielsen showed that sustainable product sales is set to rise to US$150 billion by 2021, primarily driven by consumption habits of the millennials.
As a brand that prides itself in its use of sustainably sourced products, responsible packaging and manufacturing and recycled materials, Kiehl’s checks all the right boxes that millennials look for in a skincare brand. Kho added that Kiehl’s has reduced the size of all the packaging on their product sets and used less cardboard and plastic for their packaging.
When asked about the future for the “Kiehl’s Loves” campaign, Kho said: “For the next step, we will continue to be consumer-centric and create strong relevancy with travelers. Going beyond to incorporate the essence of different cities, we hope to celebrate unique moments or festivities in different cities with travelers around the world. Our aim is also to continue injecting as much digital experience as an important element in all our pop-ups.”
Kiehl’s Marketing Strategy
Kho sees the Kiehl’s Loves pop-up activation as a strategic move for the brand’s Asia Pacific travel retail business because of its ability to engage and recruit new customers.
An invited Key Opinion Leader (KOL) at one of the beautifully designed backdrops at the Kiehl’s Loves Hainan pop-up
Likewise, e-commerce is another important channel for the brand.
“We are very happy with our e-commerce performance; it has indeed become a strategic channel. E-commerce enables us to offer a seamless shopping experience; an omni channel is a winning model,” she said.
“We continuously reinforce online shopping experience by ensuring our platform is as friendly as our Kiehl’s Consumer Representatives in our offline stores, and expansion in e-commerce is crucial.”
Ultimately, Kho’s vision for Kiehl’s is to continue engaging and improving the lives of consumers through Kiehl’s superior skincare routine, and to be at the forefront for sustainability initiatives to protect our environment.
Kho also hopes to continue partnering with airports and retailers in the future.
“We want to be with our existing users and new potential customers throughout their travel journey. This means we will continue to look for opportunities to partner with airports and retailers to engage with travelers around the world and provide them with the outstanding skincare consultation service that Kiehl’s is known for.”
