Nivea’s little blue tin of creme has sure come a long way since its 1911 launch in Germany. Now the number one skincare brand in the world (as measured by Euromonitor), Nivea is marking its 100th anniversary with a Canadian masterbrand campaign that includes a contest, a pop-up shop, national media and PR.
When Nivea entered the Canadian market in 1968, it launched with only three SKUs, including the creme and a milk product. Now Nivea has over 300 SKUs across six categories, reaching out to a primary target that’s female, 30 to 49, but also a secondary Nivea For Men target of males, 25 to 49.
In its anniversary year, the brand will be launching 36 new products. But Nivea Creme is at the forefront of the masterbrand campaign, says Larry LaPorta, general manager, Beiersdorf Canada (Nivea’s parent company).
“It embodies the Nivea brand,” he says. “When you talk to consumers, we always hear about somebody in their family using it, whether it’s their mother, grandmother or sister.”
The platform of the campaign is “100 years, skincare for life,” and hangs on the notion that because skin is an essential part of who we are, we need to look and feel good in it, explains LaPorta.
From March 18 to April 3, a pop-up centre called the Nivea Haus will be open at 361 Queen. St. W. in Toronto. Visitors will take an interactive test to determine their skin type, then move to various kiosks where skincare experts will introduce them to the products and help them determine a regimen that’s best for them.
“We know from our proprietary research that our consumer is totally interested in educating themselves about skincare,” says LaPorta. “They’ll be able to discover the textures and fragrances of our products and learn more.”
After their skin intel session, visitors will have their photo taken, receiving a print in a Nivea branded bag that also includes samples and coupons.
The pop-up centre will be advertised in Metro’s Toronto edition and also promoted via geo-targeted ads on the newspaper’s website,
with a PR campaign by Zeno Group in Toronto.
The brand is also hoping to build excitement through its Nivea Cares For You Contest. It’s offering up a “body and soul regimen for two” worth up to $10,000, which includes the services of a beauty and wellbeing expert, a Nivea skincare expert, a massage therapist, a fashion stylist, a personal trainer, a chef and a nutritionist. Secondary prizes of 100 skincare gift sets are also up for grabs.
“Our brand is not just about looking good but feeling good too,” says LaPorta. “We want to really bring that to life.”
The contest runs until April 30 and is being promoted via direct mail by Speed in Montreal; national magazine ads in both French and English, with creative by Draftfcb in Montreal and media by Aegis in Toronto; and a microsite linked from Nivea.ca, with digital by K3 Media in Montreal. The microsite will also be home to an online version of the interactive skin test, as well as product coupons.
And to prevent being seen as your grandmother’s skin creme on its 100th birthday, Nivea is partnering with game developer Ubisoft to unveil Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. The Xbox Kinect game features fitness expert and Nivea spokesperson Sarah Maxwell leading a workout in a Nivea-branded environment. Nivea will be joining a Microsoft national tour stopping in 12 Canadian cities from Feb. 21 to April 3. At the tour stops, people can play Your Shape to win prizes from Nivea and Microsoft, and can try out Nivea’s Q10 firming products. Visitors to the pop-up centre in Toronto will get to play the game as well.
“We’ve evolved with our consumer as we’ve gone along,” LaPorta says. “Even though we’re 100 years old, we’re still modern and relevant.”