The countdown to the 36th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is ticking along with Canadians bracing themselves for a ten-day buffet of celebrity sightings and film premieres. In the midst of the buzz, L’Oreal Paris prepares to tap into the sea of red carpet spectators with on-site and online activations.
This will be L’Oreal’s first TIFF sponsorship and Hugo Thibault, brand communications director, L’Oreal Paris, says that the brand is looking forward to the opportunity to be creative in its promotions to reach an audience of fashion and make-up trend watchers.
To begin, the beauty brand will be setting up a “powder room” for media and event-goers to have their hair and make-up done by L’Oreal professionals. The booth will be located at the Bell Lightbox and consumers will be given the chance to experience the red carpet makeover treatment by entering a contest on the brand’s Facebook page.
“Our target audience is craving fashion and the red carpet experience,” says Thibault. “We are trying to create that for consumers and [TIFF] is always a good place to see the make-up trends.”
Another L’Oreal stand will be placed near Roy Thompson Hall where consumers can sample its products and be educated by brand ambassadors on how to create a red carpet look.
The brand has partnered with Bell Media’s eTalk to create three video segments, which will air on the show during the festival, showcasing the best red carpet looks and tips on how the viewer can recreate them, says Thibault.
L’Oreal Paris will ask its social media followers to post beauty questions to be relayed to celebrities on the red carpet by a brand ambassador.
A new video will be uploaded to its Facebook page each day, with supporting ads on sites including eTalk, CTV, Hello! and YouTube which were planned in the Quebec offices of ZenithOptimedia with Montreal-based Marketel on the creative and Nurun on the digital advertising.
L’Oreal Paris will also be featured in the first print edition of Star Media Group-owned The Kit, with promotion of the brand’s presence at TIFF.
“We really like the distribution of the print version of The Kit, as it will be in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary,” he says on the brand’s reasons for partnering with the newspaper insert. “So that gives us more of a national presence.”
