Issue 4 2019

4 CORPORATE VISION / Issue 4 2019 NEWS , The Influence of Technology on the Beauty Industry Makeup and beauty products are affordable luxuries, and in today’s market influencers are king. The use of social media to give the impression of an unbiased review of products that are often provided free or sponsored posts allows brands to influence consumers like never before. Social media influencers and bloggers have a place in a wide variety of industries including books, games, clothing and even parenting products, but in no market is their presence more greatly felt than in the makeup, beauty and skincare space. Charlie Terry who runs digital marketing agency Ceek Marketing com- mented on the importance of influencers in today’s beauty market. “We are expecting influencer marketing to take 10-30% more of the share of marketing budget through 2019 with larger brands and this should apply to beauty. We also see some brands, especially start-ups, using it as their main marketing focus with up to 90% of overall marketing spend. “Influencers have highly engaged audiences and have given their “permission” to said influencers to show them content, giving brands the opportunity to capitalise on this form of permission marketing.” As evidenced, influencers remain a key part of beauty marketing, but how is this industry changing? After all, technology and evolving consumer habits play a key part in driving the industry forward. Many are questioning the future of the market. William Soulier, CEO and co-founder of Model Village believes that the technology has to evolve in order to adapt around the latest industry developments. “Despite influencer marketing quietly establishing itself as a valuable, integral and essential part in any modern brand’s digital playbook, vocifer- ous headlines forecasting its demise have become recent staples in the press. “Whilst we don’t believe that the influencer bubble is due to burst anytime soon, we do think that in order to stay current and agile in the industry, using the right technology and talent is ultimately paramount to the success of a campaign. Most importantly however, technology will need In today’s beauty and cosmetics market social media influencers are a key marketing tool. With technology driving change for the industry, Staff Writer Hannah Stevenson explores the future of the market. to be used alongside human intelligence, if marketeers are truly going to get the best results. “For example, our technology filters out any influencers who have committed bad practise, including buying followers or engagement. This strategy is key to ensure an organic sense of trust is established from a primary stage of collaboration, whilst verifying the quality of an influencer profile. These bad practises also ultimately destroy any trust in the entire process of a campaign experience and is amongst the reasons why such negative news has occurred within the space, from both brands and consumers alike. This clear vetting process is therefore essential for any platform who wish to represent authentic, credible influencers who can be trusted to create engaging content on behalf of luxury brands. Once again technology is at the heart of this, but so too is the human intelli- gence to filter out those influencers who aren’t what they say they are. “In summary, technology is essential to everything we do at Model Vil- lage, however the importance of having a human behind the tech - inter- rogating it and using the data in the right way - is also crucial. Ultimately, influencer marketing is about collaborating with real people; the stronger the relationship between those people, the better the results. The sooner a human can understand what makes an influencer special, the sooner they will reap the rewards with their campaigns.” Jennifer Quigley-Jones, the 28 year-old founder of London-based YouTube influencer marketing agency, Digital Voices agrees that change is needed in the market, and she believes that the sense of community inherent in social media, combined with diversity in representation will drive the future of the influencer market, as she highlights. “The future of beauty influencing and technology platforms depends on two key values: community and diverse representation. These seem like buzzwords that have been thrown about for years, but they’re becoming far more tangible. “Firstly, brands like Glossier and The Ordinary show the importance of building a community around your brand. Glossier is one of the world’s most powerful modern beauty brands - it’s valued at over one billion dollars. Glossier’s approach to community has challenged the industry. Rather than sending PR packages or new products to influencers, they