Multiformat Lens Campaign Unlocks Brand Engagement for 17 Relaunch

Boots were planning the surprise return of their 17 cosmetics brand, with a fresh look and a new range of over 170 vegan beauty products. Available at Boots stores and on their website, the cult beauty favourite would be relaunched with a focus on ‘unbelievable beauty’ at ‘unbelievable prices’. 

The target 18 – 24 audience were unfamiliar with 17, so Boots needed to drive both brand awareness and product consideration. Added to the challenge of reawakening a legacy brand, Boots were also looking to engage a young audience that are used to discovering, experiencing and purchasing beauty products online. Boots needed a truly innovative approach if they were to excite a new, digitally-savvy generation of beauty shoppers. 

Boots had never run a major campaign with Snap before. Our deep engagement and loyalty with the target audience impressed the beauty retailer, but it was our unique augmented reality platform that convinced Boots to make Snap a key partner for their integrated launch campaign. 

To turn challenge to advantage, we built an AR lens that enabled Snapchatters to try-on and experience 17 products. But more than that, we created a virtual makeup counter that featured 17 music, branding and pricing. Our hi-tech lens always delights Snapchatters, but we went one better for Boots with a multiformat campaign to further boost awareness and consideration. 

Snap commercials and ads reinforced messaging and drove engagement, both in-camera and across Snapchat content. Whether they were enjoying the Snapchat camera, seeing friends stories or spending time with premium content, Snapchatters were experiencing the new 17 brand. This multiformat approach maximised the engagement opportunities across Snapchat and delivered a greater uplift in brand metrics for Boots. And all of this activity was optimised to ensure the maximum number of shares and views. 

The Snapchat campaign was a key driver of the successful relaunch of 17. Boots' target female audience enjoyed an average lens play time three times the typical average. The share rate – a key metric for Boots – up 50% on the average¹. Young males also showed a strong playtime score of 22 seconds, and performed even better in terms of share rate. The multiformat campaign delivered a 3pt increase in brand awareness and +4pt increase in ad awareness². Boots is now on a journey with Snapchat. The four-week campaign was so successful that Boots decided to run it a second time. The lens is going to be used again, notably during the festival season to help Snapchatters with their summer look.