Strategies of Beauty Products Promotion in Russia

The developed economic environment, rising living standards, and interest in self-improvement create a favorable environment for the beauty industry in Russia. As mentioned earlier, market budgets are increasing, leading to greater competition.  Therefore, brands must offer not only quality products but also effective promotion strategies. 

This article explores the most popular promotion channels that have shown effective results in the Beauty and Personal Care segment.

TV commercials for cosmetics in Russia

Given the size and specifics of the beauty industry audience in Russia, there are many strategies and tactics that can be used to successfully market and increase sales. 

For example, TV advertising reaches about 70% of Russians daily. This tool is often used by the cosmetic marketplace Golden Apple, mainly to emphasize promotions or new products.

 

The launch of SYNERGETIC's new line of beauty products, available for purchase in the Golden Apple

The same techniques are used by other stores and domestic brands, noticing the big players left the Russian market after the sanctions were imposed (note - L'oreal Paris, Estee Lauder, etc.). 

TV advertising, on the one hand, can attract the attention of a large number of people. On the other hand, such promotion can be costly. For this reason, brands are more likely to use digital strategies.

Social Media channels for beauty promotion in Russia

An online presence is essential for any brand in today's world. Over 93% of Russians use messengers and chat rooms to communicate, and more than 70% rely on search engines as part of their daily routine. Postal services and weather information are also popular, with over 60% of citizens using them. Entertainment, games, and maps attract between 20% and 40% of users.
 

The online market segment experienced a remarkable 31% growth in volumes, which further increased to an impressive 46% when including new digital promotion channels such as advertising on marketplaces and e-commerce, influencer marketing, and others. In 2023, online sales of cosmetics surged by an astounding 42%, reaching 340 billion rubles. It is evident that the market is still expanding at a rapid pace.
 

In Russia, social media is the primary platform for promoting cosmetics, with 'beauty experts' leading the way. Over 10% of online users in Russia subscribe to them for beauty reviews, insights, and other information about cosmetics.  Brands effectively promote and increase sales by integrating with beauty experts on social media. 

In 2023, RMAA partnered with beauty experts on YouTube to successfully promote the Celimax brand. The campaign resulted in a sold-out of the brand's Noni line at the Golden Apple store chain. The expert bloggers produced highly native content for promotion, which significantly increased the audience's loyalty and interest in the Korean brand.

 

Celimax brand integration on Daria Krivda's YouTube channel, by RMAA, 2023

Adel Miftakhova is a highly respected beauty expert in Russia. As a chemist-technologist of cosmetic products and the author of the book "Normally About Cosmetics", she is frequently sought after as an expert in various media. She is also the founder and ‘the face’ of the popular brand 'Don't Touch My Skin', which is successful thanks to her extensive knowledge and credibility.

 

'Don't touch my skin' brand promo video with blogger Adel Miftakhova

Telegram, VK, Odnoklassniki, and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms in Russia. These platforms (except for TikTok, which does not have access to advertising) offer targeted advertising capabilities and direct collaboration with bloggers.
 

Content marketing is a crucial tool for promoting cosmetics too. It attracts new customers and increases the loyalty of existing ones. Brands can hold contests on social media where participants can win products or gifts. 

For instance, in 2023, the French brand Vivienne Sabo used a spectacular strategy on Instagram* to promote its products in the Russian market. 

The brand added popular 'kitties' to the content, resulting in many Russian users reposting the reels. 

 

 

 

 

 

Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Публикация от Vivienne Sabó (@viviennesabo)

Then, "kitties"  appeared between high-quality visual creatives made according to the latest trends, with natural light, natural images without Photoshop, 70-80s style, etc.

Then, the brand organized a closed brunch for Russian Influencers.

 

 

 

 

 

Посмотреть эту публикацию в Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Публикация от Вера Вольт (@vera.volt.on)

Promo post by blogger Vera Bolt for Vivienne Sabo  

After that, they also went on a tour to France.

 

Vivienne Sabo press tour via Katya Golden's YouTube channel

In this way, the brand managed to attract attention to its products. At the same time, the triggers for the audience were not only bloggers, but also humor, kittens, and special promotions.

The role of search engines and marketplaces for beauty in Russia

Contextual advertising is an effective way to promote beauty products since over 70% of users consider search engines to be an important part of their lives. Google Chrome is the preferred browser for nearly half of all users, approximately 50%. Yandex Browser is the second most popular, chosen by 22% of users, while Safari comes in third place with just under 12% of users. 

Yandex is a widely used browser in Russia. In 2023, it underwent significant changes, particularly in the area of contextual advertising. The enhancements included auto-targeting on Search, Yandex's automatic attribution model, and 18 new targeting tools added to Yandex's advertising arsenal. Customizing advertising in Telegram channels using YAN (Yandex Advertising network) is also possible now. This will enable you to effectively reach your audience, attract Premium users, and reduce costs for clicks in the first two days after publication.
 

Yandex Wordstat is an invaluable tool for brands utilizing contextual advertising. It enables the evaluation of a product's search query popularity and the development of high-quality keywords for a contextual campaign based on that data.
 

 

Cosmetics queries are highly searched for online. 'Facial serum' alone generated 214,195 queries on Yandex Wordstat. 

The top ten most visited websites include Yandex, Google, YouTube, Dzen, Turbopages.org, VK.com, Mail.ru, OK.ru, Ya.ru, and Avito.ru. Marketplaces such as Ozon, Wildberries, and Yandex.Market also hold top positions being in the eleventh, twelfth, and fourteenth places respectively. In recent years, they have become an integral part of people's lives.

 

Marketplaces provide ample opportunities for promoting beauty products, such as smart feeds based on the user's viewed products and banners featuring special promotions.

The Golden Apple store's main page, for example, displays banners showcasing a new collection of cosmetics, promotions, and special offers.

 

 

3 Steps to Achieve a Result in the Russian Beauty Market

To succeed and distinguish yourself from the competition, follow a strategy that includes several key steps.

1. Research your target audience thoroughly to develop personalized advertising campaigns.

Identify their key characteristics, interests, needs, and beauty product consumption habits. With this data, you can create personalized advertising campaigns that accurately target and capture your audience's attention.

For the most precise analysis, we strongly recommend utilizing online dashboards such as Tiburon or OMI. These powerful tools enable you to conduct online surveys of your potential audience, providing a comprehensive understanding of their needs. This data plays a crucial role in developing the overall marketing strategy, including determining the main message of the campaign, selecting distribution channels, and reflecting it in creatives. 

Thanks to the automation of processes and the use of AI technologies, both services offer valuable and timely insights. 

Additionally, target audience research can be effectively conducted through Influencer Marketing. For the first brand campaign or new product launch, use ad integrations with various bloggers who have different audiences on different social platforms. This will provide valuable insight into the direction the brand should take and which marketing tools to strengthen. 

2. Selecting the most effective promotional channels.

It is important to identify the channels that work best for your brand, such as social media, content marketing, search advertising, targeted advertising, and others. 

For example, to better understand the specifics of contextual advertising, you should first understand the specific purpose of the campaign, since Yandex has quite a lot of promotion formats. Our guide on launching contextual advertising in Yandex.Direct provides a detailed discussion on this topic. The same can be said about VK Ads and Telegram Ads, which are the primary platforms for targeted advertising in Russia, with a wide reach among Russian audiences. 

When it comes to influencer marketing in the beauty industry, YouTube is the go-to platform for clients. Even here different formats of blogger integrations exist, leading to unconventional solutions when choosing this channel. 

Take VKontakte, where beauty is one of the TOP issues for users. It also has its peculiarities which we put in a guide we wrote for our clients’ convenience.

One also shouldn’t underestimate the popularity of Instagram, especially among female audiences in Russia, even after the recent block. You can find more information on this topic here.

3. Analyzing the results and adjusting the strategy to maximize the impact. 

Launching advertising campaigns is just the beginning. Understanding what works and what doesn't helps you make informed decisions and take your brand to the next level through regular analysis and optimization of your promotion strategy. To achieve maximum return and ensure constant growth of the brand in the beauty market, it is crucial to carefully monitor and analyze the results.

Online dashboards and Brand Lift can effectively track brand awareness and other media advertising indicators, such as reach, impressions, clicks, and CTR.

Brand Lift is a reliable tool that utilizes a sociological survey to gather viewer feedback through questions with answer options displayed directly in the video player or on the banner spot. All selected users fall under the required targeting. The test group will view the video or banner, while the control group will not. This will enable us to determine how advertising impacts brand awareness and the likelihood of purchasing from the brand.

Such technologies are provided by Yandex.Direct, which tracks the following metrics:

• Brand Awareness - Targeted Audience's ability to recall and recognize the brand in different situations.

• Ad Recall - how well key messages are retained in the memory of users.

• Purchase Intent - willingness to buy among potential customers.

• Product Consideration - how often a brand is accepted as one of the choices.

• Brand Favorability - how often a brand is chosen from others.

• Ad Message Recall - the memorability of the advertising message.

It is important to note that this study focuses on growth rates rather than absolute values, indicating the percentage by which a particular indicator has increased.

You can choose channels and evaluate the results of an advertising campaign in Telegram in different ways. When launching targeted advertising on Telegram Ads, the platform provides detailed analytics for the campaign, including metrics for views, target actions, and audience characteristics. VK Ads also operates a similar system. 

However, it is important for each brand to select channels and approach tasks individually. A wide range of analytics and other tools requires effective use. This is why it is crucial to trust experts who can provide unique solutions that meet both expectations and budgets. 

With RMAA's extensive experience in promoting foreign brands in Russia and the CIS, you can trust that we have the expertise to help your brand succeed in this market. To get started, simply complete the feedback form and our manager will promptly reach out to you. 

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