The Living Red Art Show: Shiseido powers up in Hainan

As the ‘lighthouse of travel retail’ over the past 18 months, the Hainan offshore duty free market has attracted big investment in consumer engagement from brand owners across the beauty and luxury goods sectors. Some of the industry’s most memorable activations have featured in particular in prime space at the China Duty Free Group (CDFG)-managed Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex in Haitang Bay. Even set against those high standards, Shiseido Travel Retail’s vibrant, colourful and tech-led campaigns have stood out. A superb example is the Japanese skincare company’s latest: the Living Red Art Show, celebrating the launch of Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate III.

At the heart of the animation was the Living Red Heartbeat, a striking visual installation that connected a giant bottle of Ultimune to flowing light tubes to portray the vitality of beauty circulation. The art installation also featured a contactless Ultimune dispenser, with each drop triggering an immersive lightshow. The lightshow moved to the rhythm and sound of a heartbeat, which offered a neat backdrop for photos. Customers were also able to experience Shiseido’s Skin Visualiser tool, a touch-free device that leveraged cutting-edge technology to offer in-depth skin analysis in a safe and contactless manner. The tool instantly visualised the beauty circulation of both the inner and outer skin without the need for makeup removal. It measured the metrics that contribute to Shiseido’s ‘healthy vibrant skin’ matrix, which scores for radiance, resilience and smoothness. Customers were then offered personalised product recommendations based on their results.

At the Presents of Light Gift Station, customers redeemed Ultimune samples by inserting a token at the machine. A gift ball then rolled down a maze of red tracks, inspired by blood capillaries, while an onscreen video highlighted the benefits of Ultimune. The activation also served as a product showcase for Shiseido’s best-sellers, travel retail- and CDF-exclusive products. The three product categories were each highlighted in dedicated display areas. To celebrate the pop-up and its ongoing partnership with CDFG, Shiseido Travel Retail unveiled the CDF-exclusive Ultimune Defense & Firming Set at the pop-up. The set comprises the new Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate in the travel retail-exclusive 100ml size, the Vital Perfection Wrinklespot Treatment Cream and Vital Perfection Uplifting and Firming Cream.

A breakthrough beauty innovation warrants an equally dazzling showcase, which The Living Red Art Show certainly delivered. According to Shiseido Travel Retail Asia Pacific Vice President Evelyne Ly-Wainer, the project underlined the company’s commitment to delivering compelling and memorable shopping experiences to captivate its core Chinese consumer base. She said: “We are proud to present Ultimune’s biggest innovation since its introduction in 2014. At Shiseido Travel Retail, we are committed to creating unique and differentiated experiences for travellers, and through ‘The Living Red Art Show’, we have delivered a compelling expression of the new Ultimune and engaged our key Chinese consumers with strong digital and interactive elements. We want to thank China Duty Free Group for their shared commitment and valuable support in helping us to bring the best of Shiseido and Japanese Beauty to Hainan.”