KEYNOTE INTERVIEW
KARINA BEHAR-LECUILLER
Fifty years ago, L’Oréal Paris created what would become one of the most recognisable beauty taglines of all time. ‘Because I’m Worth It’ became a rallying cry for women all over the world to embrace their self-worth and forever changed the way the beauty industry marketed to cosmetic products to consumers. On the campaign’s milestone 50th anniversary, L’Oréal Paris Travel Retail General Manager Karina Behar-Lecuiller looks back at its most poignant moments and illustrates how the brand’s newest innovation, the Age Perfect Cell Renewal Midnight Serum, is once again breaking barriers in the beauty world.
She also underscores the value of L’Oréal Paris’ mission to make luxury beauty accessible for all women and how that positioning can become a real asset in travel retail too.
‘Because I’m Worth It’ became more than just a slogan for the brand. “L’Oréal Paris was the first to put the woman in front of the advertising campaign,” Behar-Lecuiller recalls. “At that time, beauty ads never featured just a woman speaking on her own and about herself. It was a first in the industry and soon became a brand mission that celebrated women’s empowerment and solidarity. When asked what the most memorable moment has been, Behar-Lecuiller stresses that it’s difficult to pinpoint just one. “I was looking at YouTube and saw this amazing timeline of all the advertising we have done on this one campaign. I saw women from different races and cultures saying this tagline in their respective languages from Chinese, Hindu, French, Spanish and many others.
“I think it is so powerful and it’s amazing to see this whole journey. For me, there is no particularly memorable moment that stands out – but to see this tagline in every language shows the power that it brings to the beauty industry and to all women.” Beyond the campaign, self-worth and female empowerment have always been integral to the ethos of L’Oréal Paris. Behar-Lecuiller mentions that the brand promotes these values in concrete ways both within and outside the organisation.
STAND UP AGAINST STREET HARASSMENT
Since 2020, L’Oréal Paris has deployed the training program Stand Up Against Street Harassment in 33 countries, in partnership with the non-profit organization Right To Be. As stated by a global study done by L’Oréal Paris in association with research partner Ipsos*, 80% of women have already experienced sexual harassment in public spaces and 76% of people have witnessed street harassment take place*. The Stand Up programme gives people the tools to intervene safely in situations of street harassment, whether as a victim or as a witness. “One of our main goals at L’Oréal Paris is to empower women in their day to day lives and that goes beyond beauty,” Behar-Lecuiller explains. “Our partnerships with Stand Up International are focused on raising awareness and giving women the right tools to protect themselves and others. We promote a five D ‘Be Safe’ method: Distract, Delegate, Document, Direct and Delay and Stand Up offers online courses and digital training for people who want to master the five D’s. The programme is online and anyone can access it and we encouraged all L’Oréal Paris employees to do so. “A recent social survey by L’Oréal Paris highlights the incredible power the Stand Up training can have on shifting witness’ attitudes, and safely taking action. Key findings note that 97% of Stand Up trainees feel more empowered to intervene when witnessing street harassment compared to before their Stand Up training. Everyone can be part of the solution. Now it’s your turn: get trained on standup-international.com and share the word with the #WeStandUp.”
* International survey on sexual harassment in public spaces was conducted by L’Oréal Paris with Ipsos, with data gathered in 15 countries with over 15,000 participants, March 2021.
“L’Oréal Paris was the first to put the woman in front of the advertising campaign... It was a first in the industry and soon became a brand mission that celebrated women empowerment and solidarity.”
L’Oréal Paris Travel Retail General Manager Karina Behar-Lecuiller
In 2022, L’Oréal Paris welcomed a new chapter. The brand launched a new campaign called ‘Lessons of Worth’ which features raw and honest testimonials from a diverse and powerful lineup of Brand Ambassadors which included Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Eva Longoria and Viola Davis to name a few. The women each shared what the phrase ‘I'm Worth It’ means to them and how they discovered their self-worth in their journeys towards becoming the women that they are today. “Each of the women gave their own point of view on the importance of self-esteem and it’s very moving,” Behar-Lecuiller says. “Lessons of Worth is something that can inspire women from across the world, from the young to the old. For me personally, I really liked Helen Mirren’s lesson, because hers is all about fighting the ageism in Hollywood.” Speaking about her own personal Lesson of Worth, Behar-Lecuiller says, “I’m very proud to be part of such an inspirational brand that empowers women from all walks of life. I try to concretely implement this message in my personal life and with my team.”
Some of the ambassadors from the Lessons of Worth campaign also feature in the striking film and print visuals promoting L’Oréal Paris’ latest skincare innovation, the Age Perfect Cell Renewal Midnight Serum. The Midnight campaign proves that beauty has no age. It breaks away from traditional beauty advertising formulas and instead features beautiful, powerful and inspiring women of all ages. “The Midnight Serum is our most promising innovation of this year,” Behar-Lecuiller says. “Firstly, the technology used in the formula was inspired by our clients’ requests and so it answers a direct consumer need. The Antioxidant Recovery Complex wakes up millions of new cells every morning. You can look youthful, firmer more radiant after each sleep thanks to this serum. It’s really a beautiful and luxurious product with an amazing texture and smell.
Sharing her own personal experience with the serum, Behar-Lecuiller says, “I use the Midnight Serum every night. I love the beautiful fragrance, striking glass bottle, and the supple texture that melts on my skin. Using it makes me really feel like I’m worth it and I really feel the difference each morning.”
“We are going to launch this innovation as a star serum. We recently ran a big event to promote this product at Dubai International Airport, pre-launching exclusively in airports in the Middle East.“
L’Oréal Paris Travel Retail General Manager Karina Behar-Lecuiller
MIDNIGHT SERUM TAKES OVER DXB
With a recommended retail price of €22, the Midnight Serum fills a gap in the serum category by offering a luxurious, effective product at a very accessible price point. According to Behar-Lecuiller, the serum is already performing extremely well in local markets and she expects its popularity to carry over into travel retail too.
“In travel retail, we are going to sell the product at a very accessible price point. This underscores L’Oréal Paris’ core mission of bringing a luxurious beauty experience to all women at an affordable price. It’s our mission and we have an amazing line-up of women who exude this mission in our advertising campaigns. Since launching last year, the serum is already breaking records in every local market where it was launched and so we want to build that momentum in travel retail as well.” With every hero serum comes a dynamic launch plan, and for the Midnight Serum, L’Oréal Paris is pulling out all the stops. L’Oréal Paris Travel Retail recently partnered with Dubai Duty Free to launch a striking animation at Dubai International Airport (DXB) which ran to 31 March. The animation offered a dynamic online-to-offline journey and highlighted the Midnight Serum and the Color Riche Intense Volume Matte lipstick line from L’Oréal Paris. The circular pop-up was dressed in an elegant black and gold colour scheme and was further emphasised by dynamic digital screens. Some of the animation’s retailtainment features included a Parisian photo booth complete with Instagram frame, exclusive gifts and lipstick engraving and personalisation. All the elements underlined L’Oréal Paris’ distinctive brand identity and mission to make luxury beauty accessible for all.
“We are going to launch this innovation as a star serum,” Behar-Lecuiller explains. “We recently ran a big event to promote this product at Dubai International Airport, pre-launching exclusively in airports in the Middle East. Afterwards, we will launch in European and Americas travel retail.
“What is most exciting is that we will be launching the Midnight Serum exclusively in Hainan at the end of the year. Hainan will be the only point of sale where Chinese consumers will be able to buy this European product in the whole country, which really underscores the power of this location.” In more ways than one, the Midnight Serum underscores L’Oréal Paris’ mission to make every woman feel worth it. In travel retail, Behar-Lecuiller believes it is this mission that sets the brand apart within a highly competitive perfume & cosmetics category.
“L’Oréal Paris is really at the core of the consumer products division of L’Oréal Group,” she says. “My overall vision is to bring beauty for all travellers around the world, by offering luxurious beauty products to all travellers at an accessible price. This is our brand positioning. It’s unique, especially when compared to other brands in the channel.
“We believe that L’Oréal Paris can be an amazing asset to recruit new consumers into buying into perfumes and cosmetics. Our brand enjoys high awareness, amazing equity and an accessible price positioning, which stands out in the overall beauty landscape of travel retail.”
In a wider sense, Behar-Lecuiller believes that L’Oréal Paris, with strong brand values and affordable price positioning, can play a much larger role in driving channel recovery in the post-COVID landscape. “We can see that passengers are eager to travel again,” she explains. “However, returning passengers may not have the same buying power as before because of the pandemic and other world crises including inflation and the rising cost of living. Some consumers may simply not want to spend as much in beauty as they did before. L’Oréal Paris can take on its full meaning in this landscape. As a brand, we can be a real asset for the industry, which always seeks to diversify its offer and accelerate recruitment and conversion. “We want to be the brand that travellers turn to when they forget their day cream at home, when they want to get a last-minute mascara deal or treat themselves to one our hero serums. There will always be an appealing offer from L’Oréal Paris waiting for them. They will always find an attractive product at a very reasonable price with a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ which allows them to indulge themselves simply because they are worth it.”
With a recommended retail price of €22, the Midnight Serum fills a gap in the serum category by offering a luxurious, effective product at a very accessible price point. According to Behar-Lecuiller, the serum is already performing extremely well in local markets and she expects its popularity to carry over into travel retail too.
“My overall vision is to bring beauty for all travellers around the world, by offering luxurious beauty products to all travellers at an accessible price. This is our brand positioning. It’s unique, especially when compared to other brands in the channel.“
L’Oréal Paris Travel Retail General Manager Karina Behar-Lecuiller
