Bobbi Brown
Bobbi Brown wanted their site to be more than a place to sell makeup – they wanted it to be the center of a community. When Bobbi Brown was looking for an agency to redesign their website, we politely told them we weren’t in the web design business, but in the business of building communities around brands. We were surprised when they responded that what we described was exactly what they needed. They didn’t just want a shiny new site, but a digital hub that would help them connect in a deeper way with their customers. To get started, we visited their headquarters in New York and learned about their culture. Right away we found a problem: Tasks were divided between their parent company, Estée Lauder, and the brand, with little communication happening at all. We brought the groups together so they could talk about goals and problem solving face to face. Then it was time to learn about the customers. At the makeup counters, we watched them receive consultations and makeovers, taking note of their process of sharing information. Finally, we went to Bobbi’s studio to find just what it was that made the brand different.
What we found was that they were constantly creating innovative educational materials to help customers learn how to be their own makeup artist.
Carefully-designed guides existed to help consumers understand their coloration, their face shape and the materials they needed to enhance their experience. Our job was to translate that to the web.
The Strategy
We decided to build off the traditional idea of a commerce site by adding two additional layers – an editorial layer and a consultative layer. The trick was to make all three work harmoniously instead of as distinct chapters of a disconnected experience. We added video tutorials, a stream of content from Bobbi’s studio, and virtual versions of their behind-the-counter guides. Finally, we made their “chat with an expert” feature more prominent and re-skinned it to make it easier to access.
Results
The final result was so successful that it was immediately rolled out to Asia, and Estée Lauder now uses our template for many other brands in their portfolio.
