Nars from Shiseido Jumps into Metaverse for Chinese Customers
- Chaileedo Press
- May 16, 2022
- 3 min read
Nars from Shiseido disclosed the brand's first ever 3D Virtual Animation (VA) 'Nonstop Nars Virtual World' to engage Chinese consumers in the city of Hainan in China. Users can create their own custom Nars Avatar by choosing an outfit, hairstyle, and makeup look.
Shiseido Travel Retail has unveiled 'Nonstop Nars Virtual World', the brand's first ever 3D Virtual Animation (VA). And Shiseido Travel Retail has partnered exclusively with China Duty-Free Group (CDFG) for the pre-launch of the Nonstop Nars Virtual World. The launch is supported by online and offline promotions across CDFG's digital platforms and on-counter at the Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex in Haitang Bay.
The campaign aims to showcase the art of Nars makeup through gamification elements that are educational, entertaining and exploratory to inspire traveling consumers to discover its travel exclusive products and bestsellers before their trips.
Nars Cosmetics is a French cosmetics and skin care company founded by make-up artist and photographer François Nars in 1994. The cosmetics line began with twelve lipsticks sold at Barneys New York. Since then, NARS has created various multi-use beauty products and is now a subsidiary of Shiseido.
Nars Cosmetics has its own flagship store on the Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall with a total of 73 SKUs. Its best-selling product is Light Reflecting Setting Powder Pressed priced at 400 yuan(about $58.9) with a monthly sales volume of 2000 units. This product is also well-known among Chinese makeup lovers. In the Chinese sharing platform Xiaohongshu, the Setting Powder was promoted in more than 10 thousand posts.
The launch will be further amplified by a rollout of online and offline promotional activities across CDFG's digital platforms and on-counter at Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex, Hainan, later this year.
The "Nonstop Nars Virtual World" campaign was designed based on the brand's "It's Nonstop Time" theme. Inspired by an abstract clock, the campaign features striking red and black tones, lighting effects and brand elements that allow customers to create "endless" glittering looks using different Nars products.
The campaign will cover digital media, We Media, KOLs, e-commerce and in-store pop-up stores, and will feature a virtual currency, NCOIN, highlighting Nars' best-selling collections and travel-retail exclusives such as the Light Reflecting Setting Powder.
Users are invited to register for an account and create their own custom Nars Avatar (Navatar) by choosing an outfit, hairstyle and makeup look. Using the Look Book feature, they can browse a full set of makeup to try on their Navatar and share their final look on WeChat.
Following their virtual makeover, users are greeted by their customized Navatar at the Nonstop Hall–the central starting point of the experience where they can navigate to three other experiential zones: Nonstop Community, Nonstop Discovery and Nonstop Play. Each of these 'rooms' features content to encourage self-exploration and gamification to drive interaction. By completing tasks throughout the VA experience (as well as physically in-store), users are rewarded with virtual currency 'Ncoin' which can be used to redeem exclusive GWPs and samples.
Previously Charlotte Tilbury unveiled its immersive metaverse shopping experience. Customers can also view immersive, exclusive filmed content, featuring screens that project behind-the-scenes interviews with beauty influencers, as well as live stream masterclasses with Charlotte Tilbury beauty professionals. In addition, founder/CEO Charlotte Tilbury can appear in the metaverse environment as a 3D volumetric avatar.
Dina Fierro, vice president of global digital strategy at Nars, says expectations for virtual products must be oriented from the marketing level. Nars has just partnered with Nintendo's Animal Crossing, "but we don't expect these partnerships to drive sales. It's more important to us that these moves reinforce the brand's precise positioning and generate some buzz and new awareness. As an art-driven beauty brand with strong ties to the fashion world, it makes perfect sense for us to release NFTs."
Gucci's beauty line and Nars have also partnered last year with a mobile game called Drest, which adds a new beauty mode that allows users to style and dress up for challenges. Lucy Yeomans, the company's CEO, says users can become a creator here. She also said, "I think the demand from the next generation of customers is really to be immersed and to be part of a creative experience. Hands-on experimentation and constant creative discovery are also incredibly important, as they enhance the user's immersion."
Judging from the above statements from two beauty company leaders, the current beauty company launches about metaverse, NFT or virtual stores have more promotional significance than sales significance.
Buller of FutureLab said "a loyal customer can start with a virtual trial in a game or virtual store. Once they're happy with that, they'll try more things and maybe shop in a brick-and-mortar store." Such initiatives as the launch of virtual worlds by beauty companies should always focus on the overall loyalty of digital users, and brands need to connect with consumers, not just provide them with a one-time consumer experience.
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