Fitz Corporation's Alisa Miyaji, a sales staff, successfully used Lemon Square, an influencer platform by C Channel, to promote a fragrance product difficult to promote.
In this interview, we will talk with Lemon Square sales manager Shiono and sales staff Hamada about how they created a highly reliable review and connected digital promotions to in-store sales.
A staff with experience as both a manufacturer and agent considers the promotion of fragrance products.
Shiono: My name is Shiono, I am the sales manager of Lemon Square and I am in charge of sales for FITS Corporation. I am look forward to talking with you today.
Hamada: My name is Hamada, and I am in charge of sales at Lemon Square. Thank you.
Ms. Miyaji: My name is Miyaji from the Communication Design Team (Advertising and Sales Promotion) of Fits Corporation. Thank you. First of all, I would like to introduce myself.
After graduating from Chuo University, I have worked for about 5 years developing makeup products for a cosmetics manufacturer, working on about 50 items. After that, I wanted to learn about cutting-edge promotions and changed job to the promotion agent that is good at events and IT. For a little over a year, I was in charge of promotions for various industries, including luxury brands, cosmetics, automobiles, food, and apparel, and then I joined FITS Corporation in May of this year (at the time of 2021).
Now I am in charge of promotions for the "Venus Spa" and "Love Passport" brands, while also being in charge of PR for all brands.
Shiono: You originally had worked for a manufacturer, and after working for an agency, you returned to a manufacturer.
Miyaji: Yes. I heard that it is not very common for those who switch from a manufacturer to an agency, but I wanted to learn about selling next to making products, so I joined the company that uses cutting-edge technology for promotion.
I have learned things from product creation to promotion tricks, and now I am working for FITS Corporation.
Shiono: Even within the same framework of Web marketing, the work is different between an agency and the manufacturer side, isn't it?
Miyaji: Yes, they are different. When I was a cosmetics manufacturer, I concentrated on cosmetics, so it was difficult to see what was happening in other industries.
It was totally different world that I saw after moving to an agency. I was able to get a broader perspective, such as the way the automobile industry focuses on promotion and the fact that the cosmetics industry is a bit weak on digital etc.
Shiono: The experience has come in handy now. I originally worked for a web advertising agency for about 10 years, and about 3 years ago I joined C Channel, initially in a web marketing position. I was enthusiastically saying, "I'm from an agency, so I can handle marketing!", but I was surprised to find that agency work and marketing work are completely different, and I fully realized how inadequate I was. I think it is more different when manufacturer.
Now, please introduce FITS Corporation.
Miyaji: FITS Corporation was established in 1991, and this year (2021 at that time) marks its 30th year.
Our corporate philosophy is "Creating products that are fragrant with richness. We are a fragrance manufacturer that aims to create beautiful, comfortable, and affluent lifestyles through planning and development centered on fragrance.
When the company was founded in 1991, it functioned as a trading company, importing and wholesaling brand-name products from overseas. Later, we developed our own original brands, and now we are a company that handles more than 30 brands in total, including both foreign and Japanese original brands.
Our flagship product, "Rising Wave," may have been used by men when they were in high school.
We also have an original soap-scented brand called "Rail du Savon" and many other brands such as "Body Fantasy" sold at convenience stores and drugstores.
Shiono: I have the impression that you have a long history of handling products grip the latest trends. You are consistent in your focus on fragrances.
Miyaji: Yes, we are very particular about fragrances. We are committed to enriching people's lives with fragrance-related products.
Shiono: There are many things about fragrance that cannot be understood without directly holding the product in one's hands. Wasn't marketing a trial-and-error process?
Miyaji: Yes, it was. To begin with, there are actually very few people who use perfume in Japan. Overseas, there is a culture of wearing perfume as a matter of course, but in Japan, there seems to be a deep-rooted culture in which odorlessness is considered beautiful. Compared to the cosmetics market where I worked before, I feel that the fragrance market is small. It is also a challenge for the company how to expand the market.
Shiono: As you say, it is true that people in other countries often smell perfumes.
Although not perfumes for the body, I feel that room fragrance products such as room fragrances are taking root in Japan.
Miyaji: Recently, after all, the demand for room fragrances and diffusers has increased as people spend more time at home due to infectious diseases, and this has had an impact on sales.
Shiono: At a time when users' needs were changing, you implemented a promotion for "Venus Spa" with the influencer service Lemon Square.
Before explaining the promotion case study, please introduce the product.
Miyaji: Our original fragrance brand "Venus Spa" was launched in 2006 and is still well-loved today. Our mission is to "make women who live today's life shine with fragrance in every situation," and to lead them to a "me who can be praised" by always being there for them in their daily lives, no matter how busy they may be.
Our keyword is "Bloom Your Flower," a beauty brand for women that makes everyday life a little more special with beautiful scents of flowers and plants.
The product lineup consists of 3 categories, from left to right: mist-type hair fragrance, treatment styling cream, and perfume stick. The product we promoted this time is the rightmost one, the perfume stick.
This product is not only functional, but also has a beautiful floral fragrance that makes women happy every time they use it.
In this age of competition, natural review is required. Review measures that achieve quality and quantity are implemented at Lemon Square.
Shiono: This time, you had a promotion using Lemon Square for perfume sticks.
Lemon Square is a platform that currently (2021) has 10,000 influencers, to whom we give gifting and expect word-of-mouth postings.
Could you tell us about the background behind the implementation of Lemon Square?
Miyaji: We started selling perfume sticks in 2017. At that time, there were very few perfume stick items in the world, and they attracted attention simply because they were stick-type kneaded perfumes.
However, today, perfume sticks are beginning to overflow in the world, and it has become necessary to gain a high level of recognition that is competitive with other companies' products. The challenge then becomes how to get people to know about them on SNS good at gaining recognition. It was good timing for a brand renewal that we decided to tackle this issue.
However, two concerns emerged.
The first is that we need to post credibly. As I have said myself, if a post feels even a little bit PR-ish, the trustworthiness of the post can be reduced. It is becoming more and more important to increase the number of quality posts that users trust.
Second, there are not many reviews of Venus Spa to begin with. Even though we need reliable posts, we need a certain amount of posts to reach our users.
When we were looking for a way of achieving both quality and quantity, we came across C Channel's Lemon Square.
Shiono: There is a tendency for PR to be disliked. "#PR" on SNS posts was originally intended to reassure users that "this post is an advertisement and contains correct information," but recently it has become a source of dislike.
#PR in itself is not a bad thing, but in order to respond to what users are looking for, it is becoming more important to increase natural review.
Miyaji: That's exactly right.
An engagement rate of 6.24%! product launches is the key to results that far exceed the average
Shiono: Then, I would like to introduce the results part of the promotion.
In response to the issue I mentioned earlier, here are the 3 things we implemented at Lemon Square.
ZOOM product launch for influencers
Influencer postings
Secondary use of the postings as in-store sales promotion
First, we held a product launch event for influencers to spread awareness of the product through influencer posts. Next, we implemented a secondary use of the posts in stores to promote how to use the products and link them to purchases.
We can tell from the conclusion that we had very good results.
65 influencers contributed to the post, and the engagement rate is 6.24%, with 9,472 likes, 323 comments, and 155 saves.
Of particular note is the engagement rate, which is 6.24%. Our average is around 2.5%, so we are seeing very good results.
Let's take a look at what kind of posts were actually generated.
Some of the reviews were over 1,000 words of high enthusiasm, which was unexpected in a good way.
Miyaji: Yes, I was surprised too. I was so happy that the influencers are enthusiastic and I was moved when I read their posts.
Shiono: Of course, the number of reach and other advertising effectiveness indicators are important, but I think that the posts by the influencers with high enthusiasm themselves were valuable as content.
Many posts were uploaded that increased engagement, such as information only available to those who attended the product launch event and videos that conveyed images of the product in use.
The number of saves was also high, at 155. Users who find a product they are interested in on Instagram save it or take a screenshot to keep the information at hand, so the number of saves is becoming an important promotional KPI.
What do you think was the reason for the high number of saved posts?
Hamada: We held a product launch event, that was a good. Followers responded well to posts that contained detailed information they learned at the presentation.
I think many people would not have known that perfume sticks could be used for preventing stupid hair if they had not been told about it at the presentation.
Shiono: As you say, the product presentation led to good result We would like to further deepen our consideration of why such high results were achieved.
We have two hypotheses that we made in response to FITS Corporation's issues.
The first is that they may not know how to utilize the perfume paste. The first hypothesis is that they do not know how to use the perfume paste. We decided to ask beauty professionals (influencers) to speak on our behalf and spread the word about how to use perfume paste.
The second hypothesis is: There are not many posts that can deepen our understanding of perfume even if we are interested in searching for it. This is our hypothesis. By creating posts that appear at the top of the hashtag list, we decided to approach users who are interested in the product and search for it, and link them to purchases.
In order to increase the number of posts that can be used and understood more deeply, it is essential to "make the influencers themselves understand the advantages of the products well. We made this the most important point of our strategy.
The overall design was as below. First, we would hold a product launch event for influencers to let them understand the advantages of the product.
By sending out posts, we first reach out to the influencers' followers. Furthermore, by using hashtag measures, we will reach out to the apparent audience that is interested in the product.
The reached users flowed to the official account of Pahumastic, leading to purchases on the EC site.
In addition, we also had the secondary use of the influencers' posts to encourage purchases at the stores, where we also made a strong approach to the stores.
We believe the most important point was the presentation shown in yellow on the far left. With the success of the presentation, the whole process went very well.
We realized that the effectiveness of the same design can make a difference depending on how well the influencers understand the product.
Here is a shot of the actual product presentation, which lasted about an hour, but we received about 100 comments.
Miyaji：Yes. I was really happy about this.
Shiono: The brand's planners explained the products and about 50 influencers attended the event. The presentation was lively, with comments and questions flying in and out.
One of the good point about a live presentation is that we can answer questions on the spot and show how to use the products in a video.
Miyaji: We sent the products to the participants in advance, so they were able to use them together and comment on their impressions, which I think made the event very lively.
Shiono: Thanks to the presentation, we were able to generate highly engaged posts, and as a result, Lemon Square posts ranked high under the hashtag we had targeted.
What do you think of the success of this measure, Hamada-san?
Hamano: Now that FITS Corporation's presentations have become a successful case study, we are receiving an increasing number of inquiries from other clients.
However, to be honest, in the beginning, we were not very experienced in online presentations, so even though FITS Corporation was working alongside us, we still had some concerns.
When the event, we found that the influencers were very enthusiastic and the Venus Spa products were very appealing, and we felt that the whole event was very exciting.
The posts also incorporated a lot of what the influencers felt at the presentation and the knowledge that FITS Corporation shared with us. Thanks to this, the engagement rate and the number of saves were quite high, which I believe led to the post being picked up as one of the most popular posts.
I also feel very glad that we did it.
Shiono: Now that you have introduced the various aspects of the project, could you give us your impression of it?
Miyaji: I genuinely think the presentation was a great opportunity.
By having the creator show up and talk about the particulars of the product and the difficulties encountered during development, we were able to witness the moment when the influencers fell in love with the product.
At first, I was worried that I would not receive any comments, but I received many comments and realized that they were interested in the product.
Subsequent posts were also uploaded with many long and enthusiastic posts, even though we did not specify.
As a brand staff, I felt warmly that it was a very good way of creating many people who love the brand.
Before we started, I was worried about what would happen if people did not write reviews or if there were negative comments.
Some of the comments were frank, such as "the price was a bit high". However, I feel that these were also very good comments. Being on the manufacturer's side, we don't have enough opportunities to get in touch with the honest feelings of users, so it was good to hear honest opinions through this kind of event.
This time, we had an item called Classy Beauty, which had a fragrance of kumquats, but in fact, there was a controversy within the company. Some people said, "This does not smell like fragrance of kumquats. People on the manufacturer's side tend to take a professional viewpoint, making it difficult to evaluate products from the perspective of the average consumer.
When we looked at the comments and submissions from the presentation, we found many review comments such as, "The fragrance of kumquats was really good". We felt that we had to value the voices of people who actually use our products, not just our own senses.
Shiono: Thank you very much. Now, I would like to answer a question from the audience.
Q: What kind of promotion did you combine besides Lemon Square?
Miyaji: For this project, we used only the services of Lemon Square.
Not only did we use the Instagram postings, but we also used the postings as a secondary use for POP in the stores to get the word out. Review makes it more persuasive that the product is good, and we received comments from vendors that they would love to carry the product.
Q: What were the differences between the product presentations usually held by manufacturers and those held at Lemon Square?
Miyaji: Product launches usually held by manufacturers are geared toward the media, so I think it is important to talk about topics that are easy for the media to pick up. Since the media goes to a variety of product launches, they tend not to pay attention just to new products. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce the product in connection with the world news.
Since Lemon Square was dealing with influencers who are close to the general public, we were able to introduce the appeal of the product and how to use it in a way that the audience could immediately adopt. I think that is the biggest difference.
Q: Where did you set the KPI for the review campaign?
Miyaji: In the company, we used sales as our KPI.
The engagement rate and other figures you just shared with us were based on the general case studies of C Channel, and we discussed it at the level of "it would be good if we could achieve this level of results".
Shiono: Yes. We set our targets for engagement rate and reach higher than what is typical for C-Channel.
Miyaji: Since we have not been able to implement review promotion, we are not sure what numbers are the right ones to look at.
I hope we can set KPI as specific numbers after repeating these measures several times.
Shiono: We are really often asked about setting KPIs. Recently, we often set KPIs not only for the number of engagement and reach, but also for the number of saves.
The reason is that user presere promotion because "I want to remember the product again," and it is an action before purchasing. More and more clients are setting the number of saves as a KPI.
Communication with users created through review measures leads to "Past" and "Future" products
Shiono: Have you actually experienced any positive effects from Lemon Square?
Miyaji: We were able to got a lot of feedback that will lead to the next product. Up until now, SNS measures have often ended with the results of numbers. However, by communicating directly with users and receiving their opinions, it is likely to lead to the development of the next product.
It also gave us an opportunity to look back on our products. As in the case of the kumquats mentioned earlier, we were able to learn how a product that had divided opinions within the company was conveyed to consumers.
We were able to communicate with users and connect with them for the next time, and that stuck out to me the most about Lemon Square's measures.
Q: I think that review programs often end after the launch of a new product, when there is little review. What do you think is the point of implementing it on an ongoing basis?
Miyaji: I feel what you asked is a really challenge. This time, we could do a one-off review measure at the time of the launch. Since we did not implement any measures after that, the number of new review submissions was decreasing rapidly. This is close to the "PR-like and unreliable" state we were concerned about.
I believe a state where the topic is continuously talked about and passionate comments are generated will lead to the persuasiveness and credibility of the brand and product. In fact, this was a point of reflection in this measure.
In the future, I would like to consult to ensure that review continues to be generated after 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year.
Shiono: Indeed, continuity is important for review measures. In terms of your future outlook for review measures, do you plan to implement them over the long term?
Miyaji: We would like to do it on a longer term basis. I also feel that we would like to take advantage of the opportunity provided by our involvement with end users through the review program to communicate more with them.
For example, I would like to work with users from the product planning stage and have them become ambassadors at the time of product launch, and I would like to have a closer relationship with them.
"The rate and quality of postings are overwhelmingly different" - The enthusiasm of the planners conveyed through Lemon Square
Shiono: You have experience with another review campaign, was there any difference between that and Lemon Square?
Miyaji: When we implemented the same review campaign with another company, we explained the products and asked them to create review according to a pre-defined format.
At Lemon Square, the product planners directly communicated their love for the brand and the details of the products, which created very high quality communication. We felt that the posting rate and the quality of the posts were overwhelmingly different.
The posting rate was almost at the 100% level, and almost everyone who attended the presentation contributed. I think this is by far Lemon Square's strength.
Shiono: Thank you very much. I understand that Ms. Miyaji took advantage of your review of the previous session to devise ways to tell the level of enthusiasm, such as bringing the person in charge of planning to the front of the room.
Miyaji: I was reminded of the importance of telling enthusiasm through this measure.
Shiono: People tend to lump "influencers" together, but each person has a different background. In order to get people with different ways of thinking and living to become fans, I think "thoughts" and "the story behind the product" are the most likely to be shared by them.
Miyaji：Yes. Even as a consumer, if I hear the story behind the development of a product, I will fall in love with it, and I think that is an important point.
Q: How did you select the influencers?
Shiono: There are 2 key points. The first is age. We narrowed down the age of the influencers to those who fit the target of this product and selected those between 25 and 34 years old.
Secondly, we narrowed down the list based on past postings. We have data on 10,000 influencers' past posts. Since it was important for us to have the influencers become familiar with the products at the product launch event, we selected those who were able to verbalize what they knew and post about it.
Miyaji: Are the influencers registered with Lemon Square from a variety of genres?
Shiono: Yes, they are. We intentionally hire people from a variety of genres. We have registered people from a wide range of genres such as cosmetics, apparel, daily necessities, child-rearing, and food.
Miyaji: That is encouraging!
Witnessing the moment when the passion is conveyed to the users brought joy to the brand team
Shiono: Thank you very much. Now that time is almost up, could you give us a few last words from Ms. Miyaji?
Miyaji: I know I am repeating myself, but through this measure, I have learned how important it is to tell our love for the product, not just the numbers.
Also, thanks to these measures, we, on the manufacturer's side, were genuinely happy. I will never forget the scene of the brand team conversing with each other after the measures were implemented, saying, "We were so happy".
As a manufacturer, we will continue to do what is natural for us to do, and we hope to be of service to C Channel in the future.
Shiono: Thank you very much.
Webinar Speaker
Lemon Square
C Channel Co. Ltd. Lemon Sales Division Satoshi Shiono
C Channel Co. Ltd. nfluencer Division Ryu Hamada
Guest
FITS Corporation
Community Design Team
Ms. Alisa Miyaji