As a digital marketing and social media manager at Hard Candy, my primary goal was to develop and implement a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that would help the brand stand out in the competitive cosmetics industry and expand its reach to a wider audience. Hard Candy, a Walmart-exclusive cosmetics brand, faced a challenge during its rebranding phase with cluttered digital marketing and media management due to minimal internal management of new digital marketing processes and initiatives.

 

Challenge

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The main challenge for Hard Candy was to establish a digital marketing strategy and structure that would help the brand stand out against competitors in the digital space. The brand had previously worked with third-party agencies, which resulted in minimal communication and internal integration. Therefore, it was crucial to gain a clearer understanding of the brand's customers and develop a strategy that would enhance the brand's story. Joining the team in the midst of their rebrand, it was important to reintroduce the brand to the digital beauty community and ensure the most talented influencers were using Hard Candy products in their extraordinary make-up looks. This rebrand involved a new logo, new packaging, new formulas, and new innovative cosmetic products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Discovery

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To expand its digital presence, Hard Candy needed to identify the demand it was fulfilling for its customers and present its innovative and high-quality, skin-caring formulas in a new and exciting light. I began by developing and organizing the brand's PR list, which allowed the brand to establish a community of macro and micro-influencers to increase its reach and awareness.

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Influencer partnerships were a crucial key to grow the brand's digital reach on social media platforms. I identified the right influencers who resonated with the brand's core values and messaging and collaborated with them to create compelling content that showcased the products in a real-life setting on different skin tones. Close-up imagery and video tutorials helped virally expose new products, leading to an increase of online sales on best sellers, such as the Sheer Envy Hydrating Primer, which was included in all Influencer PR mailers. Explore my Digital Showcase to view more detailed Social Media Content and Influencer Marketing campaigns.

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I created new and exciting digital content and strategies on social media platforms that allowed a viral spark for Hard Candy and helped the brand stand out against more expensive cosmetics brands. I used distinct highlighting of products that were unique to Hard Candy and compared to higher end products, which allowed new potential customers that didn't typically shop at Walmart stores to purchase online at Walmart.com and Hardcandy.com.

 

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Review

 

The initiatives that I worked on for the cosmetics brand, Hard Candy, were highly effective in improving the brand's digital marketing presence and expanding its reach to a wider audience. By developing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, we were able to gain a clearer understanding of the brand's customers and showcase its advanced formulas and affordable price point.

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Our partnership with influencers was a crucial aspect of this process, allowing us to create compelling content that resonated with the brand's core values and messaging. We used distinct highlighting of products that were unique to Hard Candy, which helped the brand stand out against more expensive cosmetics brands.

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Overall, by establishing a digital marketing strategy and structure and partnering with influencers, Hard Candy was able to enhance its digital presence and expand its reach to a wider audience, leading to increased online sales and brand exposure. The brand's following increased 20% in a few short months from organic growth, with an increase in engagement of over 200%, product clicks over 153% and reach over 140% on Instagram increasing website traffic and conversion rate on hardcandy.com and walmart.com by 4.2%.

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