Are You Under The Influence? - The Authenticity and Transparency of Influencer Marketing Within the Beauty Industry 2020 - By Isobel Muncer CONTENTS SECTION 03. PG 28 - MORPHE BRAND ANALYSIS 04 02 PG 32 - MORPHE X JACLYN HILL SECTION 01. CASE STUDY PG 35 - MORPHE SWOT ANALYSIS PG 4 - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PG 6 - INTRODUCTION SECTION 02. SECTION 04. PG 8 - METHODOLOGY PG 10 - RESEARCH & ANALYSIS PG 36 - MORPHE BEAUTY ENDORSED PG 14 - THE CALL OUT CULTURE ENGAGERS PG 18 - THE REGULATORS RESPONSE PG 42 - MORPHE BEEs TRAINING COURSE PG 24 - COVID CRISIS AFTERSHOCK PG 44 - THE BEE PROCESS PG 46 - SUPPORTING METHODOLOGIES AND METRICS PG 50 - AIDA/MARKETING STRATEGY PG 54 - LIMITATIONS OF THE BEAUTY EDUCATION STANDARD PG 56 - CONCLUSION PG 60 - APPENDICES PG 62 - REFERENCE LIST PG 71 - BIBLIOGRAPHY 01 03 Part 2, presents further and deeper research and analysis into influencer marketing, specifically looking into the three main factors that are currently changing and affecting the industry. These factors include: The Call Out Culture, The Regulators Response and the COVID Crisis Aftershock. Each section evaluates the changes taking place within influencer marketing for all markets, whilst further narrowing down to how these factors are specifically affecting influencer marketing within the 01 beauty industry. Moreover, transparency Furthermore, Part 4 will propose the new and authenticity plays a key factor in the beauty education standard (BES) that future success of influencer marketing Morphe will introduce to their business, for beauty brands, which is also carefully as a qualification that influencers 01EXECUTIVE analysed throughout each section to lead must pass before promoting Morphe onto suggestions which beauty brands products. This section will critically will need to adopt, to meet their future analyse the process to becoming a younger consumer demands, the ever- Beauty Empowered Engager (BEE), SUMMARY changing industry regulations and the as well as the marketing strategies aftershock effects that COVID will cause Morphe will use to promote and engage for the beauty industry and influencers. this concept to their consumers. Key This report analyses the current factors affecting influencer theories and frameworks are used within marketing including, consumer shifts, regulations and the effects As a result, Part 3 focuses on the online this section to further analyse the value of COVID-19. The report also specifically focuses on influencer beauty brand Morphe, evaluating the and trust this opportunity would provide marketing within the beauty industry and the effects that these brand’s history and their rapid growth and for the beauty brand, allowing them to current factors are having on beauty influencers and brands today. success from using influencer marketing meet the social needs of their future as their main source of promotion on consumers, by creating a more authentic The factors analysed in this report, present opportunities for beauty social media platforms. Additionally, Part and transparent strategy when using brands to re-think and adapt to the changes taking place within the 3 will also analyse Morphe’s mistakes influencer marketing in the future. beauty influencer market, as transparency and authenticity within regarding their influencer marketing The report concludes with the influencer marketing will increasingly be what consumers look for strategies, through a recent case study recommendation that Morphe introduces when considering what beauty brands, they want to buy from. involving beauty influencer, Jaclyn Hill. the BES, highlighting the benefits it would This analysis will thereby highlight provide for both brand, influencer and Part 1 of the report, introduces and critically analyses the internal the future opportunities Morphe must consumer looking forward, whilst also and external factors affecting influencer marketing for brands consider through a SWOT analysis, which evaluating any risks Morphe will need today, including the future of the influencer market, past influencer will suggest a proposal that the beauty to consider. Furthermore, the emphasis scandals, current advertising regulations and consumer trust brand should develop to tackle further of creating a standard that seeks greater with influencers. Considering the factors proposed, an evaluated issues when using influencers, whilst education, authenticity, transparency methodology presents key primary and secondary research also further building their consumers and trust, provides the key for Morphe to methods, used to further analyse influencer marketing within the trust by creating a highly transparent and be the first to set the influencer standards beauty industry, to help analyse and evaluate further research in authentic influencer marketing strategy. that all beauty brands should follow. part 2. 4 5 INTRODUCTION With the public’s trust in everything from products to politicians at an all-time low (Figure 1), it is not surprising that the role of influencers* has become the new generation of trust agents. In the US, influencer marketing has sky-rocketed from $1.7 billion in 2016 to Figure 1 - Trust Index comparison graph (Edelman, 2019) $6.5 billion today and is predicted to hit $15 billion by 2022 (Gerdeman,2019). In particular, the fashion and beauty industry breed of influencers who are actively has been among the biggest users of endorsing these products. influencer marketing, as traditional TV But it is perhaps an even more recent development that could see the biggest and print advertising is being replaced by their lucrative influencer marketing backlash against ill-informed beauty online and social marketing to meet new doesn’t fall foul of the many and varying brands and influencers. With the onslaught consumer trends. A report published new domestic disclosure rules, there has of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers by the Harvard Business School been little to no attention paid by the are questioning the safety of products (Gerdeman,2019), found that influencers marketers or the rule makers as to the and especially less well known beauty are now the leading source of product quality and ethical standards and product ingredients that are applied to your face information for female beauty shoppers. knowledge of the influencers they are or skin. So called natural ‘clean products’ It’s perhaps not surprising then, that using, to build their brands and influence championed in recent years by many brands leading beauty brand, Estee Lauder, consumers’ purchasing decisions. recently said it is now spending 75% and influencers are now being questioned as to whether they are as “clean” as once of its marketing budget on influencers Whilst government agencies, like the thought. (Gerdeman, 2019). Federal Drug Agency in the US and the domestic advertising watchdogs, such Against this backdrop, this report will present But recent celebrity influencer scandals as UK’s Advertising Standards Authority the case for beauty brand Morphe developing - such as influencer Jaclyn Hill’s (ASA), enforce regulations and penalties a new, potentially industry-wide endorsed, exposure of US beauty brand Morphe’s on what manufacturers can produce, standard for the education and certification misleading cruelty-free ingredient claims promote, or sell in the healthcare and of influencers in the beauty industry. The - have rocked the industry, bringing into beauty world, the same level of scrutiny supporting marketing campaign will use the question the trust of influencers and the and rigour (beyond being truthful and tagline and hashtag ‘Beyond Skin Deep’ to brands they endorse, causing a ground transparent), is not applied to the new swell of domestic regulators (both federal highlight the current superficial state of the and advertising bodies) to rush out new beauty industry in relation to meaningful rules on influencer disclosure. * A person with the ability to influence potential and effective influencer regulations and buyers of a product or service by promoting education. The campaign will also promote or recommending the items on social media. However, while brands race to ensure a new certified beauty industry standard (Hornblower, Spawforth and Eidinow, 2012) for influencers called ‘Beauty Empowered Engagers’ (BEEs). 6 7 METHODOLOGY - PRIMARY RESEARCH - The Advertising Standard Authority (ASA), The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report ‘An Influencer’s Guide The first stages of primary research will protect themselves and the brand itself from to Making Clear That Ads are Ads’ (2020), the Influencer include a short survey for anyone aged disclosing any information that may damage Marketing Hub report ‘Influencer Marketing Benchmark 18-30 who has an interest in the beauty the brands reputation. Report 2020’ (2020), and the Fashion Revolution report industry. This research has been approved ‘Fashion Transparency Index 2020’ (2020) and other by ERGO (Appendices 1), through a Moreover, by interviewing influencers, they secondary reports, will be used throughout, to critically documented process. By using a survey, will be more likely to answer honestly, due to evaluate the current state of influencer marketing in it allows participants to answer questions the potential damaging impact that lack of 2020, along with an overview of the current influencer anonymously, enabling them to give honest transparency within the influencer industry regulations. opinions and answers, which will ensure true