Reimagining Marketing AI for the Beauty Industry

With endless beauty trends and wellness fads, it's time to give your marketing efforts a serious glow-up. And what better way to do that than by amplifying your use of AI?

AI has got your back and how. It simplifies the most essential and basic parts of driving a data-led campaign. It

1. Analyzes data,
2. delivers insights that highlight your audience's unique needs and desires.

All of that so you can streamline your marketing operations, freeing up your team to focus on the fun stuff – like creating the next big beauty craze and developing products that'll have everyone in a frenzy.

“With Microsoft’s generative AI tools and extensive expertise, we are able to leverage ELC’s tremendous data to create more personalized consumer experiences and faster insights to action resulting in increased speed to market and stronger local relevancy.” - Jane Lauder, EVP, Enterprise Marketing, and chief data officer, The Estée Lauder Companies (link)

Just brushing up on why beauty businesses can really use AI power

• Personalization

AI can analyze customer data and preferences to create highly personalized marketing messages, product recommendations, and even customized beauty routines. Think of it as your own virtual stylist, taking the guesswork out of what your customers really want. but only if you are listening - (first party data FTW)

• Predictive analytics

Predict future trends and customer behavior, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve and make informed decisions about your product offerings and marketing strategies. No more flying blind or relying on outdated data. AI is literally your crystal ball.

• Content creation

Need fresh, engaging content for your social media channels or email campaigns? AI can be your creative muse, generating catchy headlines, product descriptions, and even visual content that'll have your audience hooked. It will also repurpose your content for you.

• Chatbots and VAs

Its time to get a team of friendly, knowledgeable experts available 24/7 to assist your customers with everything from product recommendations to purchase queries. AI-powered chatbots are growing and using virtual assistants has never been easy. Let your customers feel heard, valued and seen.

• Targeted ads

With AI being able to analyze data and identify patterns, your business can create highly targeted advertising campaigns that reach the right audience at the right time. 3 words - Programmatic ad campaigns. No more wasting resources on irrelevant ads.

Now, for the fun part.

I thought I will change up a few things this time. While researching for a client, I created this campaign (one of 3) that brands can potentially implement. The breakdown includes how to go about doing this, who can help and when (only applicable for beauty and wellness brands)

Note: this obviously doesnt take into account your brand positioning, brand goals or marketing roadmap.

Campaign name - The personalized pampering experience

Use AI to create customized beauty and wellness routines based on individual preferences, skin types, and lifestyle factors. Offer personalized product recommendations, skincare regimens, and even virtual consultations with AI assisted beauty advisors. Basically you use your product knowledge base and first party data as the primary source for providing this information.

How to build this?

1. Collect customer data on preferences, skin types, lifestyle factors through surveys, online profiles, and purchase history. This could be done by the analytics team, potentially with input from the marketing team on what data to collect.
2. Build a comprehensive knowledge base of your products, their ingredients, benefits, and recommended usage scenarios. This would be the responsibility of the product team, working closely with the R & D and merch teams.
3. Train an AI model using ML algorithms to analyze customer data and match it with relevant product information from your knowledge base. This would be handled by the AI team, using the customer data and product knowledge base. (we can help you here.)
4. Develop a user-friendly interface (website, app, chatbot) where customers can input their details and receive personalized product recommendations, skincare routines, and virtual consultations. This would be a collaborative effort between the AI team, product team, content team,, and potentially a UI/UX design team.
5. Integrate the AI model into the interface, allowing it to generate tailored recommendations based on the customer's inputs. Ideally the AI team would handle this, working with the product team for integration.
6. Promote the personalized experience through marketing channels and encourage customers to try the virtual consultation. this would be the responsibility of the product, marketing and branding teams.
7. Continuously update the AI model and knowledge base with new product releases and customer feedback. The AI team would handle model updates, while the Product team would manage knowledge base updates. Both would collaborate with the Data/Analytics team for customer feedback.

Liked this one?

Outlined more campaign ideas below to get you thinking some of your own.

Leading the curve

Use predictive analytics capabilities to identify upcoming trends in the beauty and wellness sphere. Launch a "Lead the Curve" campaign, showcasing innovative products and services that cater to these emerging trends, positioning your brand as a trendsetter in the industry.

Virtual BFF

Introduce an AI-powered virtual assistant as your brand's friendly face, offering personalized advice, product recommendations, and seamless customer support. Think of it as having a knowledgeable BFF on call, ready to guide your regular customers through their queries, curiosities and overall beauty and wellness journeys.

Targeted temptations

Use AI targeting to serve up irresistible ads that speak directly to your audience's interests and preferences. Whether it's a new skincare line for those with sensitive skin or a wellness retreat for the adventure-seekers, AI will ensure your message hits the mark.

I go into detailed guides for each of these campaigns in my newsletter for marketers and product managers in the beauty and wellness industries. DM me and I will send you the link.

If you read it until here - let me know what you thought about this? Would love to know what you’d like to understand more about AI Marketing in general or anything specific that could help with your next campaign(s)!