Gaming Meets Beauty: Inside Henkel’s First Brand Activation

[Music] This is Peggy Ensalts at Gamescom talking about again the intersection of brands and games which is an exciting new French year but really a new French year I think for Henkle we have here Pauline you were the brand manager and you put together this idea this activation First of all, tell me a little bit more about what it is because you have hair color, but it's an experience because it's part of the game.
Yes. Uh so with Rascop Life, this is actually the first time also for Hanker that we have this cooperation with a game. Um so uh initially what we did was we have three limited edition shades uh which were developed together with Final Fantasy. Um, so we have uh the avatars that have the hairstyle and then like we do the offline online combination

connection. So um we have the models that have the same hairstyles as the avatars because Final Fantasy is also a lot about self expression being uh your own character also designing your own character and this is also what we want to um embrace as life that you can also just use self expression as a way to show your character and uh this is why we thought this is a really good connection also with the gaming community because we want to make a brand experience with the with this.
Exactly. That's the point. It is a brand experience. So, you can't just like show up and have a logo somewhere.
Yeah.
What went into choosing the game to partner with the game that was a fit for your own brand identity?
Yeah. So, of course, we were looking at a game that has already like some popularity and I think Final Fantasy has been already on the market for so long. is really well known and well loved by

the community. And then of course we're looking at uh what has a good brand fit in terms of um what is the target group of the community because we with red cupc also very young target group and uh yeah of course people who like to color their hair in crazy colors and win the game.
Yes.
Yes. Exactly. So this is why we chose Final Fantasy as Yeah. really well-known game that and we also wanted a game that um is like about uh positivity because this is about like the good fighting against the bad and like individual but also teamwork and so we really just wanted something fun and something positive.
How did you sell that internally?
Yeah, so this is also the first time that Hen is doing this so this is really exciting for us as well. Um and I think um of course a lot of the like people that work in the management they are not in the gaming world and they don't know what this is about. So really, yes, we

have to sell it internally, but um I think now everyone is really excited also because gaming is not just a niche hobby anymore. Like as you can see here, there's so many people. This is really like a broad hobby that everyone is interested in. And uh I think it would be a shame to not tap into gaming and not really make it a distant experience
because it is a mass medium and it is also where we are. And I was talking to the person who brought this through and and created a gaming practice, you know, a gaming department, a gaming mentality at Adidas and it's like there's no supply chain problems here either. It's all virtual. So we can buy into these products and use them there. Are you thinking about bringing is this a first step and thinking about more in that direction? Maybe you can give me an idea of the vision. Not telling me what I don't need to know, but it's such an incredibly successful first step. Yeah. So, um to be honest, I can't

really say what we have planned in the future, but I think this will not be the last time that Schwatskov Live is uh doing something with the gaming community because this is really also where we connect with the community and it's really important for us to also be like authentic and to not just be any brand, but to have like something with values behind it, something that the community connects to. And I think this is a really cool way and yeah, especially gamers love um yeah bold kayak color. So I think this is a really good fit.
Absolutely. It's about being bold, brave, the first for Henkle. So that is incredible as well because it is a first time strategy. I mean you as a pioneer in this strategy, I wouldn't have thought it initially. So what's it like for you, Colleen?
Um yeah, it's really exciting for me. Um, and to be honest, I was also really nervous leading up to this event like how will the community like it because um, of course we with you bring a brand

into this space uh, you need to be I think considerate of what the community wants. We don't just want to commercialize it and not take care of what the community is actually interested in. So yeah, I really hope that we have a good fit between what the community wants and what the brand strategy is. Um, but yeah, so far I think uh I'm happy with the how the result came out.
And I'm looking around here, you've got an influencer activation going on right now. So it's virtual physical probably all fans of the game, right?
Yeah, true. Yeah, we especially also made sure like the influencers we invite here that they are also gaming influencers. so that we really make sure to understand the community and what the community wants and don't just put our ideas uh into a space where it doesn't belong. And of course, it's a partnership. It's a partnership with the community also with the publisher. How was that discussion? Because I'm sure you had to as leading this brand

activation and this strategy at Henkle, you know, working in that and driving this forward, you talk to the publisher, the games publisher and say, "This is what we want to do." Were they like, "Oh, it's commercial." Or were they like, "Yeah, we're we're in for this." How how would how did that dialogue progress?
Yes. So, actually, we're in really close collaboration with Square Enix and um yeah, I mean, I think it's the the middle between both of what you said. I think they are excited to work with us and they really want this to be good. But that's why they're also really critical I would say of everything that we do and we really are in close alignment everything because of course they are the experts for their game and their community and they don't want our avatars to not look like something for example that they wouldn't put in the game or anything also we do here is in close collaboration with them because uh they know their community best and uh yeah so I think it's best of both they

excited to have this opportunity also to work with Henkle but uh yeah they also really make sure that it's a good brand fit for them
and for Henkle as well I mean it was about an alignment it's a game that is positive and there's a positive relationship often with the publisher I mean I speak with the publishers and in a way this allows them to reach new community maybe get some new ideas you know there might be something coming from the influencers or the consumers has that happened yet have you found that this enables ables them to grow their community and maybe reach new and different audience as they extend that. That's a really interesting question. Um and I think for sure that's true. Um I mean I haven't uh seen any numbers if they are also their gaming community has gone up since the collaboration but um I'm pretty sure of course because we also um like spend in ads and everything which are really dedicated ads for the Final Fantasy uh editions that of course their community is also growing through

this and yeah I think it's a really nice idea that we both benefit from this.
So it's a fantastic idea. I think I came here and I thought this is great because it makes so much sense. You want to live the the game. You love the game. You want to live the game. You want to look like the game. So that's something there and so many people. What is it that you've had to tell yourself? Maybe advice you've had to give yourself because you're bringing together two worlds. It's very different. It's not I don't know your background, Pauline, but you know it's not what they learn in business school, right?
Yeah. True. Yes. And also I don't have a gaming background myself. So,
but you're learning to love the game.
I'm learning it and I I'm so excited to be here. So I think yeah a learning especially for me is uh to just listen to the experts also in gaming and to really make sure to choose the right partners not only like influencers but also the agencies that um help us like building this that they are really the

experts in the field because I'm the brand expert and they are the experts in gaming and the community and that's important I think to have the right partners
and also have the right mindset which I can tell you do billions of gamers ers on the planet. But you have to overcome it with a mindset and say something to yourself to say yes, this is worth it. So to the brands out there, why get involved in gaming? Why make that leap? Why make that connection? So, I just think that uh gaming is like really untapped potential still for brands and just such a cool way to connect with people where they really are have their hobbies and their interests and yeah, I think it's just a lot of untapped potential to be honest.
Fantastic.
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I'm Peggy Saltz. And that's a wrap until

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