NYX, Triller, Snap to Launch Cross-platform AR
NYX Professional Makeup is planning a unique twist on virtual experiences: To promote its spring product launch, the company will soon roll out a new augmented reality campaign with social video app Triller and Snapchat.
The campaign, #nyxcosmetics21drop, combines entertainment, digital makeup try-on and a virtual store with exclusive looks at the new products.
Fans will get to attend a virtual concert in Triller and then, using the app’s Shine Loud Lens — developed using Snap’s Camera Kit developer tools — they’ll be able to dive into a dual-mode AR product experience. The lens unlocks an AR try-on for NYX’s Shine Loud lip colors, as well as access to the store.
By panning their phone cameras, users will be able to wander the space and tap to learn more about items like the Lift & Snatch Brow Tint Pen, Brow Glue and vegan products Marsh Mellow Primer and Shine Loud lip color. The spring launch will also include Total Control Pro Drop Foundation and Total Control Pro Drop Hue Shifter and Illuminator.
The digital venue more resembles a pop-up than a full-fledged store. Indeed, for any actual purchasing, visitors are directed via link to the e-commerce site. Still, the virtual store offers a sense of presence and exploration — perhaps more than any static webpage could — and consumers may appreciate that in this increasingly restricted, stay-at-home world.
“As a brand, we’re always looking to create exclusive experiences for consumers that are both engaging and also shoppable,” said Stéphanie Binette, general manager at NYX Professional Makeup. “Because consumers, more and more, are looking for easiness of shoppability, particularly during this time. So we really wanted to connect with our audience in a new and fresh way.”
That line of thinking extends to the decision to hold a virtual concert in Triller. It’s that extra bit of fun that the brand’s customers would appreciate, even expect, from NYX.
“The consumers that love and buy our products are the Gen Z and Millennials, and these consumers experiment and spend a lot of time on digital platforms and new platforms,” Binette continued. “So we are very obsessed with being where the consumer is, and also to deliver an experience that is going to be enjoyable, respond to their needs, [be] authentic and bring entertainment.”
The beauty brand hasn’t disclosed the identity of the headliner yet, but plans to reveal that soon, well in advance of the concert date of Dec. 18. Curious shoppers won’t have to wait that long to see the new products, though, with the virtual store slated to go live earlier, on Wednesday.
NYX itself is no stranger to AR and virtual environments — its parent company, L’Oréal, also owns AR beauty tech firm ModiFace — but this project marks a first in that it blends the two: The product experience begins by engaging the selfie camera, with Snap’s Face Lens triggering the digital makeup try-on, and switching to the back camera activates the Portal Lens, leading users into the virtual store.
The beauty sector has latched onto online AR try-ons across social media and on e-commerce web sites, and companies from Gucci and Farfetch to Kohl’s have specifically used Snap’s Portal Lens to bring beauty and fashion products to immersive virtual environments. But according to Snap, no other beauty company has rolled out a campaign using a combination of Snapchat lenses in this way.
“It’s great to see partners like NYX pushing the boundaries of at-home beauty experiences by bringing virtual in-store browsing to living rooms everywhere and coupling it with AR makeup try-on,” Carolina Arguelles Navas, Snap’s head of product marketing for augmented reality, told WWD.
Bonin Bough, chief revenue officer at Triller, called the project “one of the largest, most digitally innovative beauty drops in history.”
The experience wouldn’t have been possible this time last year. Snap rolled out Camera Kit, a toolset that enables developers to use the Snapchat camera and AR lenses in their own apps, just six months ago. Triller was Snap’s sole social partner for the launch.
This paved the way for #nyxcosmetics21drop, which, when it goes live, will have the first sponsored cross-platform lens built using the kit. This integration allows the try-on and virtual store to be available inside both Triller and Snapchat.
The social video app’s profile has shot up in recent months, thanks to the ongoing uncertainty around TikTok’s fate. In fact, although the rival platforms have been locked in a legal battle over patent infringement, the publicity seems to be benefiting Triller.
The company revealed 100 million monthly active users in September. The figure has been disputed by former employees, but if it’s in the ballpark, it’s still a major leap from the 13 million Triller reported in October 2019. In the meantime, the company has attracted several of its competitor’s influencers to the platform, including mega TikTok personality Charli D’Amelio.
Now, with the NYX partnership in the bag, other consumer brands could follow suit and explore a variety of creative virtual experiences on the platform.
For NYX, the project caps a year of tech initiatives that saw the brand lean more heavily than ever into in-virtual-life experiences — including a virtual music festival, several TikTok campaigns, gaming, virtual try-on on its e-commerce site, a “click and consult” service and live shopping launches on Amazon, Instagram and LiveBeat.
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