"We've worked with L'Oreal Paris for seven years," said an RGA
spokeswoman. "We look forward to an ongoing relationship."
Brigitte King, senior VP-digital marketing, e-commerce and
customer relationship management at L'Oreal, said the review
complemented a major infrastructure makeover within the luxury
group's direct-to-consumer arm, including more sophisticated
e-commerce capabilities and a new CRM database.
"It's really galvanized the organization to refocus on the
customer, and on customer data," she said. "Once
[the CRM database] happened, there was a major opportunity in
developing the right content for consumers. We needed to partner
with an agency to help us grow at the level of development we were
at."
It's a shift from the standard "batch-and-blast ad proposition,"
she added.
The agency will initially focus on a digital e-commerce strategy
for various luxury brands, as well as customized content for the
individual brands. More specifically, it will support an objective
to connect consumers, through mobile devices, to in-store
efforts.
It's not Firstborn's first dance with L'Oreal. The agency began
working with its Redken haircare brand in January. It is, however,
the first time the company has brought in a digital agency to work
toward one solution for all of its luxury brands, said Ms.
King.
"Everyone is searching for the ideal blend of commerce and
content," she said. "They were sensitized to needs of our business
and metrics and also fluent around user experience and customer
experience overall. For me, that's what sealed the deal."
The group works with Publicis Groupe's namesake creative shop
and Publicis' Atlanta-based digital shop
Moxie Interactive on media. Neither account
was affected by this review.
