A Digital Makeover for L’Oréal Paris

By Gratianne Quade, Global MBA 2015-2016, United States of America

Last month, the ESSEC Global MBA was welcomed at the L’Oréal headquarters in Paris for a tour and presentations. Frédérique Scavennec, Group VP of Talent Acquisition, opened with a presentation on the corporate campus. With finesse and humor she described the hard working company culture as well a more recent digital transformation seen across the company and brands, a transformation very much reflected in her strategy of promoting HR through social media. Scavennec emphasized the values that constitute L’Oréal’s DNA, which include responsibility, passion, the entrepreneurial spirit, and innovation. The last two of which were very much embodied in the following speaker.

It was a treat to hear international advertising veteran, Esohe Omoruyi, present on digital marketing. Currently the International Digital Development Director of L’Oréal Paris, she hails from the U.S. where she held senior digital marketing positions both in L’Oréal and the agency world.

In her presentation, Omoruyi focused on Makeup Genius, an app designed to revolutionize the process of purchasing cosmetics generally bought in drugstores. It allows users to try on makeup digitally without ever entering a store or touching a bottle. The app was developed with Hollywood-caliber facial recognition software used for CGI. The quality of the technology is immediately apparent and it is no surprise that that app has more than 7 million downloads. Omoruyi oversaw the core team that developed and launched Makeup Genius and worked closely with the L’Oréal Connected Beauty Incubator (CBI).

For some years, L’Oréal has been pushing the envelope in terms of integrating customer experience across all touch points, both on and offline.  As a part of this initiative, L’Oréal launched the U.S.-based CBI, which drives innovation and boasts an assortment of experts from data scientists, to biologists, to UX specialists.  Its first app was Makeup Genius and it showcases how digital innovations can bring service to a new level. In this case, through combining mobile technology, user customization, e-commerce, and augmented reality.

L’Oréal has made a splash in the digital advertising world especially since appointing Lubomira Rochet as the Chief Digital Officer, the first in the beauty industry to be positioned at an executive level. The move signaled L’Oréal’s strengthened commitment to being the digital leader in the beauty category. It is clearly paving the way for a more connected customer experience, and we look forward to seeing what L’Oréal’s digital team has in store for next year.

APPLY ONLINE