How Revlon passed for an Aussie brand
Global brands are constantly searching for local relevance, but many miss the mark. Revlon, however, has nailed localisation so well one creator has admitted she thought it was an Australian brand.
Speaking on a panel moderated by Spark Foundry’s Josh Green at the Mumbrella Retail Marketing Summit on Wednesday, Revlon ANZ’s marketing director Amy Kingon Smith said the brand has worked hard to gain local relevance, through many avenues – local ambassadorships, product development specifically for Australians, or supporting Australian causes, for example.
Despite being headquartered in New York, Revlon is one of Australia’s top mass beauty brands. Kingon Smith said that the global team understands this success only comes by prioritising local nuances.
“They come out here and often can’t believe how different it is,” she said. “Like what they would call the drug store environment in the US, we call the pharmacy and grocery landscape. They appreciate just how beautiful our stores are here, not just for the Revlon brand but overall the climate of the beauty landscape. It’s really progressive here, and certainly challenging the US.”
Amy Kingon Smith and Lucy Neville
So, often global assets are “very much welcomed” in Australia, but the local team will then work through thosse, adopting “local tweaks” to ensure the brand resonates here.
“If we’re doing a TVC, it’ll be global. Website assets will be global. But then it comes down to the launch cadence and the practical considerations.”
One way Revlon’s global assets are brought to life locally is by using Australian brand ambassadors, people who the audience know and love. Most recently, Revlon has used Australian singer Delta Goodrem.
“It makes sense that we’re using her. We think about what the local ambassador moments will be versus the global, and someone like Delta resonates with our audience more highly. We have to remember it always comes back to the consumer and what they want, who they see themselves in.”
The brand has supported Australian causes, like drought relief and climate action, and has also launched products tailored to the local audience.
One product range, Revlon Illuminance, was designed for the harsh Australian sun. Content creator Lucy Neville, who is also a Revlon ambassador, said doing these local launches is crucial to make the audience feel appreciated and important.
“When brands create products specific to the Australian audience, I think it’s really smart. Revlon’s Illuminance tackles one of the biggest issues for makeup wearers — sweating under the Australian sun — and that was only possibly because they understood the local nuance.”
Neville said that growing up, she thought Revlon was an Australian brand.
“I didn’t realise it was an American brand until beauty superstores like Mecca began opening up.”
On the flip side, global brands can often make mistakes when attempting to create local relatability. Neville said some of the biggest mistakes come from brands not trusting the expertise of local content creators.
“If you’re a global brand, I think it’s really important to get to know the creator, look at their content, see the audience engagement, and go ‘okay, this is what works really well’,” she said.
“Obviously there is a need to meet in the middle of making sure the creator understands the brand message and how that can translate to their audience, but we’re so lucky to have so many creators with different approaches that can build a brand’s audience.
“Plus, as Amy touched on, there are huge differences when it comes to appetites from audiences locally versus globally,” she said.
“And the only way you can really resonate locally, is by engaging with local creators.”
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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Amy Kingon Smith
Josh Green
Lucy Neville
Mumbrella Retail Marketing Summit
retail marketing
Retail Marketing Summit
Revlon
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