Ole Henriksen is the o.g. “glow” skincare brand, that was founded in 1984 by the first celebrity facialist (and the brand’s namesake). In December 2021, the brand launched its Strength Trainer Peptide Boost Moisturizer, which quickly became a fan favorite at Sephora and a best seller on the brand’s DTC (direct-to-consumer) website. To keep this momentum going and reach new target audience’s, Ole Henriksen set its sights on a product seeding campaign.

In the article below, Eden Moscone, Influencer Lead Manager at Ole Henriksen discusses how the brand sourced new partners on YouTube in order to create a successful influencer gifting campaign.

Ole Henriksen’s Product Seeding Success Story

Narrowed Product Seeding Campaign Strategy with Platform Focus

“This product seeding campaign was a bit unique, in that we embraced a ‘less is more’ mentality. Instead of sending product out to any influencer that might be a match, we decided to focus our efforts on YouTube. We felt confident choosing this platform because we knew that YouTube content both performs well for our brand, and is often used by consumers as a ‘search engine’ for new products.” — Eden Moscone, Influencer Lead Manager at Ole Henriksen

Oftentimes product seeding campaigns can be unwieldy. Many brands go for the “more is more” approach, building giant influencer lists and sending out large batches of product. The downside of this strategy? Product seeding campaigns can lead to large amounts of waste (unused product, excess packaging, etc) and brands may not get the most out of their efforts.

This is why it’s better for your influencer gifting campaigns to have a high level of focus. In Ole Henriksen’s case, this focus came from its evaluation of social platform performance. The team decided to focus its product seeding campaign on YouTube because it knew that content performed well for the brand there, and it discovered that YouTube is often used as a “search engine” for products. This is perhaps one of the most difficult things about influencer marketing to get right: using performance and industry insights to build a strategy that is tailored for your goals. 

Tip: Consumers use different platforms for different reasons. In a recent report, Traackr found that surveyed consumers in the UK rank YouTube as their top platform for product research, but turn to Instagram when they want to purchase. 

Used Traackr to Find New Partners

“This YouTube product seeding campaign actually had both an organic and paid element to it. We included previous partners in the paid portion of the campaign, but for the organic side we used Traackr to find new influencers with strong presences on YouTube.” — Eden Moscone, Influencer Lead Manager at Ole Henriksen

Like most things in influencer marketing, this campaign was multi-faceted. In order to generate the most buzz, Eden and her team decided to include some sponsored posts alongside its organic influencer gifting. For the paid side, Eden and her team reached out to existing influencer partners. For the organic gifting side, the team utilized Traackr to find and vet new partners. More specifically the team used Traackr Studios, a feature that is specifically designed for influencer gifting campaigns and inbound recruiting. The process looked something like this:

• Identified potential partners with detailed search parameters: Using Traackr’s influencer discovery tool, Eden and her team were able to look specifically for YouTube creators that are between micro and mega tier, interested in beauty, skincare, and lifestyle, and have millennial audiences. 
• Setup a campaign page with Traackr Brand Studios: As a way to streamline their outreach and onboarding process, the team created a branded landing page that outlined the details of the gifting campaign.
• Sent campaign page to target list of influencers: Once they had their target list of influencers, they sent out their campaign page. This page also allowed influencers to “opt in” to the campaign, thereby confirming they wanted to receive the Strength Trainer Peptide Boost Moisturizer. It also asked folks to acknowledge they would be willing to post about the product on their channels (if they liked it).

Prioritized transparent influencer communication 

“Time is a precious thing for both marketers and creators. There’s nothing more frustrating than discovering that a partnership won’t work out because of a simple misunderstanding or misalignment. This is why it’s so important to be direct and clear from the get-go. What is your goal? What can they expect from the partnership? Is it a paid opp or a gifted partnership?” — Eden Moscone, Influencer Lead Manager at Ole Henriksen

Lack of clarity around payment or campaign details is a key frustration for creators. This is why Eden and her team prioritize transparent communication in order to build trust with their partners.

For this campaign specifically, they used Traackr to ensure that outreach messages were clear and consistent to all potential partners. With Traackr’s Brand Studio, they were able to:

• Send a branded campaign landing page to all potential partners. This highlighted that it was a product seeding campaign, and gave other details like the product type, timing, and expected deliverables.
• Get influencers to “opt-in”, or agree to the campaign. Folks took a short survey that asked them if they wanted to receive product, and if they were open to posting on their channels if they liked it. 
• Collect influencer information. Influencers that opted-in were then asked to share shipping information — this cut down on the amount of messages that needed to be sent back and forth. 

Ole Henriksen’s Gifting Campaign Outcome

With Traackr, Ole Henriksen was able to:

• Sourced 1,000 new YouTube creators, with a high response rate. With the help of Traackr Studio’s the team sourced 1K new YouTube influencers, and received a 24% response rate to their outreach (quite high!). Not only were these folks excited to receive the Strength Trainer Peptide Boost Moisturizer, they posted about it! 
• Improved creator communication. Feedback from influencers in this campaign was vastly positive, with many saying they liked the process. Communication and expectations were clear, with no surprises. 
• Identified key partners for long-term relationships. The sourcing of these new partners was so successful that there are even micro influencers that have signed on to help create content for Ole Henriksen’s own YouTube channel.

If you want to stay up to date on the work that the Ole Henriksen team is doing, follow them on Instagram at @olehenriksen! If you’re curious to learn more about influencer marketing best practices from other industry experts, subscribe to our newsletter.