BACKGROUND
Sephora wanted to launch its first Canadian campaign for its Colour iQ Shade Matching Technology. Even with Canada’s diverse population, many Canadians feel unseen by the beauty industry – and most struggle to find makeup for their skin tone. With Colour iQ’s advanced tone-matching capabilities, Sephora could address that gap.

Colour iQ is not only a major leap forward in the beauty industry, but also a highly technical one. This quickly framed our challenge: How could we drive awareness of a technical product in an emotional, buzzworthy way to connect with Canadian consumers and align with Sephora’s higher-level beliefs about beauty?

Building on the brand’s belief that beauty thrives in diversity, the campaign was built around the insight that the uniqueness of your skin tone is a defining part of your beauty. We set out to show Canadians that we think every shade of skin is beautiful and that the diversity of Canada is something to celebrate.

IDEA
In the time that Colour iQ had been available in Canada, hundreds of thousands of Canadians had used the tool, resulting in over 140,000 totally unique skin shades. We thought that the only thing more beautiful than each individual Canadian’s skin tone, is all of our skin tones together.

An immersive installation, Illumination powered by Colour iQ, was launched in one of Canada’s highest-traffic areas: Yorkville, Toronto. With a high concentration of museums, galleries, and restaurants, it was the perfect destination for a week-long event that showcased Colour iQ’s capabilities as art.

Our data-driven, interactive experience showcased over 140,000 Canadian colour matches. The data points responded to visitors’ hand motions and movement and triggered unique visual and sound design. After completing the experience, visitors could discover their own unique shade on-site with the help of Sephora Beauty Advisors.

RESULTS
Sephora Bloor, the store closest to the activation site, experienced a 174% increase in Colour iQ scans in the three weeks after the campaign.

Nationally, there has been a 60% increase in scans since launch.

Illumination brought new people into Sephora, with a 13% lift in registrations for Sephora’s Beauty Insider loyalty program, demonstrating that the celebration of individual beauty can drive business and inclusion simultaneously.

The campaign has garnered over 23 million earned impressions to date across news, fashion, and entertainment media.