Creating a Brand Universe, Celebrity Placements & IRL Moments | 111SKIN

In this episode of Connected Thinking, Liv Kerr, our Account Director, sits down with Michael Edelmann, Chief Marketing Officer at 111SKIN. With experience spanning Gucci, Vogue, Balenciaga and The Business of Fashion, Michael brings a wealth of insight into what it takes to build a luxury brand.

Loved by celebrities & beauty artists globally, 111SKIN goes beyond products, expanding its brand universe across wellness, fashion and culture. In this conversation, they chat about:

→ Building a brand that balances exclusivity and attainability
→ Expanding community through experiences and education
→ Choosing the right strategies to elevate brand perception
→ Measuring ROI on physical activations and pop ups
...and lots more!

Stay tuned for more episodes of Connected Thinking, our series of chats with standout voices from the world of marketing, where we unpack what’s trending, what’s shifting, and what’s coming next...

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Connected Thinking, our series of chats with standout voices from the world of marketing where we unpack what's trending, what's shifting, and what's coming next. I'm Liv, your host and account director at ZenConnect. Today I'm joined by Michael Edelman as 111 Skin's Chief Marketing Officer. Michael champions the brand marketing and brand vision. Based in London with an international background, he has an accumulated significant brand, agency, and media experience. At Gucci, the Business of Fashion, Vogue, Balenciaga, Dr. Barbara Sturm, Landvin, Snap, and more. Welcome, Michael. So to kick things off, at 111 Skin sits at a luxury price point, yet your marketing often focuses on building community and making the brand feel accessible. How do you balance maintaining exclusivity while still democratizing the brand?

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Liv, first of all, thanks so much for having me and the entire team at Connected Thinking. Really looking forward to today's conversation. So, yeah, when it comes to, I guess, striking the balance between exclusivity and being more attainable, I think for me it really boils down to what it means to assemble a community. And I think community is a term that gets um thrown a lot quite a bit nowadays. But I think a lot of brands and a lot of individuals still don't truly understand what it means. So essentially, a community is a group of like-minded individuals. They share similar values and similar beliefs. And I think that is really at the heart of what I'm trying to build, that one-on-one skin. So no matter the price point, I think the brands that are succeeding nowadays are brands that build a universe around themselves and they build a lifestyle so that they can assemble those communities around themselves and they create moments where these individuals want to connect with each other and they don't just want to connect with the brand, even. And I think to me, that's the most powerful way of marketing nowadays. I also feel like there are a lot of great lessons to be learned from luxury fashion and from the past. You know, that's the reason why brands like I don't know, Gucci, Tom Ford, you know, they have uh fragrances, they have eyewear, and those allow customers to buy into that dream, maybe, uh, even though the ready-to-wear or the back may not be as accessible to them. And in a similar way for us at Walmart on Skin, you know, you may not um buy the repair serum as you first purchase, but you may treat yourself to an eye mask or to a cleanser, which is just that little bit more attainable and still makes you feel part of our universe and still makes you feel good about yourself.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

I think it's so interesting because more and more we're seeing not just, you know, brands, but the audiences, they want to be in touch with the brands that they love in real life. As you say, they want to be a part of the universe. What does the one-on-one skin universe look like to you?

SPEAKER_00 3:08

The universe of one-on-one skin um at its core is definitely beauty and wellness. Um, but I also love uh to connect with um fashion. Um, one on one skin has long-standing relationships with luxury fashion brands um by virtue of you know being backstage, preparing the models for um fashion shows, but also by virtue of working really, really closely with makeup artists. So for us, the makeup artist community, um, you know, are our influencers in a way, you know, they are tastemakers, um, they are super powerful, they're gatekeepers because they work with incredible clients and through these makeup artists, we get this exposure, you know, to these celebrities, A-listers. And then on the other hand, um, we also tend to lean quite a bit into fitness and well-being. Um, so we've worked on a lot of exciting partnerships with Aloyoga, for example, where we activate together. Um, there's a fantastic brand called Revive. They uh do IB drips and I am shots, and that really allows us to build a more holistic world where well-being includes skincare, but it includes also, you know, longevity and um, yeah, other elements.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

You know, I just want to go back to your point on A-list celebrities. It's no secret that 111's skin is beloved by, you know, celebrities we see in the massive mainstream points, Harry Styles, Charlie XX, just to name a few. How do you build that into your marketing strategy?

SPEAKER_00 4:48

So I think to the external world, it always looks like um we are working with a lot of endorsement deals and huge marketing budgets. But the reality is we are just blessed with working with a fantastic product. So ultimately, you know, it's the product that travels. You know, Tom Ford once said that you can have the best marketing, but if your, you know, product isn't great, no one will ever repurchase it. So for us, you know, as I mentioned earlier, having these makeup artists that maybe slip an eye mask into a celebrity's bag or they put it on while they, you know, are in glam. Um, you know, that's how, you know, we ended up having Harry Styles wear our black diamond eye mask on an Instagram post announcing his new single. So that's the most powerful way of marketing and the most powerful way of influence. And I think, you know, it just feels that much more genuine. I think nowadays everyone is so cognizant of like the hashtag ad or the hashtag sponsored. And um, if you have a fantastic product, you don't really need to rely on that uh that much.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

I was actually watching a Netflix show recently called Vladimir, and One One One Skin is featured. Is that was that an organic mention or was that teed up?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Again, completely organic mention. Um, the makeup artist working on the show lost our product. And you know, again, very often these makeup artists are incredible influencers. They speak with the producers and directors of the show. And, you know, if in the storyline there is this moment where, you know, skincare plays a role, that's then, you know, how a moment like this can come to fruition, essentially. So yeah, that wasn't any form of like paid product placement.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

And how when you see those organic moments, how do you use them? How do you take them further?

SPEAKER_00 6:54

So um that's definitely where marketing comes in because um we can really amplify that story beyond, you know, that show moment or like that celebrities account. So it's then really up to you know our team to um message it out um far and wide. So we do rely on our organic social media channels, on our email, on our website. Um, we work really closely with present media as well uh to get the news out there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

I mean, as you've just described, beauty is so much more than just beauty. It's a real, you know, universe, as you say. And we're seeing that wellness is evolving far beyond the products for brands. Experiences like masterclass treatments and educational events are becoming a part of the brand world. How do you see the brand expanding its role into the broader wellness ecosystem to build that brand loyalty?

SPEAKER_00 7:50

I think experiences are really at the forefront of what is driving consumerism nowadays, um, even when it ties into product purchases. So a lot of discovery still happens in store, and they are incredible experiences that we bring to life through, you know, skin consultations. We have fantastic skin scanning devices that allow us to tailor routine. Um, you know, we put on eye masks on someone in-store, but also um we do work with more than 105-star um hotel partners. So you can find one's skin in some of the most prestigious hotels like Mandarin Oriental, Amman, Four Seasons. Customers can really immerse themselves in the brand. So they can get facials, they can get body treatments, and I think that's really where you feel at the core of our brand. Um, because you're getting a fantastic service, but also you leave with visible results. So you get the benefits of all worlds, and then again, we're always looking at how we can enhance those experiences. So at the moment, we're working on a really exciting project involving music, because you know, music from a scientific point of view actually has a lot of um benefits and can drive our emotions. So, do you want to feel energized after a facial or do you want to feel relaxed, right? And music can play a big role in that quite similarly, uh, based on the partnerships I mentioned earlier. You know, we worked with um Allo on an event where, you know, there were there was an ice bath involved, there was, you know, a heat treatment involved, uh, we worked with Revive to, you know, um offer IB trips. And so I think all of these experiences champion uh beauty and wellness in a super experiential way.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

I mean, I relate to that point about the customer experience so much. One of my first jobs was actually selling 111 skin at Mecca in New Zealand. Um, and you know, when customers get that tactile experience and they get to touch, feel, smell, experience the products, you know, it really that's how you build that brand loyalty. You know, ultimately we're seeing consumers increasingly become so much more aware of ingredients, so much more aware of the power of a product, as you say. How do you sort of translate, you know, the joy, the unique emotions of those in real life experiences to your digital strategy?

SPEAKER_00 10:27

First of all, I love hearing that, you know, you were working on the shop floor, and that's how you first came across our brand. I think to me, you know, there's still so much power in physical retail. A lot of discovery still happens in store, actually. And um, we invest a lot of time and resources in education. We always um try to translate any physical activation um into the digital world. Um, our core customer is incredibly um digitally connected, but also travels a lot. Um, so when we uh are activating in London, for example, last year during the summer, we had a fantastic pop-up activation where uh we took a vintage repairs van um around town. Um we sampled our products, um, but we also found ways to let the customer in New York, in Shanghai, to feel part of that. And we did that uh by working um with influencers, for example. So they got to experience that pop-up and translate it to their audiences. But it's also about how can you create moments that naturally encourage anyone, um, you know, a passerby, uh, to capture that and to message it out to their followers. So in the case of the repairs van, you know, we almost had these mini flash mobs where models would, you know, water the plants and they would clean the streets, because our idea was really to dial up anything that has to do with repairs, because our best seller, the product that launched the brand, is called the Repair Serum. So it was really about, you know, um messaging that out. And that was the case because even someone who had never heard of One Skim, but was passing by in that moment, they were obviously very curious what's going on. Uh, they were taking snaps. So um, yeah, we always think about how you can create in real life experiences that allow customers um to engage and uh to help us amplify it. And obviously, we amplify it virtually speaking on our end as well. We're in the process of building a really incredible um loyalty community. Um, we call them the one piece, one because 111 is is part of our brand name. And um, you know, even there we're thinking through, you know, no matter if someone is based in Dallas or Edinburgh, you know, how can we get them involved? So maybe it's not a physical masterclass at Harrods, but maybe it's a virtual masterclass with Eva and Dr. Yanis, our co-founder. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Fantastic. I mean, you mentioned um your founders, co-founders. Um, you have a really interesting, I suppose, unique perspective having a founder that is a doctor, triple board certified, no less. How does that shape um the way the brand communicates compared to more traditional beauty brands?

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Yeah, it's such a blessing, to be honest, um, based on what I was saying in the beginning. If you're trying to create a brand universe, if you're trying to assemble a community, um individuals nowadays they want to connect with humans. Um, they want to know who's behind a brand. And so for us, Dr. Yannis and Eva are the most powerful influencers in the world because they bring such an element of credibility and trust. You know, Dr. Yannis day in, day out, works with his patients at Womo on Harley Street, which is his clinic here in London. And in fact, you know, that feedback loop of the conversations he's having with patients, the concerns he comes across each day informs our product development process. So each product is born out of a real patient need, you know, we don't just sit there looking at market trends, analyzing, you know, what could be the next big category. No, it's really driven by what are customers looking for and how can we help them, which I think also is a really important point of difference. Dr. Yannis didn't set out to launch a global skincare brand. He simply wanted to help his patients. And I mean, what a like powerful way to, you know, help essentially patients around the globe, because I try to treat each customer as an extension of our patient community here in London. You know, each customer deserves care. I want to make sure, you know, they make the most out of their skin, essentially.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Are there moments with having a medical founder that allows you to approach content differently? You know, that might be through education or influencer collaborations, um, you know, per se against other luxury brands.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Yeah, absolutely. I think um it really allows us to bring the founders front and center and use them as a as the voice of the brand, bringing that education, bringing insights on ingredients, and um at the same time also, you know, creating that lifestyle around the brand. Um, that's for example, where Eva comes in. She's really the voice of our customer. Um, you know, she rigorously tests the formulation, helps to improve them, and she can really share that journey online as well, which is um just super authentic at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

I love watching her present behind the scenes content. You know, she's going from the office to family time to the clinic to Harrods, like um, you know, it's such a joy to watch. Um, you know, I think, you know, as you said, they all they're ultimately your star influences. How does that play into your influencer strategy otherwise?

SPEAKER_00 16:44

They definitely sit at the core of our influencer strategy in a way, and then around that we build um other KOLs um, as in key opinion leaders that are experts in their field. I think we should really question nowadays like what does influence mean? Um for me, influence means that someone brings trust and credibility and can really speak um in a credible way to a product or a service, for example. So for us, as I mentioned earlier, that can include makeup artists, um, it includes also stylists, um, it includes um models, or it includes, you know, experts in wellness and fitness. They bring an element of uh credibility that really aligns with our scientific backing, but also the universe we're trying to create.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

I mean, you know, as we know, creators are cultural translators. There's no one that knows their audience better and what they need and what they're after and what they're attuned to than creators. Um, you know, we find that across the board working with influencers, that the more strict we are with, you know, a brief, the less, you know, success you get at the end of the day. So yeah, totally aligned there. As a luxury brand, uh, breaking into the right retail environment is critical. What factors do you consider when deciding what retail spaces or partners are the right fit for one-on-one skin?

SPEAKER_00 18:21

Always coming back to where's our customer. So we're quite clear on who our target customer is and how we want to reach them. So really understanding the nitty-gritty of a retailer's demographic, you know, where's the store located, uh, who comes through the door, also thinking again about what is your objective. Because um primarily with stores, you know, people still think about conversion as in the transaction concluding in the store. But some stores are really just serving a purpose of discovery. Um, so there you need to think about okay, how can I make the most out of creating awareness for our brand? How can I create a retail theater in a way where they feel engaged? And then they might come to our website to transact, they might go through Amazon or another online retailer. So always I would summarize it as always think about your objective and also um the type of customer you're trying to attract.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

What's your favorite 111 skin product?

SPEAKER_00 19:33

My favorite one-one skin product is the Repair Serum, which is um the product that launched the brand in 2012. Um, it's still our uh global award-winning bestseller for a reason. So I use it day in, day out.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

That's my favorite product too. Just some quick fire questions. Uh, what is your favorite book or podcast you'd recommend?

SPEAKER_00 19:55

It's a fantastic podcast called The Cutting Room Floor. Um, and I would actually recommend anyone watching this to listen to uh watch actually one of the latest episodes featuring Rachel Mondi, who is the um host. Uh, she's a fashion designer, um, but also really critical thinker. And she's, you know, interviewed Gwyneth Paltrow and many others in yeah, a very uh fascinating fashion.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

It's going straight on the list. Uh best piece of advice you've ever received.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

It would be uh we don't know what we don't know. And that is a piece of advice uh one of my friends' mentors, and when I was receiving that advice, also clients um gave to me. Um her name is Shanade Berg, she's a fantastic um advocate for uh disability inclusion. We don't know what we don't know, always encourages me to be uh curious about the world, to never make any assumptions. You know, if you've been working in an industry for many years, you can easily become a little bit of a know it all. But the world is moving so quickly, it's constantly evolving. So really uh encouraging myself to constantly listen and observe.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

Thank you so much, Michael, uh, for joining us at Connected Thinking today.

SPEAKER_00 21:34

Thanks so much for having me. I love the conversation.