Why SK-II is Well-Loved by Women Globally

I recently attended the Digital Publishing Innovation Summit in Singapore, where more than 20 keynote speakers shared their insights on content creation for the new digital age. I had a fruitful session at the summit, with speakers from Skyscanner, Mashable Asia and Marina Bay Sands, etc. sharing with us their successful content and media strategies. Content is appearing everywhere in your email inbox, social media pages and even your old-school letter box, vying for your 10-second worth of attention.

So what makes a good content? As I was going through a list of press releases on en.prnasia.com the other day, SK-II’s release on their “Dream Again | SK-II #changedestiny” campaign caught my eye.

Together with some key takeaways I learnt from the summit, let’s find out why SK-II is a good storyteller.

1) Be authentic

During the summit, I came across speakers from Skyscanner and Clozette who stressed the importance of being truthful to your customers. Authenticity is the way to go when it comes to building trust and confidence among customers.  To do so, your story must be in-line with your brand value and company vision. The proliferation of social media has made it easy for customers to review your brand online and offline. Over promising your customers may work well at first, but as time passes, and the truth unfolds, they will shun away from your brand, and also spread negative comments to their network of friends, thus affecting your brand equity in the long run.

SK-II has always been under the spotlight for premium skincare. Due to its unwavering commitment for creating quality products using The Secret Ingredient, SK-II has become the trusted skincare brand among women globally.  It resonates with its female customers not only in the area of skincare but also in other aspects of women’s lives.

2) Humanize your brand using stories

Storytelling comes into play when customers want to know more about your brand. SK-II could have just talked about the endless skincare benefits of using its popular facial treatment essence. However, pure explanation of the benefits does not really work well in this content-cluttered era. Daniel Yong from Marina Bay Sands shared during the summit that readers crave for contents that are infused with personalities and emotions. Brands should improve their storytelling tactics by infusing emotions together with relatable real-life experiences to make their stories come to live.

For its latest “Dream Again | SK-II #changedestiny” campaign, SK-II has again won the top spot for tugging at the heartstrings of its females-including myself-because it reminds women that happiness lies in their hands. This campaign was inspired by the Global Dream Index Survey conducted by SK-II. The survey results showed that half the world’s female population have given up on their dreams and are not satisfied with their current lives. With this in mind, the storytellers of SK-II went on a mission to get young kids to encourage women of all ages to never give up on their dreams. This heartwarming video can be viewed here. SK-II’s “Dream Again” story carries a powerful message to all women all across the world to do things that make themselves happy.

3) Social listening for better content strategy

Social listening can uncover key topics in online conversations, making your content even more interesting. Good storytellers pay close attention to social issues and trending topics that matter to their target audience. Victoria Ho from Mashable Asia mentioned during the summit that the digital generation cares about social issues and causes. This is one of the reasons why Mashable Asia’s content resonates well with its internet-savvy readers.

Women’s rights has always been one of the social issues being discussed on social media, and SK-II has done a pretty good job in positioning itself as an Asian skincare leader as well as an advocate for women’s empowerment.  When “Dream Again | SK-II #changedestiny” campaign was launched in June 2016, “Change Destiny” and “Dream Again” have become the trending topics on social media in Asia. A good and memorable story will lead to your readers talking about your brand online and offline.

Read SK-II’s release on trending topics for “Dream Again”

 4) Localize, localize, localize!

Localizing your content to suit the needs of your customers shows that you truly care for them. At the summit, Sushmita Mohapatra from Skyscanner shared some examples on how she localizes the content for each of the markets. Examples include consolidating travel tips for Korean students who are keen to embark on a Europe trip as well as recommending travel destinations for empty nesters in the United Kingdom.

SK-II launched “Dream Again | SK-II #changedestiny” campaign in 10 cities, from the Great Wall of China in Beijing to Seoul’s iconic Gangnam and New York’s magical Madison Square Park. As every market is different, the execution of the campaign was done differently in each city.

In New York City, children surprised adults by approaching them in Madison Square Park where they counselled them to dream big. Local Influencers like Olivia Palermo, Danielle Bernstein and Arielle Nachmani also shared their dreams and encouraged women to dream big.

In Singapore, the campaign was executed in the heart of the city where young kids spoke to women on their dreams. After which, each woman was given a coffee tumbler with her dream printed on it – a constant reminder to dream big!

Read SK-II’s release on how “Dream Again” campaign was executed in different cities

5) Refine your dissemination channels

The next step after creating a good story is to amplify it. Many brands are disseminating their content via social media channels and social hashtags. To reach out to a wider base and create more buzz, getting influencers with a strong base of followers to tell your story (engage those who are a firm believer of your brand) can elevate your brand status and build more trust in your brand. Besides international celebrities who are fans of SK-II’s skincare products, SK-II is also actively reaching out to locals who resonate well with their customers. Chriselle Lim, a YouTube Star and Fashion Expert, Priscilla Shunmugam, a Singaporean Fashion Designer, and Lin Ching Lan, a Taiwanese Professional Dancer are some of the faces of SK-II.

Another reason why SK-II’s storytelling strategy is a huge success is partly due to the use of press release distribution that reaches out to thousands of journalists globally who will spread the heartwarming story to their readers.

Read SK-II’s release on engaging beauty influencers to talk about Oscars

After reading this post, I hope you are inspired to refine your storytelling strategy. If you want to learn more about engaging your target audience with your brand stories, download our eBook: 10 Tips to Leverage the Power of Storytelling now. You may also want to tune in to our webinar on July 29 on how to write quality press releases that ensure media pickups. Register now!