How to Get Beauty PR Right in Africa

In 2013, the remit clients gave to Bola Balogun, the founder of Nigeria-based PR agency Glam Brand Networks, was usually small.

“[Brands] were just doing adverts at the mall or inside of Essenza [a beauty retailer in Nigeria],” recalled Balogun. “Nobody was connecting to the audience on an international level.”

Now, that’s all changing. Over the past ten years, global prestige beauty brands like MAC Cosmetics and Tom Ford have ramped up their presence in Africa, building distribution networks, selecting retail partners and forming local subsidiaries. Now, the market is showing its readiness for more premium players, global brands are ready to make their presence felt, and shifting their focus towards finding the right PR partners.

“These are brands that would have been scared to launch [in Africa], but they’ve seen years and years of work that we’ve done,” said Balogun, whose agency has worked with the likes of Hermès and Paco Rabanne.

The growing appetite for international beauty products is awakening brands, many of whom have had a small presence in the market for years but never engaged with local consumers. This increased interest in the continent is now being reflected in higher marketing budgets, as well as creative teams dedicated to Africa, said Lena Gnininvi, a marketing manager of luxury cosmetics across West and Central Africa.

Earlier this month, Ivorian beauty retailer Zino held an intimate cocktail event in-store to launch Givenchy’s new Gentlemen Society Ambrée fragrance; in February, Hermès Beauty held its first private event in Lagos, Nigeria, to celebrate the launch of its fragrance, Barénia. The exclusive event brought together some of the biggest and buzziest names in the city, including beauty and lifestyle influencers Diana Eneje and Powede Awujo, and Nollywood actress Idia Aisien.

South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are the leading beauty markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to research firm Euromonitor. Yet, efforts to engage with African consumers have been minimal. The beauty and personal care market in the Middle East and Africa is forecasted to grow 14.9 per cent this year, and is expected to hit $48 million.

With distribution under control, beauty giants are now focusing on enhancing their marketing and PR strategies. However, brands are struggling to get it right, as many fail to adapt the marketing playbook to the market, but local PR agencies and consultants are stepping up to help brands create successful marketing activations that drive sales and boost brand awareness among a new generation of beauty consumers in Africa.

“You cannot pick [an idea] from Europe and think it’s going to work in Africa,” said Nuel Bans, founder of the Ghanaian marketing and PR agency Debonair Afrik, which has worked with beauty brands such as Elizabeth Arden and Kering Beauté’s Creed. “Our consumer behaviour is different from European consumers,” Bans said.

A Localised Strategy

Brands often fall short of market expectations when they do not tailor their strategies to the local market. While it may seem daunting for brands who lack centralised knowledge of a particular market to outsource so much decision-making power, the expertise of local PR agencies and consultants is key to creating a winning strategy.

One of the biggest mistakes international brands make when entering the African market is not localising their strategies, said Gina Mosley-Groenewald, co-founder of South Africa PR agency Sinnanon. “What lands overseas doesn’t land here with our consumers. We need to be as authentic as possible to the South African market,” she said.

“You cannot lead Africa without being in Africa,”

—  Issima Oniangué, L’Oréal’s general manager for makeup and inter-beauty brands of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Brands shouldn’t try to control the granular details such as guest lists or influencers, she added. “They really need to lean into their local partners like us, and trust that we understand the brand and how it translates locally,” Mosley-Groenewald said, adding that local agencies can better curate a guest list that’s both on brand but representative of the cultures we have here.

Localisation has helped French beauty conglomerate L’Oréal enter the beauty market in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2021, the beauty giant split up its MEA division and formed a local team in South Africa. “You cannot lead Africa without being in Africa,” said Issima Oniangué, L’Oréal’s general manager for makeup and interbeauty brands of Sub-Saharan Africa. “That’s the mistake L’Oréal [made over] the past 10 years before building this zone [in South Africa].” As well as having a local team, it also partners with local PR companies and consultants in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

Brands may also need to reevaluate their desire for uniformity across all markets. Challenges can arise in the small details, Bans said, recalling a brand that had provided him with guidelines for an event that included a cocktail made with cherries. “Do you know how much a cherry costs here [in Ghana]?” he said, noting that the fruit is not native to the country and therefore imported and sold at an inflated price. Leveraging the expertise and market knowledge from local talent can help ensure every dollar of marketing spend is more used judiciously, he said.

An Experiential Affair

Whether it’s an educational masterclass or a pyjama party at a luxury hotel, African consumers want a unique and memorable event. “We are very experience-driven here, so you have to lead with experiences,” said Ijeoma Balogun, founder and chief executive of Redrick PR, which works with Lancôme, Armani Beauté and Ralph Lauren. In March, it launched Lancôme Cafe, a week-long Mother’s Day pop-up that blended the culinary experience with beauty, allowing consumers to get limited edition hot drinks and shop Lancôme products.

In December, YSL Beauté held a buzzy activation in Lagos to celebrate its launch in the market. “It was a whole Lagos party,” said luxury brand consultant Tanya Rupani, adding that the brand tapped into the African consumers’ love for music by having popular Afrobeats musician Fireboy perform.

But that strategy doesn’t work for every brand. A vibrant party would not work for niche perfume clients, said Rupani, as they usually prefer to create intimate events for VIP clients. Rupani hints that an upcoming private event with the UK-based luxury perfume brand Clive Christian will create a sensory dining experience. Strengthening the brand’s relationship with its top clients has a direct impact on sales. “Because [Clive Christian has been] nurturing the VIP clients here, we have people from Nigeria who spend [thousands of pounds] on their absolute perfume from their private collection,” she said.

For brands, the goal is always to boost sales and generate a return on investment – both in the long and short term, said L’Oréal’s Oniangué. This means an activation can lead to a product selling out immediately or increase visibility and credibility among consumers, ensuring the brand is top-of-mind for their next purchase.

There’s a cultural renaissance happening that brands don’t want to miss out on, said Sade Teyibo, founder of Fola PR, who established her agency after working 14 years in the luxury industry, including stints at Kering, Net-a-Porter and Farfetch. Teyibo said that brands need to allocate generously for their marketing budget for Africa, and ensure there’s a budget for each region, not the continent as a whole. “We’re not a market that [brands] should be scared of,” she said.

While brands are increasing their investment in the market, spending alone is not enough: any efforts need to be highly curated and engaging, Balogun said.

“Don’t come and give us anything that is less than the global standard just because we’re in Africa … give us something that is qualitative and unique,” said Balogun.

Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your must-read source for the day’s most important beauty and wellness news and analysis.