US brand Benefit Cosmetics is rolling out a trial Instagram campaign as part of the first round of brands to jump on board the site's local push into paid advertising.
Benefit, which aims to “be consistently disruptive,” had shied away from traditional advertising in the past, and instead has typically used social and digital media to build its audience.
A spokesman told AdNews that its Instagram campaign will be Australia specific, based on the theme “A Summer of Fun”. The campaign photoshoot took place at Watson's Bay Hotel in Sydney and Benefit worked with creative agency Wisebrownfox and photographer Jeremy Park on the creative.
Instagram unveiled its first paid Australian advert in October and is currently still in the midst of rolling out its first wave of advertisers, which includes McDonald's, Ben & Jerry's and tech brand Lenovo. Speaking to AdNews last month, Instagram Australia's Sophie Blachford said the site had not enlisted additional brands to advertise on the platform, but would continue to roll-out the campaigns of its launch advertisers over the summer.
While Instagram is still collating the results from its trial advertising campaigns, Blachford said so far, the data is very promising, adding that brands are attracted to Instagram as it gives them a platform to inspire its audience. For this reason, the site is selective about the advertisements that run on its feed, with every campaign given the tick of approval by senior staff before it runs.
Benefit, which launches its Instagram campaign today, said this ability to inspire makes Instagram “the perfect social media match for Benefit”.
“The inspirational experience that makes Instagram different from other social media platforms is ideal for Benefit's colourful, witty and pretty products,” a brand spokesman said.
“Benefit knows that social media users carefully curate their accounts to suit their individual tastes. Strict Instagram advertising rules mean that paid posts will blend seamlessly into feeds for an authentic Instagram experience.”
Australia is the third market in the world to trial Instagram adverts, following the US and the UK. Instagram launched ads into the Canadian market in November.
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