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THE LYNX EFFECT

F-COMMERCE IN 2012

This week Unilever launched its first Lynx product for women in the UK as part of its global expansion of the previously men's-only brand.

The launch of "Lynx Attract - For Him and For Her" is supported by a campaign across TV, digital, cinema, outdoor and PR. A teaser video by BBH featuring a female cop and a male robber running towards each other, showing the impact of giving the Lynx Effect to both sexes, launched online yesterday (23 Jan). The TV ad will launch on 1 February and will show the ensuing chaos brought on by both men and women wearing Lynx.



Interestingly, Lynx is also selling 100 cans exclusively through its Facebook page. This has inspired a blog post on Econsultancy highlighting 11 examples of f-commerce by brands in 2012. BrandAlley said "late last year that the success of trials using Facebook pages means that it predicts 5% of revenue to come from f-commerce in 2012". While the blog post reveals varies successes from Heinz to Burberry, we have to remember the research released last year by Havas Media that revealed 89% of Brits have never made a purchase via Facebook and half of those had no interest in doing so.

Social commerce is moving leaps and bounds since Havas launched this research in July 2011. Heinz created a Facebook app that offered a personalised and bespoke can of soup to a friend with a "Get Well Soon" message.

Those brands that also integrate video into their social campaigns will create a far more engaging experience. Adjust Your Set has worked with clients including Marks & Spencer, Thomas Pink and Debenhams to create Facebook video players with integrated click-to-buy functionality that drives customers to the specific brand product pages. Brands must look at ways to interact with their customers that cuts across multiple channels. Embedding video into Facebook reaches customers on a key social media platform, delivering rich media content that both informs and enables them to share with friends.


YouTube revealed today that it streams four billion videos every day. Social video is a key growth area in 2012 and for brands that integrate f-commerce with a rich video experience will increase not only their 'likes' but customer loyalty and sales.