Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Digital agency Kingdom Digital has been roped in by Malaysian beauty brand KOSÉ Malaysia to produce the “Girl Next Door” mini web series to celebrate the launch of its new SEKKISEI Clear Wellness range as well as to commemorate its 35th anniversary.
The series will be two-part and will star personalities, Alvin Chong and Jasmine Suraya Chin. The production by the agency is in collaboration with the production company Imagineers Film.
According to Edmund Lou, head of strategy at Kingdom Digital, the campaign’s objective is to educate consumers on SEKKISEI Clear Wellness’ star ingredient, ITOWA, and to demonstrate how simple, natural ingredients can be formulated to help them achieve healthy, clear, and smooth skin.
The short film tells a heart-warming love story between two neighbors, Josefine and Alvin. The story starts off with the flamboyant female lead going to great lengths to catch her love interest’s eye but her efforts were futile until she embraces the “less is more” concept.
“We decided on the ‘less is more’ concept as KOSÉ’s latest revamped range is a true personification of minimalism and simplicity. With this, we want to position KOSÉ SEKKISEI Clear Wellness as a brand that upholds the Japanese art of minimalism in both aesthetics and functionality. Working closely with the client, we selected Alvin and Jasmine as the stars of the “Girl Next Door” mini web series as these personalities’ fanbase and followers match KOSÉ’s target audience profiles – especially in terms of the Malay and younger demographics. We believe Malaysians will resonate well with this mini web series, as well as the campaign as a whole,” added Lou.
Meanwhile, Reuben Kang, founder, and filmmaker at Imagineers Film shared that their aim was to convey the agency’s “less is more” concept in a way that was relatable and engaging to KOSÉ’s target audience.
“These days we are seeing a shift towards messages of simplifying and removing unnecessary excess in our everyday lives. However, in the beauty world, this minimalistic lifestyle hasn’t exactly caught on – many young women still hold the misconception that heavy makeup is the must-have look. Through the “Girl Next Door” mini web series, we hope to translate this idea of simplicity and champion that less is, truly, more,” explained Kang.
Also, Annie Tay, marketing manager at KOSÉ Malaysia shared that the rebranding was spurred by the fact that consumers are now more conscious of products’ ingredients. This has resulted in an increase in the demand for skincare with natural ingredients.
“It was essential that we partner with an agency that understood what our brand stands for and the importance of brand-building. We are delighted to partner with Kingdom Digital who was able to seamlessly transform our objective into an entertaining and relatable web series while maintaining the essence of SEKKISEI Clear Wellness as the focal point. With the agency’s strategic approach, we will be able to engage more authentically with our audience through down-to-earth messaging and continue accelerating our online visibility,” expressed Tay.
To drive awareness and evoke consumers’ interest, the campaign will be supported by social postings along with a custom KOSÉ Instagram filter. The filter is currently live, and users can try it by clicking on the ‘Filter’ tab on KOSÉ’s Instagram. Aside from the stars of the web series, a few select influencers will also be promoting this new filter. The campaign will run from 2 October 2020 to 31 December 2020.
