The objective of this campaign was to announce Hourglass' goal to go completely vegan by 2020, aligning with its existing 100% cruelty-free commitment and dedication to protecting animal rights. In addition, as a cruelty-free brand, the goal was to announce that Hourglass Cosmetics is a proud partner of the Nonhuman Rights Project, the only civil rights organization in the United States working to secure legally recognized fundamental rights for animals. Inspired by emerging technologies and a growing demand for vegan products, the campaign was meant to spark a movement of beauty professionals that support replacing animal-derived ingredients as a new, industry-wide standard.
Hourglass Cosmetics used November 1, "World Vegan Day," as a platform to announce its goal to formulate 100% vegan products by the year 2020, as well as the launch of its vegan leather clutch created to support the Nonhuman Rights Project.
On November 1, Hourglass Cosmetics began posting a series of 9 animal-inspired images on its Instagram to share the news with followers. The images included a polar bear, elephant, giraffe and a variety of other animals centered above the vegan leather clutch or marching in front of it to represent the brand's partnership with the Nonhuman Rights Project and vegan by 2020 goal. Images also included a quote from the founder of the Nonhuman Rights Project, Steven Wise, and a statement in bold from Hourglass that as a cruelty-free brand, they are proud to announce their goal of being 100% vegan by 2020. In response, media, influencers, and customers applauded the brand's effort and shared positive sentiments both online and via social.
The campaign resulted in earned media coverage in more than 50 global outlets (US, UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, France, Philippines) in less than a week, including Vogue, Glamour, Allure, Huffington Post, Glossy, Elle, Marie Claire, MSN, and Refinery29.
Social content (9 total Instagram posts) announcing Hourglass' commitment to becoming 100% vegan by 2020 resulted in an overall increase in engagement, including 2.5M+ total organic reach, 35,237 total likes and 1,031 total comments.
On World Vegan Day, "vegan" was the #1 searched category on the Hourglass website, the vegan leather bag was the #1 product page and the brand experienced the highest spike in sessions since the launch of its metallic strobe and confession set in September 2017.
