Curology is a dermatologist-founded and led skincare provider that's helped millions of people work toward their skin goals using personalized prescription formulas. They were ready to reach a new network of potential customers on TikTok to spotlight their Emergency Spot Patches in a way that natively engaged audiences.
And because Curology is different from other skincare providers, offering Direct To Consumer one on one skin care from licensed dermatologists, they needed a campaign that was different, too. On TikTok, skincare enthusiasts flock to popular hashtag #skintok to get a dose of the latest trends, making that space crowded with tons of similar influencers and content. But Curology hoped to reach a new, unaware, and much larger audience beyond skincare enthusiasts by launching “The Curology Emergency Spot Patch Hotline'' campaign – a comedic, entertainment influencer-driven effort to bring some breakthrough fun to the skincare conversation.
THE STRATEGY
We needed to reach a new young audience beyond the folks already following the #skintok hordes. And capture attention for a new product ideally designed for immediate skin care needs. Before even thinking about brand integration, we leaned into what works on social: humor, creativity, and entertainers who know what their audience loves.
The solution was tapping four talented sketch comedy creators, all mid-tier to macro influencers, to act as operators for “The Curology Emergency Spot Patch Hotline”, dishing out skincare and product information without taking it too seriously. Influencers created and starred in skit videos featuring a hotline operator and a caller dealing with an over-the-top skincare crisis... and (fun) chaos ensued!
THE CONTENT & TACTICS
Each influencer used their own unique style and experiences to produce entertaining skits, poking fun at exaggerated skincare crises, and raising brand awareness without in-your-face product pushes, overused GRWM videos, or tired skincare routines. Curology wanted to go beyond the #skintok space on TikTok, gaining name recognition with GenZ in a creative, subtly branded way.
All videos opened their hotline conversations with the tagline, “Curology’s Emergency Spot Patch Hotline, what’s your skincare crisis?”. This campaign went against the grain and was successful at not only highlighting the benefits of Curology products, but also creating lasting impressions on viewers of the relatability of having specific skin care needs - all ultimately driving positive brand sentiment.
While the content was natively built for TikTok, influencers also reposted content to Instagram Reels. Paid usage was negotiated into all influencer contracts, enabling Curology to bolster top organic performing content with paid boosting on TikTok to drive higher reach and engagement.
Bringing the humor to a self-serious category blew up engagement rates on TikTok. Standouts included a TikTok post from popular influencer Maya Pitts that produced an outstanding engagement rate by reviving her hilariously surly recurring character Marcus to dish out skincare advice as a surprisingly adept hotline operator. Josiah Schneider’s TikTok content was similarly successful, with an excessively intense storyline that pushed an urgent skincare crisis to new comedic heights. Both outshined typical influencer engagement rates, earning 18X and 15X industry averages, respectively.
More importantly, though, Curology saw comments like: “This is how I want to get all ads from now on” “This was so good I didn’t realize it was an ad til the end!” and “This was so good, now I wanna buy some Curology,” delivering on the objective of breaking outside #SkinTok and creating positive sentiment and association for the brand.
