Estée Lauder: Leveraging the Power of Social Proof
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Summary of case study
The peak gifting season had always been a fiercely competitive battleground for beauty brands, and Estée Lauder found itself in a challenging position. Rivals with larger budgets, like Look Fantastic, were outspending them at every turn, bombarding audiences with aggressive promotions that left little room for traditional advertising strategies to make an impact.
Breaking through this noise and capturing consumer attention required a radical shift—one that would not just compete but redefine how beauty brands engaged shoppers.
The breakthrough came in the form of real-time trend intelligence and dynamic ad personalization.
By integrating Google Merchant Centre data with Spirable’s ad tech platform, Estée Lauder harnessed live insights into trending products and seamlessly incorporated them into its advertising in real time. This meant that as soon as a product gained traction, it was instantly showcased to shoppers, enhanced with “most wished for” messaging to create a sense of urgency and desirability.
The result was a campaign that not only captured attention but also influenced impulse-driven purchases at a scale never seen before. The impact was undeniable—16% higher return on ad spend and a 17% reduction in cost per acquisition, proving that when beauty meets technology, remarkable things happen.
Solution
Rather than relying on static ads, Estée Lauder took a dynamic approach, fusing real-time product trends with personalized messaging. The brand partnered with Spirable to build a first-of-its-kind integration between Google Merchant Centre and Spirable’s ad tech platform, creating a fully automated system that would track live shopping behaviors and instantly reflect them in social advertising.
This meant that as soon as a product surged in popularity, Estée Lauder’s ads automatically updated to reflect that demand, reinforcing it with urgency-driven social proof messaging.
This was not just about keeping up with trends—it was about owning them. By making trending products the centerpiece of the campaign and layering in “most wished for” messaging, Estée Lauder positioned itself as the go-to choice for shoppers looking for the season’s must-have beauty items.
To ensure maximum reach and efficiency, the campaign ran across Meta’s Advantage+ environment, allowing for real-time optimizations and A/B testing that fine-tuned the strategy at every stage.
The Execution: The integration of real-time data was the beating heart of this campaign. Every time Google Merchant Centre detected a product trend, Spirable’s platform dynamically updated Estée Lauder’s ad creative, ensuring that the most relevant, high-demand products were always front and center.
The messaging reinforced urgency, leveraging social proof elements to tap into consumers’ impulse-buying instincts.
Rather than deploying ads in a vacuum, Estée Lauder ensured that every touchpoint was interconnected. Across Meta’s AI-driven Advantage+ placements, the campaign adapted in real time, responding to shifts in demand and maximizing reach with unparalleled efficiency.
This wasn’t just another seasonal push—it was a fully responsive, data-driven ecosystem designed to deliver results at the highest possible level.
The Results: The numbers spoke for themselves. Compared to standard Meta Advantage+ ads, the campaign achieved a 16% increase in return on ad spend and a 17% reduction in cost per acquisition.
More than just an improvement in performance, these results proved that real-time data and social proof messaging could completely redefine how beauty brands approached the holiday season.
With its ability to merge live consumer behavior with automated creative optimization, this campaign wasn’t just a win for Estée Lauder—it set a new industry benchmark for data-driven beauty advertising. As the results rolled in, one thing became clear: the future of beauty marketing wasn’t about following trends. It was about creating them.
"It was great to reap the benefits of this innovative campaign. This tech allowed the Estée Lauder brand to overlay trending keywords on our product catalogue during the gifting season. We were delighted with the impact on the results.”
- Val Del Castillo
