THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!
From the 2nd Annual Shorty Social Good Awards

Benefit Cosmetics' Bold is Beautiful Project

Finalist in Fashion, Beauty & Luxury, Consumer Brand

Objectives

Since 1976, Benefit has been in the business of making women LOOK and FEEL their best! Benefit has always believed that beauty runs deeper than the surface and that women are at their most beautiful when they are bold, confident, and empowered.

As a billion dollar global cosmetics brand, Benefit searched for ways to make a deeper and more lasting change in the lives of women and girls. The Bold is Beautiful Project is Benefit's global philanthropy program dedicated to empowering women & girls to be bold, believe in themselves, and reach their full potential.

The vision of the Bold is Beautiful Project is to affect change in the world by creating a long-lasting, positive change in the lives of women and girls in local communities worldwide. The ultimate goal is to GIVE BACK to the communities that Benefit calls home, through donations, volunteering, and raising awareness. The project allows Benefit to go beyond their beauty counters to partner with local charities and empower women and girls through education and mentorship, economic self-sufficiency, and/or access to wellness!

Strategy and Execution

Benefit donates 100% of the proceeds raised during the month of May from their signature brow wax service to charities. The money raised locally is spent locally, meaning that Benefit's local teams nominate charities within their market and 100% of the proceeds raised by the local Benefit team is donated to these charity partners i.e. the money raised in the US goes to the US' charity partners, the money raised in Singapore goes to Singapore's charity partners. The charities then use this money for programming to benefit the women and girls they help.

Each dollar raised has helped empower BIG DREAMS and BOLD MOVES. So far, money raised by Benefit has gone to afterschool programs for school-aged girls, refuge for victims of domestic violence, beauty workshops for women undergoing cancer treatment, STEM camps for women and girls to learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, training sessions in financial literacy, resume building and interview workshops, and much more.

Benefit raises awareness for Bold is Beautiful through:

1. Employee Participation

The Bold is Beautiful Project is rooted in employee participation. Benefit wants all of their employees to feel a part of the project. As their CEO, Jean Andre, says, this is a long-term initiative of Benefit's; something that they hope will live on longer than any of them.

Benefit's employees host bold activities like a Bold is Beautiful march on the streets of Korea and even setting the Guinness World Record for the most brows waxed in 8 hours in Australia! Each local market also volunteers with their respective charity partners, building real connections with the charity's women and girls. The team in UAE hosted a full day of pampering for their charity partner, complete with a brow bar and makeup station! The Australia team aligned with their charity partner, Fitted for Work, to organize a career day for women job searching, sharing tips on resumes, cover letters, and even the best makeup to wear for interviews! The US team took it a step further, involving not just employees but also influencers! The team spent a day with Girls Inc., empowering young girls to dream big and believe in themselves. Through bold and beautiful events, employees feel significantly more connected to the charities and to the Bold is Beautiful Project!

2. Social Media

To generate enthusiasm and buzz around the Bold is Beautiful Project, Benefit leveraged their employees, customers, and influencers worldwide to explode Bold is Beautiful on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook! In Brazil, the local team invited a popular influencer to host a Bold is Beautiful kickoff event, reaching over 3.5 million people through social media. In Canada, the team utilized targeted advertising to garner 12.5 million impressions. In Italy, the local team worked with one of their charity partners to create a video sharing womens' stories and how the Bold is Beautiful Project has impacted them, garnering over 58,000 views and reaching 1.8 million people.

Results

Donations Raised

Since the inception of Bold is Beautiful in May 2015, Benefit has raised and donated over $11M USD to charities all around the world, empowering 10,000+ women and girls worldwide.

Employees Involved

To date, 1,000+ employees spread among 17 markets have participated in the Bold is Beautiful Project: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, UAE, UK, US. In May 2018, the Bold is Beautiful Project will be rolling out into 3 NEW markets: Germany, Malaysia, Thailand, totaling 20 markets!

Social Media Reach

Around the world, Benefit's local teams have successfully leveraged social media to engage and reach 17.8+ million people.

Media

Video for Benefit Cosmetics' Bold is Beautiful Project

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Benefit Cosmetics

Link

Entry Credits