Hearst is deepening its partnership with Philips by hosting a body-positive virtual event.
"Project body love" was initially launched in October 2020 and the partnership extension will see the evolution of the campaign. Philips will engage audiences across Women's Health, Cosmopolitan, ELLE and Red magazine.
For the "Project body love weekender" on 15-16 May Hearst has enlisted a diverse range of talent for talks including Callie Thorpe, co-founder of The Confidence Corner, Clean Eating Alice author Alice Liveing and plus-size model Sonny Turner.
The event will be hosted on a Philips branded bespoke microsite, with eight co-branded, streamed-as-live events and shoppable links for guests to interact, purchase and drive attendees to the Philips hair removal Lumea IPL range on their brand site.
The virtual event, alongside the wider media campaign, embodies Philips' key messages around celebrating and embracing the diversity of women and their personal beauty routines at home. Each Hearst title has its own microsite hub with event content centred around body positivity and insightful conversations on body hair.
Shannon Taylor, senior campaign and media manager, Philips, said: "Philips' brand identity is all around telling rich, human stories that surprise audiences with the powerful ways our innovations can make a real difference to people's lives. Hearst UK is an authentic partner, being truly passionate itself about improving the lives of women by creating and sharing positive body confidence stories. Working with Hearst has been wonderful because there is a genuine brand fit."
Its "Project body love" strategy will be fuelled by online search and social listening, which will monitor emotional intelligence to establish the nation's sentiment towards body positivity. The campaign's emotional intelligence analysis, driven by Hearst's digital marketing agency, iCrossing, will also measure consumer perceptions of Philips Lumea to understand the impact the campaign has on consumer sentiment and perception.
Later this year, an augmented reality experience focused on wellness and geared to boost female body confidence will be introduced.
Laura Chase, head of connect development at Hearst UK, said: "At a time when the nation has craved positivity, Philips has partnered with us to create a fully integrated campaign that is rich in content and has clear deliverables. 'Project body love' very much taps into the nation's sentiment towards body positivity, diversity and focus on wellness over the past 12 months, and we're thrilled to partner with Philips, who share the same passion on this high-profile campaign.
"Driven by our Hearst Purpose – which aims to help consumers get more out of life – the campaign shows how brands can team up with our editorial teams and trusted brands to drive positive change for consumers."
The partnership and campaign has been facilitated and planned by Dentsu agencies, The Story Lab and Carat UK.