Garnier Patchmania: Building a Market Leader in Three Months

While the Facecare category was growing, Garnier was losing momentum and market share. We therefore decided to bet everything on one bold move: a decisive entry into the brand-new subcategory of acne patches (Pimple Patches).

Our ambition was to completely dominate the subcategory within 3 months and achieve the #1 position in both Market Share and Share of Sales. The challenge was immense. The subcategory was dominated by Korean cosmetics with a highly loyal customer base and products that were, on average, 22% cheaper. Time was of the essence—we couldn't let competing traditional brands beat us to it. Add to this a crucial insight: over 8 out of 10 women simply pop their pimples, risking scars and infections. Our campaign thus gained a clear behavior-change objective.

Acne affects adults and teenagers alike, crushes self-esteem, and impacts social lives. Our goal was to destigmatize the topic and attract new customers. In the acne-prone skincare category, up to a third of users buy products for someone else (mainly women and parents). Therefore, we wanted to clearly differentiate ourselves from our Korean competitors, who targeted Gen Z narrowly, and we bet on a mass-market reach.

We opted for a short but high-intensity 360° media strategy, "Patchmania":

• Connecting Mass Reach and Relevance: TV and high-reach formats built awareness across the population, while influencers and gaming strengthened engagement with Gen Z.

·       Phased Video and TV Strategy: We launched with impactful formats on YouTube and TikTok, followed by massive offline reach on television (Nova, Prima).

• Dominating Gen Z's "Home Turf": We complemented traditional channels with podcast placements (Dungeon), Twitch gaming, League of Legends tournaments, and mobile games.

·       OOH with Local Relevance: Bold OOH formats, including a complete wrap of the underpass at Prague’s Main Railway Station and digital CLV panels, featured local campaign ambassadors. This brought “STOP THE POP!” into the target audience’s everyday environment—from travel and fitness centers to cinemas.

• Unifying "STOP THE POP!" Creative: An educational campaign featuring local star Adam Mišík and a catchy song was perfectly complemented by "true-crime" testimonials from everyday people sharing their acne stress.

The campaign exceeded all set goals, delivering strong business and media results:

• Securing the Leadership Position: Garnier achieved the #1 position in Market Share (with a lead of nearly 9 percentage points over the second competitor) and #1 in Share of Sales.

• Subcategory Growth: The campaign expanded awareness of acne patches and supported the growth of the entire subcategory.

• YouTube Performance: In the awareness phase, we reached 2.3 million users, followed by another 2.2 million views in the consideration phase. Local "true-crime" videos achieved a 70% completion rate (vs. a 58% benchmark).

• Awards: The campaign won a Silver EFFIE Award in Beauty & Fragrance and the Google award for Best Use of YouTube.

The success was driven by the courage to take a risk, enter a new subcategory quickly, and go all in. Patchmania combined educational creative content, a shift in consumer behavior, and a media mix connecting broad reach with Gen Z. It proved that even a traditional brand can quickly strengthen its position in a new subcategory and become a leader.