L'Oreal
Multi-brand Demand Gen campaign backed by a local YouTube creator, AI-driven placement and bidding across Google's visual surfaces to bring qualified commerce traffic
L'Oreal achieved 3.6x more clicks at a cost per click 7.5x lower than Swedish CPG video benchmarks by combining Google Demand Gen and a YouTube creator for its Garnier, L'Oreal Paris, NYX, and Maybelline brands, with a SkinGenius tool completion rate up 50% (Think with Google, October 2025).
Key points
- Multi-brand Demand Gen campaign with a YouTube creator toward the retailer Lyko.se.
- Google Ads Demand Gen and Performance Max, smart bidding, YouTube, Discover, and Gmail surfaces.
- 3.6x more clicks, cost per click 7.5x lower, SkinGenius completion +50% YoY.
- Evidence level B, status confirmed: Think with Google case published in October 2025.
Objective
Bring qualified commerce traffic to the retailer Lyko.se for a portfolio of consumer brands, by combining Google's AI and a local creator's audience, at a cost per click far below the sector's video benchmarks.
The deployment
L'Oreal set up a multi-brand Demand Gen campaign in Sweden covering Garnier, L'Oreal Paris, NYX Cosmetics, and Maybelline New York, backed by a well-known Swedish YouTube creator, to bring traffic to the retailer Lyko.se. The creative and the creator's audience are supplied; Google's AI places and optimizes on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. Compared to Video Action Campaign benchmarks for other CPG advertisers in Sweden, the campaign delivered 3.6 times more clicks at a cost per click 7.5 times lower. In parallel, L'Oreal used Performance Max to direct qualified traffic to its SkinGenius skin diagnosis tool, with the tool's completion rate up 50% year over year in Sweden, the highest in the world for L'Oreal. The case was published by Think with Google in October 2025.
Results Proof B
Quantified Think with Google case study, very recent (October 2025), with three L'Oreal leaders cited by name - an interested platform source. L'Oreal's Google AI program is corroborated by a second Think with Google page (AI Max), but the Demand Gen figures are not confirmed in financial results.
How it works
Documented architectureThe stack in detail
- plateforme Google Ads Demand Gen placement, bidding, and creative selection driven by Google's AI on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail
- plateforme Google Ads Performance Max used in parallel to bring qualified traffic to the SkinGenius diagnosis tool
- outil Smart Bidding (Google) ML bidding optimized on the commerce traffic action (Lyko.se visit, SkinGenius completion)
- infra YouTube (creations createur) main distribution surface and audience of the Swedish creator who carries the multi-brand creative
- outil SkinGenius (L'Oreal) the group's skin diagnosis tool, destination of the Performance Max campaigns (+50% completion YoY in Sweden)
How it runs, concretely
For ops teams-
1Choose the creator and frame the brief Media team + creator
Select a local creator whose audience fits the brands, and produce videos usable by Demand Gen.
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2Unify commerce tracking Data-driven experiences team
Consolidate traffic signals to Lyko.se and SkinGenius completion to steer several brands in the same logic.
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3Let Demand Gen place and bid Google AI
Google's AI serves the creative on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail to the profiles most likely to act.
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4Benchmark against standard video Media team
Compare CTR and CPC to the sector's Video Action Campaign benchmarks to objectify the gain.
The commerce traffic action (Lyko.se visit, SkinGenius completion). If cross-brand tracking is not consolidated, attribution between brands and optimization degrade.
How your customers perceive this type of use
Sourced studiesLe pricing algorithmique est le terrain le plus inflammable : 68% des consommateurs disent se sentir leses quand les marques utilisent le pricing dynamique et 80% jugent plus dignes de confiance les marques aux prix constants (Gartner, 2024). L'equite percue varie selon le secteur : le pricing dynamique n'est juge juste que par 33% a 40% des repondants selon qu'il s'agit de concerts ou de cinemas (YouGov, 17 marches). Le prix personnalise par les donnees individuelles est le plus rejete : 47% des Americains s'y opposent fermement (Consumer Reports, 2024).
Acceptance conditions
- La constance des prix comme signal de confiance : 80% jugent plus fiables les marques aux prix stables (Gartner 2024)
- Le secteur conditionne l'equite percue : le pricing dynamique est mieux tolere pour les cinemas (40% le jugent juste) que pour les concerts (33%) (YouGov 2024)
Red lines
- Le pricing dynamique percu comme abus : 68% se sentent leses (Gartner 2024)
- Le prix individualise a partir des donnees personnelles : 47% d'opposition ferme (Consumer Reports 2024)
- Les frais caches et hausses imprevues, vecus par 79% des consommateurs sur un an et associes a la perte de confiance (Gartner 2024)
Sources: Gartner 2024 · YouGov 2024 · Consumer Reports 2024
How to replicate
Inference, not sourcedData prerequisites
- Consolidated commerce traffic tracking (partner retailer)
- Consent Mode v2 in the EU
- First-party audience signals for targeting
Org prerequisites
- One or more creators aligned with the brands
- A coordinated multi-brand media logic
- A partner retailer or a clear commerce destination
Possible stack
- Google Ads Demand Gen + creator creative + Performance Max for the tools/diagnostics + GA4
The plan, step by step
- Step 1Choose a local creator whose audience fits the brands and frame the multi-brand briefDeliverable: Creator contract + video brief validated by the brands
- Step 2Produce the creative usable in Demand Gen (video formats adapted to Google's surfaces)Deliverable: Creator videos + assets adapted per brand, ready to serve
- Step 3Consolidate commerce tracking: traffic signals to the retailer, tool completion, Consent Mode v2Deliverable: Conversions reported in Google Ads, consistent across brands
- Step 4Launch the campaign and let Google's AI place and bid without over-managingDeliverable: Campaign live on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail, learning stabilized
- Step 5Benchmark CTR and CPC against the sector's Video Action Campaigns, then decide on the extensionDeliverable: Comparative read of CTR/CPC + decision to extend to the other brands
First step: Produce a creator video usable in Demand Gen and evaluate it against a standard video benchmark on CTR and CPC, before extending to the other brands.
The same pattern, proven in other industries
adidas
AI-driven audience prospecting and bidding (ARO) across the full funnel
Allwyn
AI-driven omnichannel programmatic buying with retail data activation
Nivea
genAI testing and optimization of creative elements + automated localization at scale
Sources
- S1 How L'Oreal reinvented beauty marketing with AI - Think with Google Interested party archive pending
- S2 L'Oreal's AI Max search marketing strategy - Think with Google Interested party archive pending
An error, newer info, a source?
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