Game Change: Han Wen on the New Rules of Brand Engagement

At SXSW 2025, Han Wen, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer at L’Oréal USA, shared how the world’s largest beauty company is shifting its approach to brand engagement, moving beyond short-term KPIs toward a long-term, earned-first marketing model.

In an era where performance marketing has dominated digital strategies, Wen and her team are redefining how brands build lasting connections through cultural relevance, authentic storytelling, and community-driven engagement.

From CeraVe’s bold SNL activation to L’Oréal’s long-term Olympics strategy, the key message was clear: brands that focus only on immediate returns risk losing relevance, while those that invest in brand love are winning the future.

Why L’Oréal is Prioritizing Brand Love Over Short-Term KPIs

For years, CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies optimized for efficiency, with digital marketing focused on paid media, short-term conversion metrics, and media buying precision. But Wen believes that model is fundamentally shifting.

“Traditionally, the industry has been obsessed with performance marketing, optimizing for immediate ROI and transactional KPIs,” she said. “But that approach can be short-sighted. If your marketing is only targeting existing customers, you’re not building future demand.”

Instead, L’Oréal has been pushing its brands—including CeraVe, L’Oréal Paris, and Maybelline—toward a long-term earned-first model, where cultural relevance, creativity, and authentic engagement drive consumer trust.

📌 The Shift from Paid to Earned-First Marketing
✅ From short-term performance KPIs → to long-term brand equity & engagement
✅ From ad placements → to cultural participation
✅ From quarterly optimizations → to multi-year audience-building strategies

This shift in mindset means moving away from viewing marketing purely as a cost center and seeing it as an investment in brand longevity and consumer loyalty.

CeraVe’s SNL Takeover: A Case Study in Earned-First Marketing

L’Oréal’s CeraVe brand has been a breakout success, evolving from a $200M brand to a $2B powerhouse. While performance marketing played a role, its rapid ascent has been fueled by cultural engagement and community trust.

The brand’s latest SNL collaboration, which debuted its new anti-dandruff shampoo, exemplifies this shift:

🔹 Rather than traditional ad placements, CeraVe embedded itself into pop culture—partnering with SNL’s Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman to create a comedy-driven custom segment.
🔹 Beyond TV, the activation extended into digital, merchandise, and experiential marketing, with concert-style “No More Dandruff” band tees, behind-the-scenes content, and even sponsorship of the Peacock Lounge at 30 Rock.
🔹 The campaign prioritized organic engagement, leveraging earned media, influencer buzz, and authentic humor to drive awareness and conversation.

📌 Key Takeaway: Consumers today don’t just want ads; they want participation.

“CeraVe isn’t just selling skincare—it’s part of culture,” Wen explained. “That’s what modern brands need to understand: your community builds your brand, not just your media budget.”

L’Oréal’s Olympics Strategy: Thinking in Multi-Year Time Horizons

Beyond viral activations, L’Oréal is also making long-term bets on cultural relevance, particularly in sports and major global events.

After a successful activation at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the company immediately began planning for LA 2028, working to embed its brands deeper into sports, athlete storytelling, and community-driven marketing.

🔹 Rather than just buying sponsorship placements, L’Oréal focused on:
✅ Athlete-led narratives – Integrating its products authentically into Olympic training and competition moments.
✅ Expanding its presence in women’s sports – A strategic sponsorship of the Women’s Lacrosse League, aligning with an emerging high-growth female sports audience.
✅ Community-first brand storytelling – Ensuring L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline, and CeraVe are not just advertisers, but true cultural participants in sports empowerment.

📌 What This Means for the Future of Brand Marketing:

• Short-term media buys alone aren’t enough to create lasting relevance.

• Brands must think in years, not just campaign cycles.

• Consumer trust is built through sustained cultural engagement, not just performance marketing optimizations.

Brand Engagement is Evolving—Are Marketers Ready?

A central theme at SXSW was how brands are balancing data-driven performance marketing with emotional brand-building.

Wen emphasized that marketers can no longer afford to rely solely on lower-funnel tactics. While performance marketing is still critical, it must work in tandem with strategies that build long-term consumer trust.

📌 Key Marketing Takeaways from Han Wen at SXSW:
✅ The best brands are shifting from a paid-first mentality to an earned-first strategy.
✅ Culture-driven marketing outperforms transactional campaigns over time.
✅ If your only focus is performance marketing, you’re not growing your customer base.

The lesson? Brand engagement is no longer just about media spend—it’s about shaping culture.

At SXSW 2025, Wen made one thing clear: brands that play the long game will win the next era of marketing.

Disclaimer: The above podcast episode was generated using AI based on an interview transcript. While the content remains true to the original conversation, the voices, tone, and delivery were synthesized and do not represent actual recordings of the speakers. This AI-generated format is intended to enhance accessibility and provide an alternative way to engage with the discussion.

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