L'Oréal uses marketing as a talent forge for senior leadership. Michael Kinle, the company's Head of Talent, stated that supporting diverse employees in building their careers is critical for business growth—future leaders of the corporation emerge precisely from marketing departments. This approach makes investments in marketer development a strategic priority, not just an HR function.
Marketing as a Path to Top Management
L'Oréal's model is built on the premise that marketing competencies lay the foundation for managing the entire business. Specialists who have worked with brands, influencer ads, and media buying gain comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior and digital promotion channels. The company deliberately grows talent internally rather than hiring top executives from outside.
Elodie Peribere, Senior Marketing Director for the UK and Ireland, is leaving the company after 15 years. Her career trajectory exemplifies how L'Oréal retains employees long-term by offering growth within the structure. The departure of such a senior specialist after a decade and a half demonstrates that the company creates conditions for sustained loyalty, though the market remains competitive.
Digital Transformation and Managing Inflation
L'Oréal's Chief Digital and Marketing Officer explained how the corporation handles inflationary pressure while simultaneously investing in Web3. After the pandemic, the company recorded a "return of color"—growth in demand for decorative cosmetics. This required rethinking the blogger advertising strategy: the focus shifted to visual platforms and short video formats.
The inflation management strategy includes media buying optimization and transitioning to performance models in working with influencers. Instead of fixed budgets for integrations, the brand is testing pay-for-results—reach and conversions. This allows controlling CPM and maintaining campaign profitability even as placement costs rise.
Lessons for Russian Brands
L'Oréal's experience shows that investments in marketer career development pay off through retaining expertise within the company. For the Russian market, this is especially relevant given the shortage of qualified influencer marketing specialists. Brands that grow teams rather than poach ready-made employees gain competitive advantage long-term.
Michael Kinle: "Marketing is the source of leaders for L'Oréal. Supporting diversity in career tracks directly impacts business growth."
Implementing Web3 tools and working with metaverses opens new collaboration formats with bloggers. Russian brands can adapt this approach through NFT drops with influencer participation or virtual product launches. The key is not copying mechanics but embedding them into existing promotion strategies.
Balance Between Entertainment and Expertise
Linda Boff from IBM noted that B2B businesses are beginning to understand: buyers are ordinary people, not faceless corporations. Sponsorships and partnerships must balance educational content with entertainment. This principle works in the beauty segment too: influencer ads are effective when they combine expert product information with light presentation.
Too many brands in B2B and complex categories remove humor from communications, considering it a sign of seriousness. In practice, this reduces audience engagement. L'Oréal demonstrates the opposite approach: even premium lines are promoted through entertaining content that maintains expert depth.
In Brief
- L'Oréal develops top executives from marketers, which requires long-term investments in personnel development and works as a talent retention tool.
- The company adapts to inflation through media buying optimization and transitioning to performance models in influencer marketing.
- Investments in Web3 and metaverses open new integration formats with bloggers for product launches and community building.
- Balance between educational and entertaining content increases influencer ads effectiveness, especially in complex categories.
- Russian brands should adopt the strategy of internally developing marketing experts instead of poaching ready-made specialists.
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