French beauty brand L’Occitane en Provence has named Anomaly its lead creative and strategic partner for all markets following a review.
According to Anomaly, the appointment ends L’Occitane’s relationship with DDB Paris, although a spokesperson for DDB said the agency remains on the brand’s roster.
Anomaly’s 3-year-old Berlin office will run the account moving forward, but will tap into the agency’s “global network” when necessary. Anomaly has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Amsterdam and Shanghai.
The MDC Partners-owned agency network has been tasked with helping the brand, which sells skin care products, lotions and perfumes, “drive urgent brand reappraisal and renewal.” In addition to campaign work, Anomaly will assist with brand and product innovation.
It will also help the brand further evolve its retail strategy. Two years ago, L’Occitane unveiled an “experiential concept store” in midtown Manhattan complete with an interactive skin care consultation area and a “rain-shower” sink where shoppers can test out products.
An Anomaly spokesperson said it is “yet to be confirmed” if the agency will handle L’Occitane’s influencer marketing, but “work with key opinion leaders in Asia is anticipated.” It does not appear as though the appointment will impact L’Occitane’s regional agency relationships. In a statement, the brand said “there’s still priorities and relationships to maintain in local markets” and that “Anomaly’s role includes consultation and partnership with [its] regional/local teams, but does not currently extend to local market execution.”
According to Kantar, which does not track spending on social media channels, L’Occitane spent a mere $123,000 on media in the U.S. last year. It spent a total of $6 million on measured media in France, Russia and China throughout 2019, according to estimates from research company Comvergence.
Anomaly’s global CEO and partner Karina Wilsher said in a statement that the win provides the agency with an “incredible opportunity to help accelerate the growth of such an iconic brand on a global scale.” Remi Guigou, L’Occitane’s global chief creative officer, said choosing a global creative partner was a “key decision” for the brand, noting that it’s “confident in the solutions and collaboration Anomaly provided.”
The win comes just days after BMW’s Mini brand chose Anomaly London as its lead global agency.
