Marketing for Products with a Story: An F2F Volunteer's Experience in Colombia

By F2F volunteer, Rebecca Roebber

Marketing is changing so fast with the influence of social media and access to the internet. There are so many products we are exposed to everyday, when we open our Instagram or browse through Facebook, companies send us emails with discounts and new products. How do we know what to buy anymore?

We are all looking to purchase products that speak to us, that stand out compared to other products. Great marketing shows us products that represent who we are, who we want to be, and what we believe in. I bet that if you look at some of the products you’ve recently purchased, you’ve felt that personal connection, even if you didn’t recognize that the company is working to connect.

An example of a connection that brands make with the customer is a chocolate company called “Endangered Species,” their brand is sold at Whole Foods and other natural grocery store and reaches a large audience that care about animals in the rainforest, that is a pretty straight forward message, that doesn’t really represent the quality of the chocolate at all. Only 10% goes back to endangered species, but their entire marketing strategy is putting faces of beautiful endangered animals in order to connect to their audience and it works! 

New products that don’t tell a story have a hard time finding an audience and don’t sell. It is no longer about the product itself, but the lifestyle and the story that comes with the product.

Livu, which comes from “Live You,” means that we should all be living the best versions of ourselves. Livu is a product that is made by Latina women for Latina women. Without even knowing what the product is I can already tell you that there is a huge audience to speak to. Fortunately, Livu’s story is not the only amazing part of the business, Livu is a natural cosmetic and body care line that represents the beautiful and colorful Latina culture and women all over the world. They make products that are vibrant, fragrant and affordable to Latina women and all women. 

Founder of Livu, Nathly Millan understands that a product is not just a product, it is a culture. Women want to feel alive, empowered and beautiful everyday and that is what Livu represents. She noticed that there was a demand for natural body care products in Colombia, but the only products like that were coming from the United States. The organic and natural body care companies in the US share a similar marketing strategy to one another: avoiding strong fragrances, using neutral colors in their packaging and they all have a high price point, making it hard for Colombian women to buy.

During two weeks working with Livu we developed a strong foundation for the business by creating a strategic marketing plan and designing Livu’s website. Defining Livu’s audience, analyzing and developing the website,  creating a marketing voice and a marketing plan to guide Livu.  We brainstormed best approaches on marketing, most effective social media platforms, packaging design and ways to collaborate with other like-minded businesses.

We started by identifying Livu’s audience so that all marketing materials speak to that group. We analyzed many websites with similar products. We looked at brands that had natural, organic body care products with a social and environmental mission similar to Livu. We wanted to see what were things that we felt were good things to include in our plan, include on the website and portray using social media. Once we had an idea of what we wanted to convey and who we wanted to convey it to, we worked on a marketing plan. Identifying interests of the audience, gathering ideas for types of posts and content, creating a calendar with important and relevant dates, a strategy for creating content and a plan to get it in front of the right people.

I have no doubt that Livu Beauty will have a successful launch and empower many women in the process!

Rebecca Roebber is the Marketing Director at indi chocolate in Seattle, WA. She has previously volunteered with Partners F2F in Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.