The Bearded Men Calendar

NIVEA MEN, Romanian market leaders on most male care categories, were launching a brand-new product in late 2017: the first NIVEA MEN beard oil.

According to studies, most women find men’s facial hair attractive and feel it projects a masculine vibe. Men with beards are perceived to be more confident, generous and sincere. The beard trend seemed to be here to stay – so instead of convincing men to shave, NIVEA MEN came with an alternative.

The main objectives were to raise awareness about the new NIVEA MEN beard oil, to generate product trial and social media engagement. The target consisted primarily of men (18-40), but we also addressed women, knowing that men products are often bought by them. Being a low-budget campaign with a digital-savvy target, the communication channels were entirely digital and social media driven: NIVEA MEN RO Facebook page, bloggers’ social media pages, websites and blogs.  

To introduce the product, we created a PR stunt: The first Bearded Men Calendar in Romania. Because the new beard oil from NIVEA MEN will take care of your beard so well, you’ll feel like a real posterboy. A concept we could exploit in several communication stages, giving us the chance to maximize visibility and engagement.  

We invited bearded men to post the best-looking picture of their beard in a NIVEA MEN RO Facebook contest, #barbosiwanted mandatory. The 12 winners were selected by a jury and then attended a grooming session with campaign partner Foarfeca si Briciul barbershop, using the new NIVEA MEN beard oil, and a photo shooting with famous fashion photographer Alex Galmeanu. After the calendar was released, we offered it to a wide list of bloggers and to our fans. Due to the success of the first edition, in 2019 we continued the campaign and created a second edition of the calendar, this time with a twist: because no two beards are alike, we created 12 distinct categories for the 12 calendar files.

The communication campaign included three stages spread over 4-5 months for each edition: recruiting the 12 bearded men, announcing the calendar launch and organizing the Coolest beards exhibition in 2019, in partnership with The Bucharest Municipality Museum (Palatul Sutu).The tactics included NIVEA MEN RO Facebook communication, special kits for bloggers, content made in partnership with Foarfeca si Briciul barbershop, as well as an outdoor photography exhibition in the center of Bucharest.

126 pieces of earned media were generated, including 43 online articles, 3 print articles and 80 social media posts on bloggers’ channels. Over 3500 men participated in the contest for the two editions of the calendar. Almost 100.000 engagement actions were generated and 6 million people were reached. More than 20.000 people are estimated to have seen the outdoor exhibition.

Credits: The implementation of the campaign on NIVEA MEN channels and the media components were made with support from Republika Interactive and Wavemaker Romania.