The Body Shop engages Fimmick for social-media push in 2013

The appointment follows the success of Fimmick's campaign for The Body Shop last Christmas, according to the brand, which claims it was the first in Hong Kong to use Facebook’s innovative Open Graph concept through the creation of an interactive game with an e-coupon component.

Jenny Chung, external communications manager for The Body Shop, said: "We wish to maintain and enhance our brand follower relationships on social media. The innovative social media experiences brought by Fimmick’s digital solutions echo our initiative to maximise our digital footprint."

Willy Lai, Fimmick’s business director, said Body Shop’s fan base has increased by around 60 per cent in the past three months since the Christmas campaign.

Fimmick is a four-year-old home-grown Hong Kong digital marketing agency owned by Focus Imaging. Its current client portfolio includes Audi, Garuda Indonesia, Agnes b.,  L’Occitane, Bobbi Brown and MegaBox.

According to Chung, The Body Shop has 52 stores and two counters and 56,000 Facebook fans based in Hong Kong and Macau.

She said the brand is competing in a very cluttered skincare and cosmetics market. It competes particularly with other 'natural' skincare brands, as opposed to cosmetics brands based on cosmeceuticals and technology.

To stand out, Facebook and social media are appropriate and effective platforms to engage and interact with consumers, Chung said.

Last year, Body Shop invited Cambridge-educated British fashion model Lily Cole to be its global brand ambassador. Chung said Cole has been very active in doing charity work.

The brand currently does not have an Asian celebrity as its brand ambassador, Chung said. "We need to find one who shares the same brands’ five core values, like protecting human rights and the environment, opposing animal testing, activating self-esteem, defending human rights and promoting ethnical trade. Not just any celebrity."

Although the brand still does traditional advertising, it focuses its marketing and communications more through community and environmental values.

The Body Shop (Hong Kong and Macau) is a subsidiary of The Body Shop International, a global manufacturer and retailer of "naturally inspired, ethically produced beauty and cosmetics products". Founded in the UK in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick, it has over 2,400 stores in 61 countries, with a range of over 1,200 products.