Photo: Instagram/Larissa Manoela / Pipoca Moderna
Actresses Larissa Manoela and Maisa Silva were the stars of a live Cimed show that earned the pharmaceutical company R$40 million in just 20 minutes. The event took place last Thursday (October 5th), but the earnings have only now been published by Folha de S.Paulo. The transfer was so successful that João Adibe Marques, president of Cimed, revealed the need to pause it earlier than expected to meet demand for orders, as purchases created a 60day waiting list for deliveries.
The company launched a lip balm line called BFF especially for the actress duo. “Very strong appeal to audiences ages six to 16,” company officials said. The moisturizers, known as Carmed, were launched in May and have already sold more than 2 million units.
Marketing strategy
The commercial experience was part of a broader context of “live commerce,” a phenomenon already established in Brazil. Virginia Fonseca is one of the pioneers of this format and has already set sales records with her own cosmetics brand. But nothing like the teenage duo phenomenon. In January, for example, Virginia announced sales of R$15 million over 12 hours of live broadcast, with products ranging from R$20 to R$300. In April, it surpassed its own record, reaching R$22 million from 13 hours of live broadcast.
The strategy of relying on the two actresses, who have millions of followers on social media, turned out to be correct. Larissa, who became a brand ambassador last week, has 53 million followers on Instagram, while Maisa has more than 48 million. Together, they sold in 20 minutes virtually double what Virgina made in half a day of advertising.