Evolus is shaking up promotion of its Botox rival. The old campaign was supporting above-market growth of wrinkle-busting product Jeuveau, but Evolus wants more, leading it to launch new branding designed to “encourage consumers of all genders to live unapologetically and embrace their beauty.”
Facing an entrenched market leader, AbbVie’s Botox, that is synonymous with wrinkle reduction, Evolus focused on millennials to carve out a niche for Jeuveau after winning approval in the U.S. in 2019. The focus has paid off. Evolus recently raised its full-year guidance after a jump in sales in the second quarter emboldened it to forecast that revenues could rise by more than 30% in 2023.
Evolus’ success to date is built on a campaign aimed at millennial women. On the old, pink-hued website, photos of women in their 20s and 30s are interspersed with messages such as “say hello, Jeuveau, and helloooooo to a modern-made tox.”
The California-based beauty business has consigned that website to the internet archive. Now, visitors to the Jeuveau website are greeted by a short looped video of people dancing and blowing kisses. Over the video, the text “Jeuveau, You See Me” appears letter by letter in a handwritten font.
Further down the page, visitors can “check out real results.” The section features photos of five models, Soo Youn, David, Arielle, Sarah and Tajah, before and after treatment with Jeuveau. Moving a slider over the photos, which were taken at “maximum frown,” provides a before-and-after look.
Evolus’ choice of models and imagery reflects its rejection of the “traditional female-focused archetype” and response to “the growing number of men turning to treatments to achieve a youthful, toned, and vibrant aesthetic.” The goal is to use inclusive messaging to “encourage consumers of all genders to live unapologetically and embrace their beauty.”
The shift comes one year after Evolus presented a post hoc comparison of the efficacy of Jeuveau and Botox in adult males. While Evolus has shifted away from female-focused promotion, it is continuing to target a younger demographic than has traditionally used neurotoxin wrinkle treatments.
“Neurotoxin patients in our consumer loyalty program are primarily millennial or younger. [That] aligns with our investment in advertising that we've been placing, and that continues to be a key driver of how our brand is differentiated in the consumer's mind," Evolus CEO David Moatazedi told investors last week. "This is very much a younger generation's brand, and it's positioned as such in all of our advertising."