Protecting online shoppers from dangerous counterfeit beauty products 

The Brief

Counterfeit beauty and hygiene products can seriously harm your health, yet many young women in the UK aren’t aware of the risks. 

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) tasked Barley Communications to devise and deliver a behaviour change campaign targeting women in the UK aged 18-30. The campaign needed to shine a spotlight on the hidden dangers of fake products such as perfumes, lipsticks and concealers and encourage younger women to make safer, smarter purchasing decisions. 

Insights and Approach

Building on research and consumer insights, we developed the ‘Choose Safe, Not Fake’ campaign to shift behaviours and empower people to make better purchasing decisions.  

To reach our audience, we ran targeted social media campaigns, worked with influencers, media and consumer protection organisations including Citizens Advice to amplify our messaging. 

Instagram was the sweet spot for this campaign. We deployed a blend of high-impact, multi-media content, delivering key campaign messages to our audiences through compelling content multiple times throughout the campaign. 

Our selection of influencers wasn’t just about follower numbers; it was about choosing voices that resonated with the target audience. Their authentic advocacy helped elevate the campaign’s reach and engagement. The campaign also featured real-world case studies, powerful messaging and shocking product revelations, pushing the narrative that ‘fake’ can be harmful in more ways than one. 

This resulted in a high-impact, multi-channel strategy which not only outperformed all KPIs, but significantly boosted the campaign’s visibility across TV, print and online platforms. 

The Outcome

The campaign was a huge success – raising awareness about the dangers of counterfeit beauty and hygiene products. 

It not only exceeded engagement and reach KPIs but also made a real impact on consumer behaviour, with 1 in 5 consumers recalling the campaign in post-campaign surveys. 

Content engagement saw a 328% increase on the previous year’s behaviour change campaign, sparking active conversations around the risks of purchasing counterfeits, a message which was amplified by influencers. 

Broadcast coverage on flagship programmes across ITV (This Morning) and the BBC (Morning Live) reached millions, while strategic partnerships with consumer protection groups boosted the campaign’s credibility and visibility.  

Beyond empowering young women to make safer purchasing decisions, the campaign helped to position the IPO as a leading voice in consumer protection, with 1 in 4 consumers now able to recognise the dangers of counterfeit beauty products as a direct result of this campaign.