How Valeria Jiménez supports integrated work and self-confidence of women

When Valeria Jiménez returned to Beiersdorf after 15 years, she faced nothing less than the objective to make Eucerin Anti-Pigment the number one in the North Cone Group of Latin America (NCG). In this interview, the Business Unit Head of Derma & Healthcare NCG describes her journey, reveals the secret of her success, and what her work has to do with women’s self-confidence.

Valeria: When I started my professional career after university, my first step into working life led me to Hansaplast (Curitas). I stayed for four years. This way Beiersdorf became my first love! Coming back felt like coming home. At the same time, it was of course a challenge to take over responsibility for Derma and Healthcare for the NCG countries. There were great expectations for the Eucerin Anti-Pigment series, which was about to be launched for my region at the time. But I was highly motivated to fulfill these expectations!

Valeria: The Anti-Pigment series contains the patented active ingredient Thiamidol – due to its efficacy it represents a real scientific breakthrough in the hyperpigmentation market. Many women in Latin America suffer from hyperpigmentation. However, most of them are either unaware of the cause for their skin appearance or they have lost faith in current treatment methods already. It often takes a long time to get results – at least four weeks. And well, we as Latin Americans are very impatient. I had to ask myself this question: How do we become number one in a market that consumers either don’t know about or have already given up on?

Valeria: For me the answer lay in an integrated approach. Colleagues from Medical Management, Marketing and those responsible for the Point of Sale had to work hand in hand to create consistent and compelling core messages. After all, we have various relevant target groups with very different entry points into our communication. But whether it's dermatologists, pharmacy advisors or consumers: trust always plays the decisive role. Therefore, well-founded and consistent communication is essential for building credibility. And that can only be achieved if everyone pulls together and takes the same direction.

Valeria: It was very important to educate our target groups about hyperpigmentation and our appropriate product solution in the very first step. Dermatologists are looking for studies and detailed background information about the effectiveness of a product. They want to hear about patient experiences before they think about recommending a product to their own patients. That’s why we have been in very intensive dialogue with many of them. We had to make sure that they received broad and well-founded information in order to build a relationship of trust with them.

Consumers tend to look for examples from everyday life with which they can identify. Social Media Influencers, who themselves suffer from hyperpigmentation, are perfect for this. They shared their experiences and showed how they have used Eucerin for their hyperpigmented skin. The results have been visible and accordingly trustworthy. Of course, this only works with such effective products as the Anti-Pigment series. But then all the better: Many influencers are strongly convinced of our products. So many posts have been purely organic – without any cooperation behind them!

Valeria: Yes, absolutely! Within 6 months we were number 1 in the hyperpigmentation market in Mexico. Since March of this year we are also number 1 in Colombia and number 2 in Ecuador. We are also on the way to conquering Central America, where the series was just launched in the last quarter of 2019. I am very proud of what we have achieved together as a team. Nevertheless, we haven’t reached the ceiling yet. I’m highly motivated to continue our work as successfully as so far. However, I do not only draw this motivation from the great figures. The fact that the Anti-Pigment series has such a major impact on the lives of our consumers actually plays a key role for me.

Valeria: Although the relevance of diversity is also becoming more and more relevant in terms of appearance, in most NCG countries a rather classical ideal of beauty still applies. And this kind of beauty is considered a status symbol. Take Colombia, for example – known as the cradle of many beauty queens. Beauty is perceived as a social advantage, which creates a strong social pressure on women’s appearance. That’s why they are constantly trying to improve how they look like.

An indication such as hyperpigmentation can cause women to be dissatisfied with their natural appearance and thus lower their self-confidence in various areas of life. They use a lot of make-up to hide their own skin. But Eucerin helps them to love their own skin again. By feeling more comfortable in it again, they take on their natural beauty and become more self-confident. And that is true, absolute beauty! For me, this can be summed up quite simply: Through Thiamidol we help women regain their self-confidence, and it empowers them in many ways! For me personally, there is nothing better than being part of this revolution of beauty.

Carolin is responsible for our Pharmacy and Selective Brands within the Corporate Communications team. In this way she takes care of international communication projects of brands like Eucerin, Aquaphor, Hansaplast and La Prairie.