L’Oréal Germany opens its new HQ in Dusseldorf with a XXL house-warming experience

The concept of the event? A huge housewarming turned into an exciting brand experience. “Turning house-warming into house-running“, as Sophie says. So they created 32 groups of 25 employees (combining all hierarchy levels and job specialties), each one bearing the name of a cosmetic product, to go discover their new offices.

“On the day before the event, on their desk, we gave them information about the event. They found a name tag which told them in which group they would be, with instructions about what time to go where for their starting point”, says Sophie.

On  D-day, the groups started at various points of the building to experience the brands, the products and the energy of L’Oréal at 26 „discovery stations“. Under the slogan “J1 Discovery” (J1 is the name of the building) the 900 guests experienced the new building in a playful way.

What were the stations about? They included workshops, surprises and fun activities. “The workshops were designed so that employees kept in mind the achievements of the last year”, says Sophie. For instance, a station consisted in a memory-like game, where employees had to match images corresponding to the company’s achievements and priorities, with the corresponding word. Sustainability is another important point (the building is extremely green, almost paper and plastic-less) that the participants could experience in some stations.  

In another station with a big photo booth, participants could take photos, selecting a little cube with a QR-code which, when shown to the camera when it took the photo, included in the image a L’Oréal product… or an influencer like David Beckham, thanks to an Augmented Reality application. Each group had to take its creative group picture, adding to the collective excitement and networking effect of the event. Another station featured a ball swimming pool (like those for kids), in which people had to “dive in” to find L’Oréal products.

The activity was gamified: participants collected points and there was a reward for people who had visited the whole building, giving an incentive to fully immerse in their “new house”. And to keep the memory of the event alive, the event featured no less than five photographers, which went from station to station. A brief welcome speech was the only protocol-oriented dimension of this hugely fun experience.

Logistical challenge

This was definitely a logistical challenge, in which time management and spatial planning defined the group flow. The process was creative and varied for the guests, who were blissfully unaware of the intricate time planning and group movement allocations required. The discovery experience ended with a fashionable after-work party in various levels of the building, until 12AM.

The result, according to the agency: “the sense of pride of L’Oréal employees was almost palpable.  Not just about the new building but also driven by the renewed acquaintance to the full range of L’Oréal brands and products”.