CeraVe x Native Media Group: Playing the long-game and winning with carefully selected, expert content creators

About CeraVe and Native Media Group

CeraVe is a dermatologist-developed skincare brand known for its science-backed formulations that restore and protect the skin barrier. Featuring essential ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and a patented MVE technology for long-lasting hydration, CeraVe offers solutions for all skin types, including sensitive and compromised skin. Recommended by dermatologists worldwide, the brand is celebrated for its simple, effective, and affordable products, making skincare accessible to everyone.

Spanish digital marketing agency Native Media Group has extensive expertise in influencer marketing, including in the high-impact ‘prescribers’ niche. By leveraging the reach and credibility of these specialist influencers, Native Media connects brands with their target audiences, fostering authentic relationships and driving business growth. Since 2021, Native Media and CeraVe have partnered on an influence marketing strategy grounded in communication via trusted health professionals.

The Campaign: Position CeraVe in the Spanish market by leveraging trusted, expert health prescribers to talk about its brand

CeraVe, an international dermatological care brand, seeks to position itself in the Spanish market as a benchmark brand in skin care, highlighting its efficacy and accessibility. Through digital campaigns that focus on collaborations with health professionals, the brand aims to educate consumers about the value of ingredients such as ceramides and position itself as the preferred choice for the treatment of common dermatological problems in all skin types.

CeraVe began to focus on the Spanish market in 2021, in a post-pandemic context during which health prescribers were beginning to gain relevance on social media. Previously, the brand had focused its efforts on the US market, where it had developed high brand recognition.

CeraVe’s first collaboration with @farmaceuticofernandez (1.09M followers Instagram) marked a turning point in the brand’s digital strategy for Spain, as it represented its first foray into collaborating with health prescribers. Previously, the brand had focused its digital efforts on partnering with lifestyle influencers.

The change in strategy came at a key moment, as the pandemic had significantly transformed consumer habits on social media. New categories of profiles emerged, such as health prescribers, who became synonymous with quality and truthfulness.

These profiles established themselves as benchmarks on social networks, responding to the demands of more informed consumers who prioritise transparency and scientific validity in their purchasing decisions — especially in the highly competitive skincare category. This trend allowed CeraVe to increase its credibility and trust in the market, aligning its marketing strategy with the expectations of the new consumer.

Challenge #1: Long-term market expansion and brand positioning Spain

The early success of the collaboration with @farmaceuticofernandez led CeraVe to consolidate its influencer strategy of partnering with health experts during the following three years.

This synergy with @farmaceuticofernandez, one of the most influential profiles on social networks, enabled the brand to gain recognition in pharmacy channels and at a local level. Following this partnership model has also allowed it to achieve more success in its international campaigns, boosting its global presence.

The collaboration between CeraVe and @farmaceuticofernandez has allowed both partners to grow together, and has been key to the expansion of the brand in the Spanish and global market.

Challenge #2: Making CeraVe accessible to Gen Z and millennial consumers

CeraVe opted for a solid digital strategy with a focus on social networks such as Tik Tok and Instagram, both of which have growing audiences in Spain and where the brand has connected with younger audiences.

Through Kolsquare, Native Media identified new profiles of relevant health prescribers using precise filters and ensuring alignment with the brand’s objectives. Keywords like "dermatology," "pharmacy," and "skin health" helped pinpoint influencers on the Kolsquare database whose audiences resonated with CeraVe’s mission.

"We relied on Kolsquare’s keyword and filter tools to target influencers who perfectly fit the campaign’s needs, saving significant time and ensuring precision in our selections,” comments Native Media Group CEO Álvaro Blanco.

The campaigns also embraced offline actions, such as hosting the “Cerawards” for content creators which served to further cement its local presence.

@farmaceuticofernandez, is currently an official ambassador for CeraVe and has become the international image of the brand. He has also starred in global campaigns produced by CeraVe and has actively participated in offline actions, such as the sponsorship of popular Twitch IRL boxing event La Velada del Año and brand activations during Lola Lolita Land festival.

Leveraging Kolsquare: Data-driven campaign management that allowed a global vision of the campaign on an annual basis

Kolsquare became an indispensable tool for Native Media Group, CeraVe’s marketing partner, in managing the brand’s long-term influencer campaign. The platform allowed Native to centralise data from multi-platform campaigns, track organic and paid content, and provide detailed analytics to the brand.

"Thanks to the Kolsquare tool, we were able to collect accurate data during the annual campaign, enabling us to report not only qualitative but also quantitative results. This also served to strengthen the partnership between the profile and the brand,” comments Native Media Group CEO Alvaro Blanco.

For the annual campaigns, Native created a single overarching campaign in Kolsquare, tracking reach cumulatively with every post from health prescribers on the brand’s roster. One-off activations, such as event sponsorships or specific product launches, were managed as separate campaigns, ensuring no content was overlooked and results could be reported with precision.

The Results: By leveraging trusted health professionals, CeraVe grew its credibility in the pharmacy and dermatological care markets.

Not only did CeraVe’s collaboration with @farmaceuticofernandez evolve into a model for successful long-term influencer partnerships, but the long-term strategy has yielded remarkable results.

Kolsquare’s comprehensive analytics capabilities enabled Native to analyse engagement metrics like EMV, reach, and content performance across individual campaigns, and combined annually.

By running individual and combined campaign analysis, Native Media Group gained valuable insights from Kolsquare’s reporting module that informed its decisions and recommendations to CeraVe on content types and refining the strategy for future campaigns.

The data-driven approach facilitated by Kolsquare strengthened the relationship between the creator and the brand, driving repeated collaboration.

"Having an online results report that any team member can access to analyse campaigns and compare results is the main benefit we get from Kolsquare. It simplifies reporting and strengthens our ability to negotiate with the brand," comments Native Media’s Blanco.

CeraVe’s commitment to health-prescriber-led campaigns, amplified by Kolsquare’s extensive data capabilities, underscores the brand’s dedication to credibility, innovation, and consumer trust. The long-term influencer strategy based on trusted health prescribers has not only elevated CeraVe in the Spanish market but also set a global benchmark for influencer marketing success.

Want to learn more about how Kolsquare delivers long-term visibility over influencer marketing campaigns? Book a demo with one of our influence experts now.