Connecting people through emotional storytelling.
When brands give people permission to talk honestly about sensitive topics, they earn attention and trust.
This idea was at the center of body contouring company Renuvion’s latest campaign to showcase their skin-tightening procedure, developed with agency partner Kaplow.
Going in, the company knew they didn’t want to focus on their technology specs or before-and-after claims, which can feel sterile and impersonal. They wanted something more universal people could relate to, like confidence, real-life moments and vulnerability.
“At the heart of this was giving people permission to be open,” said Samara Finn Holland, executive vice president of growth and strategic initiatives at Kaplow. “Even people who seem incredibly confident still have insecurities. When brands acknowledge that, people pay attention.”
Start with meaning
Before choosing influencers, events or platforms, Kaplow worked with Renuvion to define what the brand actually stands for. Destigmatizing cosmetic procedures was a top priority.
The brand built their campaign from a brainstorming workshop designed to clarify their narrative, audience targets and white space, Holland said.
“The (workshop) helped us find the space Renuvion could truly own,” Holland said.
Rather than framing their services as a cosmetic flaw to fix, the team positioned it as a confidence issue and stressed the importance of navigating sensitive or emotional topics in a way that would resonate with real people.
When brainstorming a campaign launch, invest in clarity first, Holland said. Define what your brand truly stands for and what unique space it owns before diving into execution. Then lead with human stories and emotions rather than features or technical benefits.
Authenticity over reach
Influencers also played a major role in how Renuvion showcased its services, but the selection process prioritized relevance more than follower count, Holland said.
The team looked for people whose stories naturally aligned with the brand’s message and reflected real life moments.
This led them to Bravo personality Dolores Catania being named Renuvion’s first-ever “Chief of Confidence,” alongside Marysol Patton and Guerdy Abraira, each of whom shared deeply personal experiences tied to confidence, visibility and self-care, Holland said.
The women are well known enough to have reach, but real enough to be relatable to everyday people struggling with similar issues of loose skin, she said.
The campaign came to life through a mix of social video using the hashtag #LosetheLoose to promote the service, earned media and in-person conversations from Miami Swim Week. They also held panels and one-on-one interactions with their audience hosted by Catania.
Renuvion additionally brought in medical professionals to discuss its technology and talk about why the procedure was safe and effective, though Holland admitted bringing in a medical opinion sooner would have lent earlier credibility to the campaign.
“If we were to do it again, we’d deepen our professional engagement sooner, integrating more clinical voices and educational content to bridge the gap between consumer inspiration and professional endorsement,” she said.
Brands that are successful in getting their message across choose partners and voices who genuinely embody their brand’s story and core values. Authenticity resonates more than reach alone, Holland said. Make sure messaging is consistent across all audiences.
Showing audiences values through personal experiences helped reinforce what the brand stands for, not just what it sells, Holland said.
Why it worked
The results reflected the power of emotionally grounded storytelling. The campaign exceeded its impressions goal by 90%, drove significant branded search spikes tied to key moments and led to increased patient demand by name.
It also sparked unsolicited interest from additional influencers, which was a sign the message was resonating, Holland said.
While social media helped spread the word, those in-person live experiences and Q&A sessions brought the most awareness, she said.
In crowded categories like beauty and cosmetics, it’s critical to let emotion and other’s personal stories cut through the noise, Holland said.
“In the future, we’d incorporate more of these moments to maintain momentum, deepen the consumer connections and deliver education where they are,” Holland said.
When brands lead with honesty and acknowledge what people are already feeling, they create relevance that metrics alone can’t manufacture.
“People are flooded with content every day,” Holland said. “You stand out when someone feels seen and when a story makes them stop and think.”
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
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