I just read a great article by Cate T. Corcoran on WWD.com called: Marketing’s New Rage: Sponsoring Influential Bloggers. Fashion seems to be leading the way and I believe beauty brands must be dealing with similar issues of their own. This is a difficult topic, but Cate’s research and insights were very good and this is a must read for understanding the space. Bloggers are a fundamental part of both fashion and beauty industries that rely so strongly on word of mouth and influence. Some are bigger than traditional niche publications and brands are starting to realize that. Jessica Schroeder from the blog What I wore makes an interesting point in the article:

“The brands that are working with bloggers, I think they get it, they realize bloggers are their customers and their bloggers’ readers are their customers, so they’re taking that natural chain of who they want to work with. You have these customers who are already wearing their stuff, so why not see how you can take it further with design collaborations or videos?

In my opinion, open collaborations with bloggers and friends/fans (we call it Social Production) are the best way to go forward. Inviting them into the product development process, like Coach did resulting in the launch of 4 handbags designed by NY and LA fashion bloggers, and allowing them to participate in the research, ideation, design and launch can spur innovation, engagement and most importantly sales. This will create a different dynamic and revenue model for bloggers (how different is this from a free-lancer?) that may help solve the problem of trying to use traditional compensation strategies in our post-modern blogging media world.

Sources & Photo Credits: WWD & Refinery 29

Cosmetics and beauty apps continue to flood the market. Below is a list of the latest finds.

Beauty Calls – $0.99 (via Laser Beauty Cosmetics): Health and beauty tips, beauty consultation, home recipes and coupons.
TotalBeauty.com – Free: Over 45,000 beauty product reviews and ratings ranging from mass to prestige.

Cosmetifique – $0.99 (via Laser Beauty Cosmetics): A database of cosmetics ingredients that allows customers to search INCI names and provides a rating for each ingredient: great, good or bad.

Cruelty-Free – free (via Eco Salon): Searchable database of what companies are cruelty-free (beauty,household and personal care).

Haircaster – $0.99 (via Geek Sugar):  Uses location to find out the local weather and then analyzes how the humidity and temperature will affect hair.

Hair Make Over – $1.99 (via Laser Beauty Cosmetics): Offers over 250 hair styles to try virtually.

iPerfumer – Free: Personal fragrance consultant created by the fragrance house Givaudan. This App keeps track of the kind of fragrances you like and helps you choose new ones.

MyUVAlert – free (via Cosmetics Design): Provides sun protection information on the go and customreapplication reminders, local UV index forecasts, coupons, tips and more. 

Opi – Free: Browse over 200 Opi shades and select nail colors (according to skin tone).

Pretty Nails - $0.99 (via Geek Sugar):  GPS based searches on Google Maps for nail and manicure salon closest to you. 

More on Cosmetics & Beauty Apps: Cosmetics and Beauty apps from last year.

Sources: Laser Beauty Cosmetics, Geek Sugar, Cosmetics Design, EcoSalon.

This is a slow but sure trend that has been developing in the last 24 months. Brands have started to allocate marketing dollars to produce content similar to magazines (beyond a plain blog).

Are brands becoming publishers? Or shall we call them self-publishers? Well it depends. Dolce & Gabanna seems to have been one of the first with the launch of Swide, a site that focus mostly in promoting their own brand with all kinds of interesting and behind the scenes content. It also covers other fun and witty info ranging from style, faces and life – full of live and sexyness. Check out this post about a video made for Kiehl’s ("I LOVE YOU" directed by Stephen Blaise). Earlier this year (around February 2010) LVMH closed eLuxury.com and relaunched as Nowness, an online magazine, completely independent from a content standpoint, focusing on showcasing the most creative and international content about fashion, art, culture and travel with a luxury angle (very posh and great sources of insipiration). 

Liz Claiborne Inc is the latest brand to join the publishing bandwagon with the launch of The Highlow, a magazine style site that aims to celebrate the democratization of fashion. It reads like a not-overproduced fashion blog, written by a really nice girl (Felicity Loughrey) with an easygoing voice and fashion insights. The great plus for us are the industry headlines posted under ‘the thread’. They intend to keep the conent editorially independent as their mission is to start conversation and dialogue with people, and not make it read like an ad.

These are great examples of how content creation and marketing are evolving (and blending?) to create engagement and dialog. There are many ways to do it. It all depends on the brand’s comfort level and strategy. I personally think Swide is a great example as it is not shy about self-promoting by giving fans what they want, an opportunity to see more behind the scenes – how D&G do things, what the designers like and ultimately what they think. Fans want to be part of, identify with, belong to brands and have a say. Can magazines connect with readers the same way (and how are they going to make up for these repurposed budgets)? Who will be the first in beauty to do it? I bet it will be a haircare company.

Sources: WWD.com

Has fragrance licencing gone too far? I had to think a bit when I read the article on WWD. It is quite an odd but somewhat interesting spin. It also reminds me of fragrances like Adidas that are a little souless. Are the notes based on the author’s experience? Or on the interpretation of the words by Fresh? Is it an attempt to leverage Julia Roberts as the main character? In any case, the price point is low enough and the packaging similar enough to Fresh look and feel, that it may do well regardless of the unusual association. I am curious to see the online campaign and the actual scents!

I often think about social responsibility and how brands can stand out these days. I firmly believe that instead of governments, the private sector should be the main driver of social change (a combination of doing good and doing well). Social media enables people to share their opinions and advocate. Brands are trying to figure out how to use social media in order to create meaningful conversations. These conversations will be created, shared and multiplied if they are rooted in causes that are relevant and dear to their fans/advocates (shall we no longer call them customers or consumers?). 

So I was very glad that at the recent WWD CEO Summit (May 2010) there was a panel discussion about digital marketing that brought up the concept of relevancy to our industry. Panelists included B. Bonin Bough, global director of digital and social media at PepsiCo; Jory des Jardins, president, strategic alliances, and co-founder of BlogHer Inc.; Kevin Kells, national industry director of consumer packaged goods at Google Inc., and Fred Mossler of Zappos.com. 

The highlight, in my opinion, was introducing the audience to PepsiCo’s Refresh project, which is giving away $20 million to sponsor community projects driven by individuals, not organizations. PepsiCo reallocated budget from its Superbowl opening ad position into this effort in order to build relevance in the eyes of the consumer while promoting the health of its brand.

Here are some interesting quotes from WWD article Digital Directive that covered the panel, June 06/11/10: "Bough (from PepsiCo) observed, “When people are having conversations about our brand online, are they mentioning these attributes — a brand that I can’t live without, a brand that I know supports my passions?”He continued, “What it was really about was, can the brand stand for something, can we remind people that a soda can make a difference and, even more, that your choice makes a difference? Kells of Google added, “Relevancy is tied to effectiveness. That’s where I think in the next decade, the conversation has to switch.” He added that the industry has been too hung up on efficiency. The best way to grow the top line, he asserted, “is to be more effective. The way to do that is to be more relevant at the right moment for the right outcome.”

Brands like MAC have connected and created relevance through many ways and specially with Viva Glam. Most of the other beauty companies support breast cancer. However our beauty fans/advocates are dealing with a wide variety of interests, needs and wants, that brands could tap into to connect and create relevance. Why don’t you ask them what they care about before your next campaign?

Credits: Photo by Harvey Bilt, WWD.com

Shiseido was the first to introduce a digital make up mirror in Japan, according to Springwise (3/15/2010). Now Walmart has started a trial in 10 stores according to WWD (5/28/2010): 

"Wal-Mart is quietly testing a virtual makeup mirror in a 90-day trial at 10 stores in various locations around the country. The technology uses IBM, Sprint and EZface to allow shoppers to test makeup virtually by taking a photo and scanning barcoded cosmetics that are applied to the image. Shoppers can save their image and e-mail it to themselves." 

Customers can test makeup, hair-coloring and other facial products. Craig Velliquette, a client executive for IBM’s Wal-Mart team, tells StorefrontBacktalk: “It’s providing customers shopping assistance for a variety of looks, including day and night looks.” 

If this test proves successful and the tool gets rolled out, Walmart may revolutionize the way women buy make up and skin care forever, bringing down trial and sampling costs for manufacturers while giving customers a better idea of how products will look once applied. Brands will be able to use this tool to quickly promote new and complimentary products online. The future may be here!

Estee Lauder announced this week that it will purchase Smashbox, the LA photo-studio and Hollywood inspired brand, founded by Dean and Davis Factor, great-grandsons of legendary Hollywood makeup artist Max Factor. The move by Lauder complements the existing make-up portfolio consisting of MAC and Bobbi Brown, both make up artists brands and shouldn’t bring any cannibalization. Au contraire, it gives Lauder access to a younger audience reached by a variety of alternative channels (outside the traditional department store that is responsible for 30% of Lauder’s sales) including QVC, Sephora, ULTA and Macy’s new Impulse Beauty concept.

Smashbox will also bring knowledge in digital and social media."We are excited to be acquiring a uniquely positioned cosmetics brand with true talent well known for engaging consumers," John Demsey, a group president at Estee Lauder (LA Times).

Here are my 3 takeaways from the acquisition:

- Expansion into new channels of distribution (i.e. assisted open-sell environments and specialty distribution channels)

- Access to younger generation

- Expertise in digital and social media to advance its current capabilities

Read original Estee Lauder Press Release. Found at NYTimes blog.

Eco-friendly nail polish manufacturer, Zoya is celebrating Earth Day by inviting customers to exchange old (most likely toxic) nail polish for brand new ones. To qualify, they need to send at least 6 bottles and pay $3.50/each for shipping. Zoya will ship replacements in the shades of their choice and commits to safely dispose old bottles according to EPA guidelines (they should be treated like other paints and solvents). Great example of an eco-conscious campaign that fits the company’s philosophy, while promoting new products and educating consumers about ingredients and safe disposal of old polish.

Here what others said about this campaign: 

Awakened Aesthetic, Planet Green, Greening Austin Daily, GreenWala, Krasey Beauty

The volume of Beauty tweets is overwhelming these days. Many people ask me: "What beauty blogs should I read?". Facecaker has organized a vast amount of content generated by beauty bloggers, magazines, manufacturers, networks, news, product reviews, salon/spas, marketing/consultants/pr and stores. Once you click on their specific pages you will find a list of latest tweets, a brief description, links to their site and twitter page, plus numbers of friends and followers. You can either quickly navigate all tweets, links and pictures or follow the lists. Follow them on Twitter @facecaker.