Great article by Cate. T. Corcoran for WWD on Crowdsourcing. She gives a good snapshot of what is being done in the fashion industry and introduces the concept for the beauty industry: “In beauty, mass production is king, but it’s easy to imagine crowdsourcing start-up funding; a service that would connect customers with special editions; makeup custom blended to match any digital fi le or swatch from the customer ( just like at the paint store), and contests for marketing, packaging and other ideas.”.

It is great to see that the concept of crowdsourcing, or Social Production, like we prefer to call it (the process of creating conversation between individuals, groups or experts, to produce something where there is mutual gain) as an option for beauty – finally! It is time to involve customers (friends & fans) in order to evolve. It is the only way to innovate and differentiate. Creating beauty products and experiences behind closed doors and planning expensive launches are a thing of the past. It is better to get the buy-in early on by inviting people to participate in the process.

People often wonder what is the future of beauty retail with the advent of online and pharmacies. Yesterday I happened to find myself in front on the Kiehl’s flagship store in the East Village (NY) on my way to an art supply store. I needed a gift for a friend and found the gorgeous Jeff Koons limited edition of the Creme de Corps. Beautiful & colorful tulip design plus all proceeds going to the Koons Family Institute (Koon’s son was abducted by his ex-wife which inspired him to fight for children’s rights). The staff was beyond kind and extremely helpful. She asked me what samples would my friend like, put the Creme de Corps in a beautiful box filled with dry flowers and surrounded by deluxe samples (I even got extra samples of the new Rosa Artica and Double Strength Deep Wrinkle Filler, the latter being my new best friend). 

So on the future of retail? Old fashioned experience & value: friendly staff, free product trial and (above all) pamper me. I will schlep there because they made me feel like a million dollars for less than $50.

Photo via vanityfair.com

Yesterday I went to Sephora Soho for a quick make up fix before dinner and played with make up at the Make Up Forever Boutique & Studio (two other boutiques were opened in the US at The Venetian in Las Vegas and at the South Coast Plaza in Cosa Mesa.  This is a great concept that was well implemented. Services include free make up classes with purchase of products not to mention the great variety of product available to experiment with. It is definitely a great studio experience and helps to differentiate the brand. My first thought was: it looks a lot like a department store. Does it make sense? What about the other brands? 

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the large product offering, so I agree that it is nice to have brand experts giving personalized consultations. But can’t stop thinking how will Sephora offer similar experiences to the other brands… One idea would be for Sephora to consider creating pop up stores within its stores to give all brands a chance, at some point, to connect with customers in a more personalized way. 

Picture: Courtesy photo Sephora Make Up Forever Concept Store (via The Red Lipstick Report)

Video: Watch the launch party here.

I was impressed by how Manwomanfilm used flowers as a decorative and beautifying element in a You Tube video back in August 2009. I always thought there was something unique about the style and treatment and was wondering if she would become a phenomena in the US. By this summer I recognized a similar treatment in the Rouge Dior campaign, then on a current Lord and Taylor campaign posted all over NYC. To top it off, Galliano’s Autum/Winter 2011 collection presented in Paris last July was total flower power. Galliano said: "I’m having a floral moment".

Coincidence? Or did Manwomanfilm inspired them all? I think she quietly did. 

Manwomanfilm Makeup Flower Garden, 110K views,  August 2009

Rouge Dior 2010

Lord & Taylor rebranding campaign

Dior Autumn/Winter 2011 by Galliano.

This week I had the pleasure to meet with Shiri Sarfati, Vice President of Repechage, a seaweed based spa brand known for its world-renowned famous Four Layer Facial. Shiri gave me a tour of their HQ in Seacacus, NJ and I was truly impressed. Repechage develops, produces, packages, tests, trains and ships everything from this location. It even extracts its famous seaweed in-house. Repechage is a family run business with the advantage that the original founder is still involved and able to connect with customers in a very personal way. The brand has heritage, but most importantly a soul, one of the most valuable assets a brand can have in our social media driven times. Repechage started its social media efforts organically in-house and has already developed a strong following. Shiri actively blogs and twits about the spa industry. Repechage’s CEO and founder Lydia Sarfati, has also embraced social media and interacts with friends/followers on a regular basis through video, blogging and Twitter. 

You can follow Shiri on Twitter @spaheiress.

I was surprised to learn recently via Ad Age that some of the largest beauty and consumer package goods only appointed their first CMOs in the last 5 years. I guess they were running each brand as a separate marketing operation with their own individual budgets. But now realized that having one centralized team overseeing marketing (job descriptions may vary) may help bring efficiences. Or will it add another layer of complexity generating more meetings, reports and overhead to the already understaffed brands? Let’s hope that these changes help make the operations run smoother and more efficiently. 

L’Oreal: The last to appoint a CMO. As of Jan 1, 2011, Marc Menesguen, a L’Oreal 25 year veteran, will head the company’s newly created strategic marketing department (responsibilities to include: strategic watch, consumer understanding, marketing creativity, advertising creation, digital communication and distribution methods.)

Unilever: Named Keith Weed, its first CMO, in 2008 (also responsible for communications and sustainability issues)

Estee Lauder, Earlier in 2010 named Johnson & Johnson veteran Georgia Garinois-Melenikiotou as its first CMO.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. appointed its first CMO in 2007, Tony Palmer, Kellogg veteran.

Ad Age Article (found on Google): L’Oreal Appoints first CMO, Joining CPG, Beauty Peers, by Jack Neff, September 21st, 2010

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