Sunday, 23 November 2014

Branding Strategies of MAC Cosmetics

MAC is an international Cosmetics brand, founded by Taskan and Angelo Targeted to fashion industry professionals in 1984.

In 1991, First US store opened in NYC Greenwich Village.

Estee Lauder gains control (bought 51%) and MAC Aids Fund introduced in 1994.

Also Lauder purchased remaining 49%, MAC had sales of ~ $100 mill in 1998.

Currently MAC sells to consumers in 79 countries.

Timeline of MAC Brand:

 

MAC's Brand Promise:
MAC promises on 4 things:
  1. Distinctive
  2. Valued
  3. Consistently delivered
  4. Kept over time 
Elaborately MAC brand promises a creative makeup experience giving you the confidence to stand out and be stylish.

 

Statements of MAC's Vision:
  • A time when creativity and beauty rule for all ages , all races, all sexes.
  • To create confidence and celebrate individuality through the MAC look.
  • Plaful irreverence, cool confidence, socially-aware.
MAC Brand Culture:
  • Artefacts: Eye-catching, chic, stylish High profile backstage make up studio
  • Rural Values: Elite, Equality
  • Fashions: Makeover.
MAC Objectives:
  • In long term objective is to consistently deliver trusted creativity.
  • In short term objective is to staing ahead of fashion and trends.
Brand Essence:
  1. Product: MAC products are colorful, bold, custom. Matches every skin tone. Cutting-edge seasonal lines.
  2. Environment: Backstage makeup studio, Cosmopolitan, Professional.
  3. Behavior:  involves low-pressure, collaborative, expert advice, trusted, playful.
  4. Communication: Word-of-Mouth, SEO(Search engine optimization), Print & Outdoor advertising Public Relations.
MAC Brand Pleasure:  
  1. Personal Satisfaction:
    • Creative license
    • Individuality
    • Confidence
    • Style
  2. Group/Belonging:
    • Aspirational
    • Social badge
    • Insider
    • Fashionista
  3. Cultural/ Elite Equality:
    • Diversity of Icons
    • Special attention paid to opinion leaders
    • Staff of make-up artists
Branding Strategies of MAC:

Product Differentiation Strategy: 
  1. Enhancers:
    • Develop different blends of pigments to match customer's needs in international markets(BRIC)
    • Develop different durability/intensity of pigments and viscosity to meet PRO versus consumer/ customer needs.
  2. Drivers:
    • Durability of long lasting pigments and relatively large product sizes.
  3. Quality Aesthetics:
    • Distinct packaging and limited edition.
Pricing Strategy:
  1. Value-in-Use Premium Pricing strategy: 
    • Consumer benefit > cost
  2. Company/Product Life-cycle:
    • Brand extensions justify premium "skimming" price
    • Multi-segment Pricing
  3. Comparable Prices to Competitors: 
    • Differentiations
    • Focus on customer loyalty
    • Cost of switching
  4. Product Line Pricing: 
    • Complementary Products
Promotional Strategies:
  1. Word of Mouth:
    • Free products for professionals, celebs and media
    • Builds credibility, awareness
  2. Motivating Action Communication:
    • "Back to MAC" - Rewarding top performers, motivating high polentials
    • CRM
  3. Social media:
    • Customer Participation on website, FB and Twitter
    • Message comprehension, frequency
Economies of scope through product family strategy:
Aggregated materials and production processes over brand extensions lowers VC, allows for more frequent extensions.


MAC Cosmetics Social media strategy triumphs over L'Oreal, Benifit and Chanel:
 
MAC Cosmetics runway social media in cosmetics sector:

The cosmetics sector has a long way to go to rival the most compelling brands in the social media space, particularly if you compare the sector as a whole to the fashion retail space. The report, Color Cosmetics Social Engagement Report analyses the social media strategies of 20 of the UK’s most recognizable cosmetic brands including MAC, Clinique, L’Oreal, Chanel, Benefit, Estee Lauder, Clarins, Dior, Maybelline and Lancome.

Uniquely, the report doesn’t just rank the brands that produce the greatest volume of content or have the largest following but looks at how brands engage with their customers, where they engage with them and how brands are benefiting from this engagement.

MAC Cosmetics was revealed as the runaway leader, dominating the colour cosmetics sector due to the seamless integration between its social channels and brand website. It has a highly targeted content strategy that is fulfilling the needs of consumers, earning shares and interactions on the key social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

A Multi-Faceted Approach to Marketing by MAC Cosmetics:

Direct Mail and QR codes:

Recently, the MAC Cosmetics team launched a new campaign that combines direct mail with mobile marketing. Many times, retail stores will use direct mail to reach out to possible customers or distribute rewards coupons to consumers enrolled in their loyalty programs. Rather than targeting potential customers locally or offering exclusive discounts to rewards program members, MAC took a slightly different approach with their recent campaign.

Customers who shop at MAC’s U.S. flagship store in New York City and sign up for the retailer’s mailing list at check out receive special deliveries from the retailer. But these deliveries aren’t coupons or free products. To say thank you for recent purchases, MAC Cosmetics has created a postcard with a friendly note and a scan-able QR code. When a mobile user scans the code, they have the option of viewing a series of tutorial videos related to some of MAC Cosmetics’ most popular products. Customers can easily access tips and tricks from professional makeup artists on how to make the most of their recent purchases.

Social Awareness by MAC: 
  1. Viva Glam Aids Fund:
    • Counseling Session for an HIV+ Woman
    • Safer-sex kits (Condoms, Lube, Dental Dams and Information)
    • Deliveries of dietetically sound meals
    • Pair of school Shoes for a child orphaned by Aids.
  2. MAC PRO
  3. Cruelty-free products 
  4. Back to MAC recycling 
Recommendation:
  1. Long-Term:
    • CRM via Digital Marketing (MAC Mobile App, Database Tracking on website)
    • MAC Micros (Mini Sizes)
    • All Sexes (Men's Product Line, Male Role Models)
  2. Short Term:
    • Employee Attitudes: Increase store & employee evaluations focus on industry pros introduce store etiquette page positivity.
In a nut-shell, 
The MAC cosmetics brand has experienced great success by evolving to stay relevant, utilizing effective positioning in terms of core values, brand personality and customer relationships as wel as consistently delivering  the brand promise over time.

References: 


Posted by at 5 comments:

Friday, 17 October 2014

SHWAPNO 's Branding Failure Strategies



ACI’s retail arm SHWAPNO is one of the major superstores in Bangladesh and probably among the biggest marketing failures in the marketing history of Bangladesh. ACI spent huge money on infrastructure and branding and created a lot of buzz but awfully failed to attract traffic and generate fat.

Perhaps the reason is less than expected performance which fall into two categories:
  1. Operational issues and
  2. Theoretical issues.
There are more issues in terms of investment & withdrawal such as launching & withdrawal of Rothmans of BATB.

Reasons for branding failure of SHWAPNO:

1. Brand Name:

I think "SHWAPNO" is not an appropriate name for a superstore. As it's an abstract name and doesn't give a clear message or make clear sense about anything related to superstore. In this case people might get confused what the company does actually .it's because there is no clue in the name. So I would say "SHWAPNO bazar", "SHWAPNO mart", "SHWAPNO buying point", "SHWAPNO buy your daily needs" would have been a much better selection as a brand name.

2. Advertising:

People in Bangladesh basically follow renowned actor or actresses as fashion trend. Whereas SHWAPNO introduced new faces to their advertisement in billboard. It doesn't help much to create a strong Brand image. Rather doing that SHWAPNO should introduce popular character for their billboard advertising modeling. This plays a strong role in branding & It will help them to grab a new customer base as well.

3. Sales promotion:

There are some disadvantages of sales promotion as it makes customers and traders more price sensitive not only for the promoted brands but also for other brands as well in the same product category. Consumers wait for the promotion deals to be announced and then purchase the product. As from the 18th September SHWAPNO discount offer can create negative impression upon customers. Customer may think that either the product is lower category or outdated. Some customer may be use to with discount offer while they may always wait for discount offer. So discount offer should always give once a year not more than that. Otherwise customer may used to with these offers. And it demolishes a Brand image.

4. Internet Marketing:

Online shopping is considered to be a very helpful way of buying products through the internet especially during the holidays. Nowadays, and with the help of the new technology and the support of the internet, people from all around the world started to purchase items online by simply sitting in their homes. SHWAPNO can also open online store so that people can give order to purchase in sitting home. Nowadays internet marketing plays a major & important role to create a good Brand image.


5. Public relation:

Public relations have the power to reach a large audience, giving your business the platform it needs to really shine and allows you to attach credibility to any product or company. Consumers today are more cautious when spending. That’s why having credibility is so essential to a successful business. Because PR and advertising are very different things, consumers are likely to give credibility to your business when they see it mentioned in the media compared to when they see your ads or billboards. Studies show that PR has 7 times more credibility among consumers than advertising. SHWAPNO did public relation marketing for their Malibagh outlet where they spread their space for only lifestyle segment which is not enough for a retail store such as SHWAPNO. Because SHWAPNO has several outlets all over the Bangladesh & have more competitions too so doing PR for only one outlet is too tiny in front of it. Rather SHWAPNO should arrange for PR mostly for outlets which is situated in main & centered points/areas and also where customers are big in quantity. It's mandatory for creating positive Brand image.

6. Other operational issues:

Although SHWAPNO's USP is lower price but there are some operational issues such as inappropriate site selection, absence of parking facilities, product assortment, inefficient supply chain management, and corrupt management are highly pronounced which create inconvenience for customers.
In my view point i would say "Repositioning" is must for SHWAPNO based on given financial commitment already made & substandard market performance. Though I have already mentioned some solutions above regarding SHWAPNO's brand strategies, again i am giving a short list of my suggestions for repositioning SHWAPNO's Brand image.
  1. Since a brand name is already created so i would suggest to add a meaningful & precise subtitle with it.So that,people may understand what the company actually does.
  2. SHWAPNO should hire renowned & famous celebrities/models for their advertisement & as brand spoke person & make new innovative or creative campaigns to grab more attention & attraction.
  3. They should start internet/online marketing for the convenience of customers.
  4. They should arrange PR for main main outlets all over the Bangladesh where customers generate the most.Because PR holds a great impact on Brand image.
  5. SHWAPNO should ensure parking facilities for big outlets,should improve their supply chain management & also should take necessary action to avoid corruptions.

If SHWAPNO follows these,I hope they would be successful to create a new & better Brand image than before.

References:
Posted by at 35 comments:
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)