Beauty in the East

An Interesting article from Korea

The article looks at how beauty marketers are trying to bring the store experience online to drive trial/purchase in new interesting ways beyond couponing.

Also blogs continue to be an untapped opportunity for beauty marketers to leverage consumer insights and reach out to their key influencer audience directly.

Business implications: The digital space is becoming increasingly competitive as beauty marketers begin to tap into social media and build interactive tools to drive preference in-store.

http://www.clickz.com/3635018
By Lisa Lacy, ClickZ, Sep 18, 2009

Mary Kay Cosmetics, Avon, and Rimmel have all licensed virtual makeover application Makeover Studio, above.
Buying beauty products is a very hands-on experience, which can make it tricky for marketers in the online space. But these days brands can't afford to ignore sites like Facebook and Twitter even if their customers can't try out products there.
"People usually do not buy beauty products online -- they replenish online," according to Jennifer Walsh, CEO of Behind the Brand Media. "If people see others talk about a product online or on TV, nine times out of ten, those people will go to the store."
So, besides inundating customers with free samples, what's a beauty product company to do to market itself on the Web?
Plenty, it turns out. From offering virtual makeovers like the new Makeover Studio from Daily Makeover to leveraging entire online communities such as the recently launched E.L.F. Beauty Network, makeup and skin care companies are finding ways to create their own hype and to use existing buzz to their benefit.
Over 60 beauty brands, including Mary Kay Cosmetics, Avon, Maxfactor Clairol, and Rimmel have licensed the virtual makeover application Makeover Studio, which launched last month from Daily Makeover. According to the company, Makeover Studio makes "the online experience more like a department store beauty counter experience."
That's because Makeover Studio includes new rendering and visualization functionality as well as face-tracing capabilities and a large range of makeup finishes, Daily Makeover says.
Even with these advances, challenges remain. One of Mary Kay's independent beauty consultants, Lorraine Kinslow, has a virtual makeover tool on her Web site as well as an extensive customer base that frequently orders online. She notes, "I have established 90 percent of these customers first by having them try the products in person. Then they continue to reorder online."
In cases like this, makeup companies can also allay fears by appealing to customer pocketbooks. Social media sites are an increasingly popular way to distribute discount codes, sale news or special offers to loyal followers. One company doing so is skin care line Lather. Company rep Lori MacGregor recently started a Facebook page where she posts items about upcoming events, promotions and new products. She also uses Lather's Twitter feed to follow beauty bloggers, which she says has allowed her to introduce Lather to them and their readers.
E.L.F Cosmetics, which recently launched the E.L.F. Beauty Network, offers another example of how brands are utilizing user-generated content. This site is an upgrade to the company's old site -- AskELF.com -- and includes discussion groups, forums, beauty advice, recommendations and other ways for customers to interact with the E.L.F. brand.
E.L.F. Chief Marketing Officer Ted Rubin said the company's many fans are vocal on YouTube, Twitter and blogs. So, E.L.F. decided to capitalize on this chatter and create a single space where all of the content could be aggregated along with content the brand produced itself. That site debuted in January.
But, according to a recent study from Grail Research, beauty product companies could perhaps do a better job of utilizing at least one form of user-generated content: blogs.
The Grail study focused on women's skin care and blogs and found there are over 26,000 beauty blogs in existence. These provide often untapped information on women's behavior and attitudes toward skin care. The study found that it's possible to analyze blog comments in a quantitative fashion and that companies can use that information to learn more about customer preferences.

Ruder Finn Asia, part of Ruder Finn’s international network, one of the world’s largest independent public relations firms, together with Albatross Global Solutions, one of the leading market research companies on the luxury industry segment throughout Asia, today jointly released their 2009 China Luxury Forecast. The report shows that theglobal economic downturn has had limited impact on Chinese luxury consumption and that there is widespread confidence in the future among Chinese luxury consumers.

The 2009 China Luxury Forecast interviewed 1,000 luxury consumers with an average annual income of RMB 240,000, from a total of 21 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and 17 tier-2 cities in East, South, West and North China. The survey was conducted during April and May this year. By analyzing consumer confidence and purchasing power, purchasing behavior and intention as well as the information channels that influence decision making, the report aims to help marketers better understand the prevailing behaviors among Chinese consumers and foreseeable trends in luxury consumption over the next year.

In Greater China as a whole, more than half (50.3%) of respondents claimed they will not let the global economic downturn affect their purchases of luxury goods; nearly nine out of ten (89.3%) of respondents said they will not change their preferred categories during the crisis. Tier-1 cities showcase their strong sense of consumer optimism, with 58.9% of respondents claiming that price has little impact on their purchasing plans, against54.6% in tier-2 cities, which is only slightly behind. Beijing expressed the highest optimism among all the surveyed cities, with 44.8% respondents feeling “confident” to “very confident” about their future purchasing power. However, in Hong Kong, luxury consumption and consumer confidence are most affected and consumers maintain a cautious approach compared to mainlandcities. Only one out of ten respondents from Hong Kong was confident that his/her purchasing power would likely increase over the next year whilenearly half said they would maintain a cautious attitude. The remaining 40%expressed pessimism about the future.

Other highlights of the report:
· The gap between tier 1 and tier 2 luxury markets is smaller than anticipated. Consumers in tier 2 cities are becoming more mature in areas such as consumer perceptions, behaviors and the use of information channels
· Traditional media remains an essential communication tool for the Chinese luxury market but the increasing use of internet technology is changing the rules. How to leverage various internet applications to strengthen the “word-of-mouth” effect to enhance and maintain brand reputation has become one of the crucial considerations for decision makers in luxury brands.
· International luxury brands such as LOUIS VUITTON, CARTIER that tapped into the Mainland Chinese market as early as the 90’s, remain in the top positions today despite facing a more competitive market. They have benefited from their long-term, localized and mature marketing events and promotions. The tables below show the preferred brands of respondents in different cities: While Hong Kong remains the main luxury hub in China, with 43.2% of respondents selecting the Special Administrative Region as their favorite destination to purchase luxury items, Shanghai is becoming a luxury hub in its own right. This is especially true in East China, where the city is chosen by 33.3% of tier-2 cities respondents. Because of the strong purchasing power of consumers in this region, we anticipate that Shanghai’s position as a hub for luxury consumption in Mainland China will only increase in the future

Latest research shows that there has been a significant rise in the market for premium facial care products in China as the country's booming economy continues to fuel consumer spend.
Most significant is the fact that purchases of deluxe facial care products that exceed RMB800 (€74) rose by 31 per in the second half of 2007, against a 28 per cent rise in the first half, according to latest figures by market research provider NPD Group.
Equally impressive is the rise in the number of sales for the premium skin care segment - products with a retail value of more than RMB1500 - which in the first half of 2007 represented 10 percent of total sales for the market for facial skin care and 15 percent for the second half of the year.
Purses at the ready!
"The Chinese consumers are ready to spend money to maintain a more youthful appearance," said Edward Wang, manager NPD Group.
"Chinese women believe that there is a direct correlation with the price and the reputation of the brand and the effectiveness of the product," he added.
Skin care is by far the biggest category in the China beauty market, accounting for 70 per cent of total sales. Of this figure three out of every four products are said to be facial skin care products.
Skin care dominates
Putting these figures into perspective, the NPD Group's research shows that currently the second largest beauty category in China is make-up, which accounts for 17 per cent of sales, while fragrance comes in as the third largest category accounting for 13 per cent of sales.
But Wang believes that if the current market conditions prevail, the high growth for the China beauty market will be maintained, with growth in the premium facial skin care category continuing to be a major driving force.
"There are more and more advertisements for premium anti-ageing products in both magazines and on television," said Wang. "These adverts play a major role in the education of Chinese women and influence their spending patterns for skin care."
China facial skin care mirrors US
The evolution of the Chinese skin care market also bears a resemblance to that of one of the most developed markets in the world - the US.
The NPD data points to the fact that in the US the premium facial skin care category grew by 11 per cent in 2007, contributing to a sustained double digit growth over the past 5 years. However, with the US retail market already showing distinct signs of a slow-down and many financial analysts predicting that this might have global repercussions, whether growth in the China premium facial skin care category can be sustained remains to be seen.

By Katie Bird

Anti-ageing and whitening products drive China's prestige beauty industry whilst colour cosmetics may prove to be the sector to watch in 2008.
Skincare accounts for over 70 per cent of 2007's prestige beauty sales in China, and although makeup accounts for only 17 per cent of the market it is tipped to expand according to market research company NPD Group.
Of the skincare products it is anti-ageing formulations that lead the category with the average price standing at 687 RMB ($92) say the group.
"In China, women are willing to pay a premium for anti-ageing skincare products and we are watching this category very carefully because we see it as the driver of the prestige beauty industry here" said the manager of the Chinese beauty division of NPD Edward Wang.
Likewise whitening products are an important category reflecting a wider trend across the Asian markets.
According to Wang the use of whitening products starts at a young age and continues throughout adulthood making it a particularly powerful category.
"This is a product that is more popular in Asia and we see this trend continuing to grow and gain strength in the coming years," he said.
The market research company has also highlighted makeup as an area of growth in the coming year, although at present its share in the market remains fairly small.
Wang notes that historically Chinese women have not been big consumers of makeup and colour cosmetics products, but increasing Western influence is leading to growing interest from Chinese consumers.
"More and more department store counters have enlisted sales people to help women use and try makeup, and it's been well received. We believe there is a lot of growth in this emerging market in China," he said.
In contrast, the prestige fragrance industry is in its infancy according to NPD and Wang notes that cultural habits may be stalling the industry in a similar way to the makeup sector.
"Culturally Chinese men and women don't wear fragrance; it's just not a priority" he said.
The release of the report follows a similar study by NPD Group stating the importance of the prestige market in the US.
According to the report the prestige beauty sector continues to out-perform an otherwise flat market, with spending for the first nine months of 2007 standing at $5.9bn representing 4 per cent growth from the same period in 2006. However, unlike China it is makeup that is leading the sector accounting for 42 per cent of the total sales, with skin care, the sector leader in China, only making up 30 per cent of sales.

July 26, 2009
The 2009 China Luxury Forecast, jointly conducted by Ruder Finn Asia and Albatross Global Solutions, shows that the gap between the tier 1 and tier 2 luxury markets is narrowing. Consumers in tier 2 cities are becoming more maturein areas such as consumer perception and purchasing power. The survey interviewed 1,000 luxury consumers with an average annual income of RMB 240,000. Respondents from tier 2 cities in East, South, West and North China accounted for nearly half of the total sample.
Consumer confidence and purchasing power
Luxury consumption confidence on par: Despite the current economic situation, consumers in tier 2 cities show a strong capacity for luxury consumption, with 54.6% saying that prices have little impact on their optimistic view that their purchasing power will increase. This is only 4.3% lower than the proportion in tier 1 cities. When asked how confident they were about purchasing power over the next year, 36.6% of the respondents in tier 2 cities expressed confidence compared to 38.9% in tier 1 cities.
Smaller gap in purchasing power: In tier 2 cities, 74.9% of the respondents are likely to spend less than RMB 20,000 a year on luxury fashion and accessory items, which is slightly more than in tier 1 cities. Almost a quarter (23.5%) said they would spend between RMB 20,000 and RMB 100,000 a year on luxury fashion and accessory items, which is only 10% less than the number in tier 1 cities. The percentage of respondents spending between RMB 100,000 and RMB 200,000 a year is nearly the same in tier 1 and tier 2 cities.
When it comes to luxury watches and jewelry, 19.1% of respondents in tier 2 cities will spend between RMB 20,000 and RMB 100,000, only 3.7% less than those in tier 1 cities.
Purchasing triggers
Luxury goods as gifts for business: More than 80% of the respondents buy luxury goods for personal use. A small number or respondents purchase luxury goods as business gifts and this is three times more in tier 2 cities (7.6%) than in tier 1 cities (2.2%).
Brand comes first when considering a purchase: The level of luxury brand awareness is narrowing between tier 1 and tier 2 cities. Among all the measured factors, “Brand Reputation” was named as the most important factor by 75.3% of respondents in tier 2 cities, followed by “Brand Heritage”. In addition, some 46.6% of respondents in tier 2 cities said that they are loyal to certain brands, which is close to the percentage in tier 1 cities (47.2%), while Eastern tier 2 cities top the national list with 51.7%. As there are fewer luxury brands in tier 2 cities than in tier 1 cities and Hong Kong, the faster brands tap into the tier 2 markets, the easier it will be for them to build brand loyalty.
Point of Sales
Luxury department stores are the main channel for getting information: 64.5% of respondents in tier 2 cities said they sourced their information on luxury goods from leading department stores, 15% more than in tier 1 cities. The highest incidence of this is in East China where 70% are more likely to obtain information from salespersons in stores. In addition, 61% of the respondents said that a salesperson’s attitude would influence their purchasing decision while 54.6% said they would make a decision after carefully listening to the advice of sales staff.
Information ChannelsUse of information channels similar: The results show that whether in tier 1 or tier 2 cities, the majority of the respondents get brand information from print media articles. Nearly 82% of tier 2 city respondents prefer to learn about new trends among the brands by reading about them in print publications, while some 20% say they get their information from television. Figures are similar for tier 1 city respondents.

http://www.ruderfinnasia.com/util/news/2009-china-luxury-forecast-shows-upward-trend-in-china-s.html

化妆品品牌密丝佛陀在中国推出了在网上的'Maxgazine'活动。
这是此品牌在中国首次采用社交网络。针对18岁至25岁年轻女性，该网站为女性们提供一个可以分享化妆技巧和提示，并与加强消费者和品牌的互动的平台。
香港李奥贝Arc Worldwide的创意总监Victor Manggunio說： “來到美妆志网站的朋友们將变身成杂志主编，编寫她们自己的化妆经验，并和大众分享。”注册用户可以上传自己的照片和内容到电子杂志里，然后链接到社交网站或通过电子邮件把杂志与朋友分享。 活动往后将发展为一个网上比赛讓用户們评论和投票出她們最喜欢的Maxgazine。数码机构Arc表示，尽管许多化妆品品牌把重点放在网上论坛或博客，少数鼓励消费者分享他们自己的想法，并提供他们一个社交圈子。随着Maxgazine，用户可以扮演专业的化妆师，建立一个与品牌的 “拥有”意识。Maxgazine將長期開放。随着时间 Maxfactor将增加网站裡的功能來继续吸引用户支持。

link:http://www.maxfactor.com.cn/maxgazine/#/maxgazine-home

由Agency.com代理卡地亚数字业务后，新的在线campaign在6月26日（世界宣爱日）正式出炉！什么是爱？爱的意义是什么？我该如何表达自己的爱？世人从未停止过对爱的不断追寻与探索……

卡地亚视音乐为表达爱之情感，探索爱之深意的最佳载体，2008年就携手包括香港新生代音乐才子方大同在内的12位国际知名音乐人及音乐创作团体，以12首原创作品阐释当今时代对于爱的独到见解。延续去年的成功，今年卡地亚再度以LOVE为媒，相约创作歌手蔡健雅谱写爱之旋律《Only Love》，用她纯美真挚的音符触动人们心底的真情，分享她对人间万物爱的理解与赞美。《Only Love》是蔡健雅以“HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO FOR LOVE ”为主题的创作，是她对于真爱的表达与解读。谈及这次与卡地亚的合作，蔡健雅表示：“我一直就在关注卡地亚的音乐计划，非常高兴能有机会参与，谱写爱的赞歌。我认为爱是世间最为珍贵的情感，是须臾不可分割的珍宝，是音乐创作的终极灵感。如同我在歌中所写，爱是我最美丽的原因！非常希望大家能够通过我的歌曲感受到真诚美好的爱，认识到爱才是生命的真正主题与动力。”

蔡健雅内心关于爱的宣言也完美呈现了卡地亚长期以来对爱的坚守与执着：坚定不移地探索爱、追寻爱，更重要的是在体会爱的同时，将这份纯真美好的爱意传播出去，与更多的人分享，将无边的大爱浓缩于细微的行动之中，身体力行的去关怀更多需要爱和渴望爱的心灵。如同歌中所唱：“传递心中的温暖和全世界分享，因为真爱存在！用爱去探索，总能找到新的意义!”


相关信息查询 http://www.love.cartier.com/home.php?idlangue=chi_si&idcontinent=ao


Comments：

Cartier positions " music" as a key campaign message to deliver LOVE concept to consumers from 2008 by collecting 12 tailor made love songs that were created by the world most hot musicians and singers .

This year , cartier invited Tanya Cai, one of the most talented singers & producers in Asia to create a song of "only love" and as cartier China charity embassador to say love to needy junior students in china. Online acted as a new communication channel in China for cartier to talk with consumers and cartier booked Rayli online for a whole day (Jun 26) to declare love.

BTW, Cartier also invited a famous film director shot 12 short films under the LOVE theme to broadcast online so help hype the campaign worldwide.

Online has not only play an important role for IT/digital/FMCG/Auto/skincare & cosmetics marketing, but has gradually grown as a special channel for luxury brands to do branding and talk with consumers intimately.

Procter & Gamble today announced its acquisition of the Zirh men's skincare brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Zirh, pronounced to rhyme with "sir," was founded in 1995. It's a super-premium, male grooming brand available in high-end department stores, specialty outlets and online; its products use ingredients such as natural oils, extracts and botanicals.
P&G said the purchase, along with the company's recent acquisition of The Art of Shaving, supports P&G Beauty & Grooming's strategy to build the world's premier male grooming company.
"Zirh is an excellent fit into P&G's already incredibly strong Male Grooming portfolio," said Chip Bergh, Group President, P&G Male Grooming, in a statement. "Although it is a relatively small, North American-centric business, its super-premium positioning and product line up is a perfect complement to our portfolio."
With more than 100 brands available in nearly 130 countries, P&G's beauty and grooming products delivered sales of nearly $28 billion in P&G's last fiscal year, making it one of the world's largest beauty and grooming companies.
Shares in P&G stood at $50.88, down 45 cents, in mid-morning trading.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20090616/BIZ01/906170305/

this is a really smart move. Fortunately, there is an increasing percent of REAL men who attain/maintain a sense of self-pride. The rest are, well, just...SLOBS. Recognized as such the world-over. Travel outside of this country, and you'll realize that fact of life. P&G's new line reveals its amibition in this category. Men's skincare is bound to be another increase point of toilitery industry.

Recently, Lancome has opened a new counter in Grand Gateway in Xujiahui business circle, which further strengthens its sales power in Xujiahui District.

The counter located at the biggest flow of Grand Gateway: down on the ground floor, at the corner of the elevator, facing the hall. The counter faces Biotherm, Clinique, and Clarins. With this counter and others in Orient shopping center, Asia Pacific shopping center, Lancome has already shaped a sales triangle in Xujiahui commercial circle, which puts another threat to the other cosmetic brands at this area.

by Monika
Now a days it is very important to stay fit and young for a longer time. There are several natural anti aging procedures to stay young for a longer time. One may say that it is possible only by cosmetic surgery. These are very simple yet very effective. Let us list the most important ones.
Milk and milk products may help you restore the collagen levels in the skin at faster rate. In general our body requires 500 -600 mg of calcium every day which is fulfilled by this intake.
Our body is hurt by every bad postures, sedentary jobs and unhealthy diet. Thus one of the anti aging secrets is to detox every week.For detoxication, engulf detoxication capsules and drinks. This helps to shed off the toxins and promotes cell regeneration.
There are certain diet regimes to be followed: 1. Reduce fat intake 2. Reduce alcohol intake 3. Reduce sugar intake 4. Reduce starches (pasta, breads, rice)
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs. These types of drugs will age you quickly. A high intake of caffeine, alcohol and nicotine inhibits the absorption of of calcium into bone and speeds up the process of bone loss. Smoking generally triggers the early menopause and may even lead to cancer of lungs, blood, skin and colon. Any intoxification can make you feel older than your age as they kill the collagen content of the skin cells.
Anti-aging supplements like Resveratrol Ultra are very helpful to slow down the ageing process of the skin. Along with this you can apply products like Dermapril which would help you have a glowing skin without any laugh marks or wrinkles.

from: http://skin-care-products-and-reviews.blogspot.com/2009/05/anti-aging-techniques-do-they-work.html