Friday, November 20, 2009

CoverGirl: an America's Hottest Brands Case Study


Cover Girl
Tony Pettinato
In past years, Procter & Gamble Co. has lost face in cosmetics as it's shed both share and brands in a competitive business, but CoverGirl appears to have turned a corner and kept the momentum going strong.

In 2008, LashBlast mascara gave CoverGirl its strongest offering yet in eye makeup and allowed it to take share from a stronghold of rival L'Oréal's Maybelline. One key to the product's success was a new brush -- a big improvement on days earlier in the decade, when P&G was still buying brushes from L'Oréal.

This year's launches of Simply Ageless foundation with Olay moisturizers and Outlast Lipstain, the first mass product of its kind, built the momentum.

By the third quarter of 2009, CoverGirl's market share was up 3.5 points from early 2007 in eye makeup, and its shares in facial makeup and lipstick were up 3.2 and 2.1 points, respectively, from a year ago, according to Information Resources Inc. data from Deutsche Bank.

LashBlast became the top mass mascara in the U.S. four months after its launch last year, according to P&G, with Simply Ageless reaching a similar mark in anti-aging foundation in four months this year.

Leading the marketing effort behind those big gains has been Vince Hudson, 38, who has a history of being where big things happen. He was part of P&G's earliest online marketing and e-commerce teams in the late 1990s, brand manager for the launch of Crest Whitestrips in 2000, and marketing director on Prilosec OTC three years later in what became a record-selling Rx to over-the-counter switch.

In an e-mail, Mr. Hudson credits Drew Barrymore, an innovative brush and a big orange tube for pushing LashBlast to the top. Turning Ellen DeGeneres into a CoverGirl model helped do the trick for Simply Ageless, as did the partnership with Olay. And Outlast Lipstain has gotten a heavy dose of digital, putting CoverGirl in the lead among P&G brands in reliance on digital marketing, with as much as 10% of its measured-media spending there, not counting extensive mobile marketing.

"Many of our consumers want to be the first to know about the latest trends in makeup and go online to find out what's new and hot," Mr. Hudson said. "We update our website frequently with new product information and tips and tricks from experts. Women can also upload their personal photos, try on different shades and speak with a beauty consultant 24 hours a day."

CableLatino: an America's Hottest Brands Case Study





CableLatino
As pay-TV subscriber numbers languished in a tough economy, Comcast was drawing in new customers to its Spanish-language cable service, CableLatino, with insightful and creative marketing.
The insight was that many Spanish-preferring Hispanics weren't signing up for a Spanish-language cable package because they figured they could get by with a hazy grasp of English-language channels.

To shift that mindset, Comcast marketers such as Kim Taylor and U.S. Hispanic shop Grupo Gallegos deployed an award-winning ad campaign with the theme "If you don't see TV in your language, you miss a big part of the story." Spots feature English-language newscasters warning of dangers such as escaped criminals and contaminated food, but pictures of the fleeing felon and poisoned brands are obscured by Spanish-language subtitles.

As new pay-TV subscriber numbers dropped by up to 20%, CableLatino's subscribers rose by 2.7%.

Ms. Taylor, who joined Comcast in 2005 as senior director marketing for Comcast Cable, drove the CableLatino initiative, bringing valuable broader experience with video, creating entertainment experiences around themes such as Hispanic Heritage month and adding new channels. She was promoted to the newly created post of VP-multicultural marketing in August 2009, in recognition of the importance of that audience and her efforts in overseeing Hispanic in her previous marketing role.

"It was a tough year in the video space, but the Hispanic product has grown," Ms. Taylor said. "And we're seeing growth in internet and voice. We're a triple-play company. We see CableLatino as the engine that drives those three products."

CableLatino continues to move forward with a Nuevo CableLatino initiative rolling out market-by-market with up to 60 channels and more than 300 on-demand options, an area that has been limited in the Hispanic market and has room for growth.

The Nuevo CableLatino effort is backed by an anthem campaign that includes a spot and a microsite called "Sueña en Grande" ("Dream Big") (suenaengrande.com). Both were inspired by the lyrical stop-motion music video "Her Morning Elegance," which has been viewed more than 8 million times on YouTube.