Teaching Old Beauty Dogs New PR Tricks

You may ask yourself what a guy like me is doing writing about beauty PR, but I can assure you this subject is just as natural to me as any other for the clients we serve at 5WPR. Our goal is to take a company in any fiercely competitive industry, and thrust their product to the forefront of the business spotlight. Why should it matter whether it’s lipstick, vodka or insurance? The tactics are the same across the board, as I can easily point out with a topic where you might think I have no experience: makeup.

The truth is, beauty is not the only industry where a company has a product on the market that’s been a top seller for decades. Much of their longevity is due to their quality and resilience, and word of mouth passes the premium qualities down to the next generation. Why does a young teenager dream about owning the hottest sports car? Because the quality is consistent over decades and his dad drove one. Why does a mother give her child Bayer aspirin to bring down a fever? Her parents insisted on the brand when she was a toddler. The same concept holds true for cosmetics, and 5WPR seizes on this aspect of the product to build a foundation for a marketing strategy.

Despite the quality and reputation, a product can slide over time. This is typically the case when an ad campaign becomes stale and the target audience ages. At this point, it’s up to a top notch PR company like 5WPR to develop new ways of branding and marketing to new generations of users. We have partnered with the premier brands in the beauty industry to ensure high visibility for older products that have stood the test of time.

A perfect example is the history of Maybelline’s Great Lash Mascara. While mascara had first been introduced in the early 1900s as an eye enhancer, Great Lash was released in 1971 and quickly became popular among its disco-loving users for its bold color and long lasting qualities. By the early 1980’s makeup had become more subtle and thick eyelashes were no longer en vogue. Maybelline responded with a PR campaign that promoted its versatility and ease of removal. They kicked it up again the late 90s when sales had stagnated, by both redesigning the packaging and introducing an easy-to-remove waterproof formula. The lesson to be taken away is that innovative PR tactics and promoting to the right target audience are key to re-launching a mature product in a way to achieve measurable results.