Marketing Mix - Bobbi Brown

 Introduction

(Source 1) "It all started with a simple idea – natural looking makeup and a lipstick that looked like lips."

(Source 2) Bobbi began working as a professional make-up artist in New York after earning her degree in theatrical makeup from Emerson College in 1980. Before becoming one of the today’s top entrepreneurs in the beauty industry, she was known as and still is the go-to make-up artist for the natural makeup look. The harsh contouring, pale face and bright red lipstick trend in the 1980s were frustrating for Bobbi as her vision was to enhance natural feminine beauty as opposed to creating an artificial makeup look - and that's exactly what she did. In 1988 she was involved in a photoshoot for Mademoiselle where she got the opportunity to meet a chemist which led her to design ten brown-based lip colour shades. Bobbi's lipsticks were a huge success when launched in 1991 at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. Initially, the number of lipsticks she had expected to sell in a month (100), were sold within the first 24 hours of the product launch. In 1995 Bobbi sold her Empire to a million-dollar company, Estee Lauder. The brand is still loyal to its ethics, and the brand is recognised by its original name Bobbi Brown. (Source 3) Up until 2016, she has achieved great success and respect being the no.1 makeup brand, expanding her product line as well as launching five books regarding beauty. Her books include general teenage beauty, living beauty, beauty evolution, beauty rules, pretty powerful- dedicated to one of her many successful campaigns and a makeup manual which were all on the New York’s best seller list. (Source 4) The Marketing Mix is described as " putting the right product in the right place, at the right time and at the right price. The marketing mix includes four key components known as the 4P's - Product, Price, promotion and place. As well as these the marketing mix also includes People, Process and Physical Evidence which are known as the Extended Marketing Mix. 

Product

According to (Dibb et al., 2016, p. 28) (Source 5) “A Product can be described as a good, a service or even an idea." This variable within the marketing mix specifically concentrates on consumer research based on their desires along with designing the actual product and making sure it measures up to the customer’s standards. It is vital for a business to make accurate and smart decisions when producing goods and services as the finished output should attract and satisfy the particular target market that the firm is aiming their products or service towards. (Dibb et al., 2016, p. 28) (Source 5) In order to obtain and satisfy customer demand consistently across the board, a company must be able to reintegrate existing products, develop new ones and discontinue products that have decreased in customer demand. (Gattis, 2016) (Source 6) For example, due to weak demand and patterns in purchases, Bobbi Brown discontinued many of their blush compacts, lipstick colours and eyeshadows. (Source 7) Although from time to time the brand reintroduces their discontinued products to purchase during specific events such as their 20th anniversary where they produced a limited edition lip palette that contained previously discontinued lip shades. (Source 8) Fast forward to the 21st century, around 25 years later, Bobbi Brown has become a $1-billion-dollar brand. Along with her traditional nude based lipsticks, Bobbi has extended her product portfolio in not only makeup but she has also branched out into the skin care industry giving consumers a wider horizon of goods to choose from such as foundation, eyeshadows, mascara, eyeliner, lip gloss, blush, bronzer, cleansing oil, moisturizer, and the list goes on.
























One of the key elements that contributed to her success was her branding strategy. (Source 9) This can be defined as “The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers”. (Source 10) Her strategy was to have a clear vision of what she wanted to accomplish. In her case, it was to stand out from the structured and abnormal makeup look trends back in the 80s and instead, produce products that were flesh toned; create lipsticks that mimicked the colour of your natural lips, invent blush that enhanced the rosiness of cheeks and eyeshadow that complemented the colour of lids. She created what she thought was pretty and succeeded. Social media has played a huge role in Bobbi's brand; she said: " it allows consumers to communicate more frequently, and more directly, with the people behind the products they use." She explained that it is vital for a business to be open to completely changing their course of direction if necessary. (Source 11) Flexibility towards customer demands is also crucial in marketing; it allows a business to directly obtain what they need to improve on and change which then allows them to rejuvenate new ideas into the firm to keep customers satisfied. (Source 10) In Brown's case, she had to make sure that the products she created to sell in over 60 countries worldwide, would suit the demands of the customers living there. For example, in extremely humid countries such as Dubai or Singapore, Bobbi had to make sure that her make-up was long wearing. 

 (Source 12) Bobbi Brown is known for its matte black, sleek and minimalist packaging which is used for lipsticks, compacts and mascara. (Dibb et al., 2016, p. 334) (Source 13) Packaging can be defined as “The development of a product’s container and label, complete with graphic design.” It is just as important as the product itself being that it can have a massive impact on the consumer’s perspective of the product which can, in turn, affect their purchase decision. Customers are instantly drawn to products that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye as opposed to poorly designed products which is why it has immense importance as a key component of the marketing mix. (Source 14) Bobbi Brown's parent company, Estee Lauder, believes that there is much more to a lipstick or any other makeup product for that matter, than just the colour and how it makes you feel. It’s much more than that, the packaging in prestige beauty is supreme to the customer’s experience, from holding it in their hand to applying the product and then returning it to its element. The organisation pride themselves in their packaging and believe that its aesthetics reflect the supremacy of their products. They maintain a world class development operation which launches thousands of packages for their skincare, makeup, fragrances and hair care products. (Dibb et al., 2016, p. 334) (Source 13) Packaging is much more than just a container that holds a product; it presents the brand's personality through its physical image. For example, the medium sized but weighted compacts and lipsticks along with the matte black (occasionally gold and glossy) finish of the Bobbi Brown cosmetics, perceives the brand as modern and luxurious. (Source 15) Sometimes being socially responsible as a company can have an impact on a business, it shows the public that the organisation is caring towards the society and its environment. (Source 14) For example, Bobbi Brown encourage their engineers and packaging developers to produce packaging that is elegant and luxurious but at the same time meets the needs of the changing environment. They execute this by reducing their reliance on fossil fuel obtained plastic materials as their sincere efforts to minimise their impact on climate change. 

Promotion

(Dibb et al., 2016, p. 29) (Source 5) Promotions are key when marketing a brand; it allows constant communication between the brand and the consumers. They're often focused towards increasing public awareness on a new product or organisation or to maintain interest in products that were launched years ago. (Delozier 1976) (Source 16) Promotion is "the process of presenting an integrated set of stimuli to a market with the intent of evoking a set of responses within the market set and setting up channels to receive, interpret and act upon messages from the market for the purposes of modifying present company messages and identifying new communication opportunities. 

(Source 17) Although "Bobbi Brown" connotes luxury and supremacy, they have put many sales promotions in place to cater to their customers’ needs and balance out the price of their prestige goods such as; free standard delivery on all orders and free deluxe sample with any order. Due to the festive season approaching the brand is offering a complimentary gift with any order, flexible delivery which includes free standard delivery and a click and collect option from stores, gift cards and to top it off a party prep makeup set with any order worth £50 and above. Another element of the promotions mix which is used by Bobbi Brown is personal selling. (Source 18) It involves staff selling products to their customers face to face. This type of selling is very popular in department stores on the cosmetic and perfume counters and allows interaction between the seller and consumer. (Source 19) A reason why this form of selling is so effective lies within the potential to develop relationships. For a business that sells high-end and expensive products, to keep sales consistent, it is important for the company to build a sound relationship with their customers to gain loyalty and repeat purchases. Providing that Bobbi Brown is a superior cosmetic brand with premium-priced goods, not everyone is willing to spend an excessive amount of cash on beauty products. Personal selling allows the sales force to persuade customers into buying their products. In many cases customers go to a store and initially intend on buying one product and end up walking out with a full trolley, personal selling in regards to the cosmetic industry has the same effect. 












(Source 20) In regards to customers, it is imperative for a business to obtain a decent reputation in the eyes of the public. PR has a significant influence on a business and how successful it becomes. “Public Relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.” In simpler words, it’s the relationship between an organisation and the public and its reputation through the eyes of society. (Source 21) As part of their promotional strategy, Bobbi Brown launched a campaign called “Pretty Powerful” back in 2013 with the aim to empower women and girls through education. The non-profit charity which was launched on International women’s day is advertised on a limited edition Bobbi Brown product every year.  For every pound that is sold, women and girls are given support through programmes around the world which provide them with knowledge, skills and experience to overcome the social inequalities and disadvantages they experience. (Source 21) (Source 22) Providing the mission that the campaign upholds, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics decided to partner with smart works – a non-profit organisation that provides women with high-quality clothes and training in the hopes to build their confidence to partake in a future job interview. (Source 23) In light of her belief that “all women are pretty without makeup, but with the right makeup can be pretty powerful”,

(Source 3) Bobbi wrote her seventh book on her campaign prior to the campaign's official launch in 2013 called Pretty Powerful. (Source 24) In the same year, the company partnered with Broome High School, a tuition- free charter public school in SoHo that is partnered with “The Door” – a youth organisation which has improved education for children for over 40 years. Her mission is to help the children attending the school by providing the institute with supplies as well as offering seminars by their staff and giving the public the opportunity to help her cause by setting up a donation website directly aimed at the school. 

Price

(Source 25) A pricing strategy is essential for a business when marketing a product, it is in fact, the only component of the marketing mix which generates revenue and relates to the profit of the organisation. Pricing strategies have a huge impact on how successful a business becomes, it allows customers to form an opinion of the organisation based on how high or how low they set the price of their products. For example, if a company sets their products at a high price, customers may be put off by the overly priced goods. However, on the other hand, if a business sets the price of their products too low, this may give customers a cheap and poor quality impression of their products. Therefore it is vital that organisations set their prices accordingly. (Source 26) To execute this, a business needs to consider their objectives, long term goals and overall direction for the future as an organisation. Providing that an organisation sells high-quality products, then prices set for these products should reflect the superiority of items produced by the company. For a company such as Bobbi Brown, one of elite and superiority, a perfect example of a pricing strategy would be premium pricing. (Source 27) This is when businesses set a high price for their products to express its high quality. In light of today’s day and age, there’s a particular pull when it comes to expensive products, despite the struggles of today’s economy, the public is still willing to splurge their disposable income on extortionately priced products simply due to its deluxe image. Other pricing strategies a business may approach include: Market Skimming, Cost Plus, Penetration and Competitive. 

(Source 26) There are many factors influencing pricing strategies, one of them being legal and regulatory issues. Legal and Regulatory laws may set prices on various products such as insurance and products which may have a short product life cycle such as dairy stock. Also, factors such as cost can contribute to factors influencing pricing decisions. If an organisation sets a lower price on their products than competitors, then this can lead to an increase in market share; However, this strategy may prove the business a loss in the long run. To prevent this, marketers analyse the costs prior to setting prices to minimise the risk of making a deficit. A factor that can benefit not just an organisation but also the society is price discrimination. 

(Source 28) This is when a company charges different pricing for the same goods or services. There are three types of discrimination: First degree, second degree and third-degree price discrimination. When a business charges various prices for each unit produced, this can often be described as perfect price discrimination. It involves charging customers with the maximum price they’re willing to pay for a product. Second-degree price discrimination requires firms to charge consumers different prices depending on quantity such as discounts for bulk buying. Moreover, a third-degree price discrimination allows an organisation to charge various prices to different groups of people. For example, a museum could offer discount packages to students or family groups. (Source 29) Price Discrimination can have a positive impact on an organisation in ways where the firm will have an increase in revenue that can be put towards research and development which will, in turn, benefit customers. 

Place

(pg. 195, Marketing management for non-profit organisations, Adrian Sargeant) (Source 30) In the Marketing mix, Place is concerned with issues such as the degree of accessibility required to a service, how the service will be distributed to clients, the level of control required over any intermediaries that might be used and the geographical coverage for the service that is desired. (Source 31) A distribution channel is the network of businesses which a good or service passes through until it reaches the final consumer. The network of firms involved in the distribution system includes wholesaler, retailer and distributor. To increase the various ways in which customers can find their desired goods and services, the distribution channel is broken down into direct and indirect forms where a direct channel allows customers to purchase their desired good or service from the manufacturer. Meanwhile, an indirect channel allows customers to purchase products from a wholesaler or retailer. Although passing goods and services through different channels can increase customer sales, a complex system of distribution can often leave distribution management difficult to control. 

Within the distribution system, there are three main types of channels which include; Manufacturer, Wholesaler, Retailer and The Final consumer. The first distribution channel is the longest as it involves all four channels – Producer, Wholesaler, Retailer and The customer. Furthermore, being the longest channel out of four, manufacturers can expect to gain less profit from sales as each channel charges capital for its service. Moreover, the second channel involves manufacturers selling their goods and services directly to retailers who then distribute the items to the final customer. Contrary to the first and second distribution channel, the third channel issues items directly to the customers, this is often described as the direct to consumer model. An example of this can be Amazon selling Kindles directly to their customers. (Source 32) Concerning the third channel, retailing serves a crucial importance in marketing, it allows a business to gain a significant level of exposure and increase its awareness to the public.

(Source 32) Setting up a retailer can have many advantages for businesses that they may not gain from elsewhere in that, customers can try the products in store and view its aesthetics that may be perceived different online than in store and also promoting products. (Source 33) Factors that may need to be considered by a company before setting up a retail store can include location and target market. Identifying the correct location for a retail store can be the reason for the success or failure of a business. To locate a successful store, it is key to consider whether the goods or services that the retail store will offer, will suit the demands of the local community where the store will initially set up. For example, a makeup brand such as Bobbi Brown would more likely attract more customers in a shopping centre or department stores due to the high volume of customers and window shoppers. Also Target Market is a further factor to be considered when setting up a retail store, it is just as important as finding the right location and both work simultaneously. It’s simple, if the characteristics of a business’s local marketplace do not match their target market, the company is more likely to fall into a deficit. This is a result of little revenue generated due to lack of customer demand and customer sales. 

People, Process and Physical Evidence

 As well as the main 4P’s within the Marketing Mix – Product, Promotion, Price and Place. People, Process and Physical Evidence are the three extended aspects of the Marketing Mix that a business needs to consider when marketing their brand/product. (Source 4) “People” involves the customers, employees, the culture of the business and their management. Employees play a crucial role in the company in that they ultimately deliver the service. Therefore, it is critical that the right employees are hired and trained to provide excellent service to customers and in turn gain customer loyalty and market share. Bobbi Brown executes this by providing their employees with on-the-job training for both artistry and products through workshops and artistry teaching. (Source 4) “Process” is “The systems and processes of the organisation that affect the execution of the service.” In simpler terms, it’s the process by which a business’s goods or service travels from point A to point B, point B being the end consumer. Furthermore, the final aspect of the marketing mix is Physical evidence. (Source 34) Since many organisations are largely intangible, it is vital that a business’s focal point is on tangible cues which are non-existent and communicate effective messages to customers about the high-quality service they’re purchasing. When physical products are absent in a service, customers base their judgment on tangible cues such as the premises and uniform. For Example, the aesthetics of the Bobbi Brown counter in department stores include clean and modern interior design which can be perceived by customers as “luxurious”.  While employees and staff are always dressed smart and presentable in all black clothing, in the absence of cues, this can reassure potential customers of the professionalism of the business.

References 

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Referencing 

1.