Tag Archives: facebook

Bringing Bobbi Back

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Many firms use social media platforms to connect with consumers, and with help of such tactics, it seems like the comeback era is finally making its way to the cosmetics industry.

When consumers find a product they love, they instinctively want to hold on to it. Not many people embrace change with open arms. We like familiarly, things that we know work. But obviously, that’s not how the world works all the time. Things change, things come and go. And when your favourite product, the one you’ve been so committed to, suddenly goes out of production – what do you do? Scream, shout and demand for it back!

Surprisingly enough, unlike stereotypical parents who will not put up with such a “fuss”, Bobbi Brown is doing the opposite and encouraging you to “scream, shout and demand” for your favourite products.

The company is launching a Facebook campaign that allows fans and users to lobby for the return of lip colours that are no longer in production. Fans are invited to vote for their favourite from the list of the 10 most frequently requested colours.

Voting closes at the end of February, at which point, the lip colours with the most support will become available for purchase – here’s the catch – exclusively on Facebook.

I’m aware of small businesses that conduct business on the Facebook platform, but never did I imagine that well-reknowned firms like Bobbi Brown would come up with such an initiative. So why use Facebook to sell an exclusive line?

According to digital analyst comScore, spending in the e-commerce industry rose by 14% in the past year, representing yet another consecutive year of growth. This presents a great opportunity for brands to offer a unique shopping experience to the consumer, as attitudes towards online shopping evolve. That is, to offer a three-dimensional shopping experience by integrating the two dimensions of Brick & Mortar, the “touch and feel”, with the “information and impulse” of the online experience.

Bobbi Brown already has an e-commerce platform on their site, but using Facebook puts an interesting twist to it. It allows a closer and more interactive relationship with consumers, an opportunity to appeal and connect with consumers at a more personal level. Bobbi Brown’s revival of discontinued cosmetics is a perfect example of the creation of a three-dimensional shopping experience. These products have been “touched and felt” before, and now with the online campaign, is working towards building “impulse” through purchase anticipation over time.

What a way to reward its brand loyalists and actively showcase the fact that Bobbi Brown is indeed hearing what its fans are saying! If you’re still wondering how the Internet is changing the dynamics of the 4Ps – here you have it. The pull factor is becoming stronger in product choice (unlike traditional days where it was all about firms pushing out particular products). Promotion is multi-dimensional – a great majority of it comes from consumer generated content. The place you sell your product is ever-changing with instant “globalization”.

All in all, a really neat campaign that aptly shows how a company can embrace social media in ways to engage consumers and build a brand.

(Sources: 1)
(Images: Bobbi Brown Cosmetics)

A new “packaging” for your brand online

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Flashback a year ago, I was just telling my close friends how I thought there would come a point where Facebook would become A LOT more visual orientated. Or as I liked to describe it; more Tumblr-fied. Tumblr is a blogging platform that favours short-form, mix-media posts over the more traditional lengthy text-centric posts. As an avid Tumblr user myself (I first joined the site in 2009), this was the direction I thought internet users were headed conceptually.

Now here comes Facebook Timeline: a new visual revolution for the Facebook profile page. A conceptual life story told through a collage of photos, status updates and friendships.

While actual posts still differ in terms of content on these two sites, it seems like social blogging platforms and social networking sites are making the move towards a more visual and less text orientated aesthetic. This may very well indicate a shift in consumer “packaging” (or appearance) preferences.

And that to many firms, may mean a slight shift in their digital marketing strategy. This visual trend seems promising enough that venture capitalists are quickly putting their money into sites like Pinterest (a visually engaging social application that acts as a “virtual pinboard”). The business potential behind image-sharing networks is huge because of its content curation possibilities. Take Kate‘s success story for example: Kate is a hairstylist, jewelry maker and craft specialist whose business for the first eight months, had only seven readers. But between August 2011 and today, Kate has had over 10 million page views. How? Pinterest.

Pinterest is a great platform brands can use to connect with their audience. The increase in visual orientated platforms simply mean brands now have more to consider in their strategy to engage with consumers. Images have to create intrigue, a “backstory” to compel readers to find out more about the brand. I’ve always felt that consumers are becoming increasingly lazy or impatient, requiring short, “snazzy” images to capture their attention. Just as how brands now have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, I feel like the next  step brands should take, is to follow where the crowd is heading – and that to me, is to visual centric sites like Pinterest.

I for one, am big on this “growth” of visual engagement. What do you think? Do you agree that internet users are moving towards a more visual orientated aesthetic? I would love to know how you think brands will be affected and how you think they should react.

(Sources: 1/2)
(Images from: my own Tumblr page / Facebook Timeline profile courtesy of my friend / Screenshot from Pinterest homepage)